Nvidia Introduces New Gaming-Capable Nettop PC

[DoctorFinger]

That sexy little thing you above is Nvidia's ION nettop (simile time: a nettop is to a desktop as a netbook is to a notebook) computer. Nvidia promises a full feature PC, capable of 1080p decoding and modest gaming performance, in each little package. The performance is good enough to get Google, Adobe, Microsoft and EA onboard, and they promise such disparate applications as Spore, Call of Duty 4, Adobe Photoshop, Cyberlink PowerDVD and Battlefield 2 will work on the ION. In addition to gaming and other normal PC activities, the unit is supposed to be media center-capable and includes HDMI outputs.

Nvidia says the units will be available at retail sometime in the second quarter, which runs from today to the end of June. No word on price, but Nvidia used the terms "small and affordable" and "competitively priced" to describe the ION, so don't expect to break the bank.

Thanks to Deadend for the tip!

[Wraith]

A bit early for Windows 7 (which is supposed to perform quite well on nettops/netbooks); I suppose they will ship with Vista?

Also, I wonder if they will ship with 7200 RPM notebook drives or SSDs...

[Ancalagon]

Heres a performance preview: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3509&p=3

Its been announced for quite a while.

[Wolvie]

Wow, if it was cheap enough, I might have a replacement for my outdated PC.

[Mike Kelehan]

I'll get a new PC when Diablo 3 comes out. In the mean while, hardware makers, you guys keep making them smaller, cheaper, and more powerful.

[Deadend]

Originally Posted by Ancalagon

Heres a performance preview: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3509&p=3

Its been announced for quite a while.

True, but I don't recall us talking about it. I think it could be good for gaming. If all those netbooks out there started to use Ion chips instead, there could be more potential PC gamers out there.

[Spigot]

Hmm.. Given that my PC seems to be on the fritz (as I've grumbled about in about 30 other threads), this would be nice to replace it.

Or at the very least supplement it.

[DoctorFinger]

The chipset - the Atom - was announced. But AFAIK this is the first look at the actual retail product.

[Nura]

Would be really nice to bring to lans! If the price is right i'm getting one!

[divinechaos]

As a console gamer I know NOTHING about PC gaming, other than I really wanted to get into it but it's way too expensive for me. So since this thing has an HDMI output I could plug it in my TV and play it like a console then?

[Young Al Capone]

I like it, I could use a temporary replacement for my PC until I get into a situation where I can rebuild proper. Maybe this will be the ticket, though after reading that article I am not so sure.

[Young Al Capone]

Originally Posted by divinechaos

As a console gamer I know NOTHING about PC gaming, other than I really wanted to get into it but it's way too expensive for me. So since this thing has an HDMI output I could plug it in my TV and play it like a console then?

You could plug it into your tv and use a gamepad, so yeah basically.

[Xerxes]

That would be almost perfect.

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by Wraith

A bit early for Windows 7 (which is supposed to perform quite well on nettops/netbooks); I suppose they will ship with Vista?

Also, I wonder if they will ship with 7200 RPM notebook drives or SSDs...

Needs a media center for damn sure.

[Ghostbear]

As mentioned in the chat room, if you have to plug in a mouse, keyboard, monitor etc. Does it really need to be that small?

[divinechaos]

Originally Posted by Young Al Capone

You could plug it into your tv and use a gamepad, so yeah basically.

Huh, so this little thing might be what I've been waiting for all my life. But what about installs and all that stuff? And another question, does the game go into this thing? I haven't seen any pictures other than the one posted in this thread.

[Ghostbear]

Originally Posted by divinechaos

Huh, so this little thing might be what I've been waiting for all my life. But what about installs and all that stuff? And another question, does the game go into this thing? I haven't seen any pictures other than the one posted in this thread.

You will still have to install games. Does what game go into this thing? Its a PC like any other, it just happens to be tiny. It will run windows, so the difference between this and any other pc is just the hardware involved. It will run pretty much the same, otherwise this would just be another console.

[Deadend]

Originally Posted by divinechaos

Huh, so this little thing might be what I've been waiting for all my life. But what about installs and all that stuff? And another question, does the game go into this thing? I haven't seen any pictures other than the one posted in this thread.

I think you would be using Steam to put games on it. But it isn't quite high performance yet. It's a Sims 3, WoW, and maybe some indie-games box for cheap. It Will NOT be running Crysis, but it is a huge step in the direction Nvidia should be going. Basically making their own "console" that is still a PC but that acts more as a technical spec and a goalpoint for game studios.

[divinechaos]

Originally Posted by Ghostbear

You will still have to install games. Does what game go into this thing? Its a PC like any other, it just happens to be tiny. It will run windows, so the difference between this and any other pc is just the hardware involved. It will run pretty much the same, otherwise this would just be another console.

I meant to ask if this thing has a CD drive and after reading the article I see that it can also play Blu-Rays? If they price it right this might be my first venture into PC gaming.

[Clark]

Wow.

IF/WHEN this can be upgraded for better gaming performance, I'm all over it. I'm shopping around for a new PC for my TV and this would have been perfect.

It just doesn't sound like it is ready for hardcore gaming yet.