With the event of the Intel Atom series from Intel for a uncomplicated and low price computer system coming only about $300 all up no more and no less, and even the size of the PCB is small enough to fit a small case possible and even still pack enough features for a medium sized media PC and handle DX10 and HD decoding but really going to deliver DX10 performance.
So the NVIDIA ION platform with the combination of the small Intel Atom CPU with a small 3”x4” PCB green colour with the GeForce 9400 chipset with the Southbridge left out of the equation giving it a ultimate small form factor possible. But with the small package it still delivers one DVI port for a monitor media PC or a home theatre HDMI port for all of those high definition decoding and movies. While NVIDIA have not released the full details about the ION platform, I will suppose to be a fully packed platform no need to buy the core for this it is all soldered into it now and the memory modules is only a single laptop sized DDR2 memory but for the reference design you can have a max in it 2GB of Ram able to handle most of the demands in windows Vista and decoding in video and audio files. Plus also in the reference is the inclusion of an expansion chip that you can add to support another ports like six USB ports one optical port and two eSATA ports for most external drives when the internal laptop sized 2.5in drive isn’t enough for everyday use.
Really NVIDIA made a new platform out of the Atom range from Intel; they were the first in the market to provide the Atom a chipset to run in with the first EEE PC laptop from ASUS and onboard graphics solution for the desktop brother, while AMD has its own power saving and low cost platforms but nothing that major to compete with the Atom in small size and form factor. Pretty much the platform has everything that you really need for any media system you could think of but for the most demanding of apps, with straight scores in HD decoding and some DX10 games rarely in the highest possible frames, but doesn’t crash when you first enter it. But for me and in this review, and for the NVIDIA ION platform looks awfully good in desktop and take over the small range laptops as well, giving cheaper and power performance needs for everyday users.
for a cross referecne the 790i is a ATX form factor copmared to the ION platform it is realively small and able to shove it in a dark place somewhere in you drawer and forget about it, and not in a bad way.