Hands-On With the nVidia Ion Platform
Today's Best Tech Deals
Picked by PCWorld's Editors
Top Deals On Great Products
Picked by Techconnect's Editors
Back in December, I broke down why you shouldn't buy a sub-$500 portable just yet. The reason: nVidia spokespeople swore then that we'd see the Ion platform in devices as soon as June of this year. While we still haven't heard as to when--or where--this mighty mite will show up, we did get a chance to play with the reference board. Curious to see how well the unit handles in the real world? Here's the deal.
So how does it perform? In WorldBench 6 tests, it scored a 38. Not exactly scorching fast--that is, until you start stacking it up against netbooks, for which that score is a little above average. This machine, however, differs from the standard netbook configuration of 1GB of RAM and Windows XP. Why Vista? "Because we think people deserve a better experience," quipped one nVidia spokesperson. I'd rather "settle" for XP and see a faster WorldBench 6 score. But for the sake of the closest comparison I could muster, the Sony VAIO P, which also has 2GB of RAM, an Atom processor and chip set, and Windows Vista installed, ran nine points slower on WorldBench 6. Okay, nVidia, you've made your point. But I'd wager that having XP installed would probably tack another five to ten points onto the WorldBench 6 score.
Another significant test is trying to get video up and running with one of these machines. The Atom CPU simply can't handle high-def video on its own--fact. In the case of every netbook currently on the market, you're lucky if you can get anything to run smoothly above 320 by 240 pixels. So imagine my surprise at seeing the X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer (okay, so I'm a nerd) run virtually hiccup-free--at 1080p, no less--with very little in the way of frame slowdown.
What? You don't believe me? Check out the video of me kicking the tires on the Ion platform and see for yourself!
Coupon Codes
-
Doordash Promo Code
Save 50% on Baskin Robbins with this DoorDash coupon code
-
H&R Block Coupons
H&R Block Refund Sale : Up to 60% off New Tax Software
-
Dell Coupon code
Use this Dell coupon to get 35% off Latitude 9510 Business Laptop
-
Eastbay Promo Code
15% off your order of $75+ with Eastbay promo code
-
AT&T Wireless Promo Codes
AT&T Wireless promo - $700 off the motorola razr
-
Rosetta Stone Promo Code
$83 off 12-months - Rosetta Stone discount