Nvidia launches next-gen Ion

GRAPHICS OUTFIT Nvidia is giving another helping hand to netbooks and similar devices with the launch of its next generation Ion chip.

The Green Goblin has abandoned its all-in-chip MCP approach it used for the first Ion platform and has now opted for a discrete chip.

This change was done for several reasons, primarily to stop trying to compete with Intel's Atom platform and instead to compliment it through the development of Optimus, the company's intelligent graphics switching platform.

This means that the next generation Ion devices can get the better battery life than Intel's GMA chip provides when just basic graphics are required, but can also tap the enhanced performance of Nvidia's Ion chip when more grunt is needed.

Possibly a little confusingly, rather than calling it Ion2, Nvidia is sticking with just the Ion name for the new chip, so punters will have to keep an eye out for other signs, such as Optimus support, for clues about which generation of Ion chip is inside their prospective purchase.

However the new Ion uses at 40nm process on a 23x23mm die produced by TSMC, compared to the original 65nm 35x35mm design.

According to Nvidia's benchmarks the new Ion beats its predecessor by 1.5 times in the 3D Mark 2006 Directx9 test, and does twice as well in 3D Mark Vantage Directx10. Although mainly designed for high definition media and casual gaming, the next-gen Ion chip can handle popular mainstream games like Spore, World of Warcraft or Sims3 at reasonable settings.

The Ion chip is set for use in netbooks, nettops, all-in-ones, as well as other mobile devices and in motherboards and basic discrete graphics cards.

Nvidia is claiming there will be over 30 Ion designs shipping by the Summer. The first such device is set to be the Acer 532G, with Asus, Lenovo and Zotac also in on the action. µ