Conclusion

The first impression from the Nvidia ION platform that we tested several months ago was pretty positive. No wonder, Nvidia simply amazed us with their approach: by combining a weak CPU and a powerful GPU that can speed up many operations usually performed in the processor, the company offered an affordable and energy-efficient platform that could easily solve a lot of tasks that used to require a full-size system. However, now that the euphoria is over, we can look at the ION platform from a more practical prospective. Especially, since it has found its way into the market not only in the reference form but also as third-party mass production solutions.

Nvidia marketing specialists try to convince us that ION platform may take over a significant share of different market segments: as HTPC, as an affordable all-purpose computer system and even as an entry-level gaming platform. However, our experience suggests that the integrated GeForce 9300 graphics core that is part of the ION platform doesn’t work any wonders: Nvidia platform performance appears severely limited by the performance of the Intel Atom CPU. This is exactly what narrows down the possible applications for the ION platforms, especially if it uses a single-core processor modification, like the Zotac ION-ITX-C we have just discussed. As we found out, insufficient performance of the single-core Atom processor causes certain discomfort even during common Internet surfing, not to mention games or similar tasks. Here we are ready to agree with Intel stating that the use of a powerful graphics core is way too much for the Atom CPU and is hardly a promising engineering solution.

As a result, despite Nvidia’s and Zotac’s efforts, we can only recommend Zotac ION-ITX-C mainboard as a solution for HTPC systems. Thanks to the GeForce 9300 graphics core that has powerful tools for hardware decoding of MPEG-2, VC-1 and H.264 (AVC) video, this mainboard copes perfectly fine with HD video playback. Moreover, it is important that you won’t need to spend hours installing and configuring software for a multimedia system like that. New Windows 7 OS has almost everything necessary for an excellent contemporary HTPC. Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player included with this operating system can take advantage of the graphics chip potential on the one hand and recognize all contemporary video formats on the other. The only serious issue with Windows 7 in this case is probably the lack of popular Matroska container, which can be solved by installing a few additional codecs available online.

True, Zotac ION-ITX-C mainboard is an excellent choice for an HTPC system. The main components layout is flawless, the board uses only high-quality parts, including solid-state capacitors, and even has a Mini PCI express slot, which increases the functionality of this solution. However, even the default mainboard functionality is absolutely sufficient to build an up-to-date system. Zotac ION-ITX-C supports all necessary interfaces. That is why it should be fairly easy to build a home theater PC using Zotac ION-ITX-C. The board even supports HDMI 1.3 with sound in today’s latest TrueHD or DTS-HD formats. And due to an external power supply unit, Zotac ION-ITX-C can fit into extremely small cases with unique design. Although in this case you will have to put some effort into improving the cooling, because fanless design only works in an open testbed, as we have seen during our tests today.

But if you still decided to go for Zotac ION-ITX-C after everything we have just said, please think again. The thing is that this mainboard costs $160 and by adding only another $30 you can get a much better model: with a built-in WiFi module and a faster Atom 330 processor. Compared with Atom 230, it will significantly expand the possible application field for the computer system built around it. However, there is one more possibility. By paying only $105 you can buy Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX Mini-ITX mainboard based on the same exact chipset as Zotac ION-ITX-C but with an LGA775 socket that allows using any compatible processors. In this case you will be able to build a higher-performance system at a comparable price. Of course, LGA775 system will lose to ION in power consumption, but this parameter is of primary significance far not for all users. In other words, there is a big choice of components for compact computer systems in the today’s market and we can’t state with certainty that Zotac mainboards on GeForce 9300 and Intel Atom processors offer the absolute best combination of consumer features.