Nvidia's Next Generation Ion Platform

Hardware Specs

Essentially the Next Gen Ion is just a GT218 GPU bolted onto the NM10 chipset via an x1 PCI-E link. Yes, that's x1 and it's Gen 1 not Gen 2 PCI-E, so we're talking only 250MB/s bandwidth per lane. Crippled? Absolutely.

Nvidia claims the limited PCI-E bandwidth isn't an issue given the limited CPU throughput anyway, and with Nvidia is also pushing the PureVideo decoding technology as part of the media consumptive angle, this feature doesn't require that much bandwidth between CPU and GPU.

The GT218 is the same same graphics core as the older GeForce 9400M, although it's now made on the smaller 40nm TSMC process for reduced power consumption and must include dedicated memory, usually 512MB DDR2 or 3, to alleviate the need to use the limited connections to main memory.


Next Gen Ion will be available in two versions, a netbook variant with eight stream processors, and a version with 16 stream processors for laptops with 12in or bigger screens or desktops. The netbook version will also have reduced clock speed to further drop power consumption thus improving battery life.


Dedicated memory will improve performance compared to the original Ion, and while the extra memory chips will also increase power consumption, the change from 65nm manufacturing to 40nm in the GPU is more in its favour, and the netbook version only consumes 6W and the desktop 13W. The worst part about the memory is its impact on cost in a very price-conscious market.