Nvidia sneaks out Ion LE

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 5th August 2009
Comments (20) Stumble
Nvidia sneaks out Ion LE

The latest version of Nvidia's Ion platform removes the DirectX 10 support of its predecessor, saving money and power in a Windows XP-dominated market.

If your main issue with Nvidia's Ion platform is that it's over-powerful, take heart: the company is due to launch a slimmed down version specifically for Windows XP-based netbooks.

According to an article over on Fudzilla, the company has quietly slipped its second Ion-based product out of the door - the Ion LE. Nvidia's PR manager for notebook products, Igor Stanek, has stated that the Ion LE is "identical to [the original] Ion, except it only supports [DirectX] 9."

The original version of Ion, which is finding its way into both netbooks and netttops has full DirectX 10 support when coupled with Windows Vista or Windows 7. While the support is a nice feature to have, it's fairly wasted in a market which is dominated by Windows XP - which only supports DirectX 9 - making it a smart move on Nvidia's part, providing the price is suitably reduced.

While this is the second version of Ion to be released by Nvidia, it's most certainly not the Ion 2 we were expecting - nor does it introduce the promised support for VIA's Nano range of processors. With the DirectX 9 performance likely to be similar to the existing product SKU, the Ion LE won't be setting the gaming world aflame either.

Nvidia has yet to confirm pricing, end-user product availability, or the power draw characteristics of the new chip.

Is the removal of the DirectX 10 support a good move for Nvidia's Ion - especially as it's most commonly used in Windows XP-based systems - or is it unlikely to drop the price or power low enough to make a second version worth it? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Quote Skiddywinks 5th August 2009, 11:09
Makes sense. Surprised it has taken them this long though.
Quote perplekks45 5th August 2009, 11:37
Yep, I thought they'd release DX9 first.
Still, between a 15" notebook and an iPod Touch I don't really see the need of a netbook.
Quote Elton 5th August 2009, 11:39
If it's 50% cheaper at least, it'll be worth considering.
Quote kenco_uk 5th August 2009, 11:48
Just release the bloody thing already.
Quote Burnout21 5th August 2009, 13:03
oooooooo i like!
Quote wiak 5th August 2009, 13:15
funny
nVIDIA went backwards (Ion LE), AMD went forward (785G)
Quote rembo666 5th August 2009, 14:23
Except Windows 7 is pretty much out of the door. They should've started with the DX9 version and released a DX10 version later...
Quote 500mph 5th August 2009, 16:33
I still use my smartphone more than my netbook =/
Quote FaSMaN 5th August 2009, 17:49
Im still waiting for my pico-itx ion board ,come on nvidia release it allready ...
Quote SBS 5th August 2009, 21:20
Quote:
Originally Posted by perplekks45
Yep, I thought they'd release DX9 first.

QFT.

Bizarre move with Windows 7 weeks away.
Quote BurningFeetMan 6th August 2009, 04:36
Most of us who are interested in the ION platform will be grabbing Windows 7, which supports Direct X 10.

Needless to say, where the hell is my Atom 330, Ion powered netbook? How long do I have to wait before I can finally get one of these things? The Ion is pretty much useless unless you've got a dual core driving the thing...
Quote Saivert 7th August 2009, 08:54
meh.. you would have to purchase the expensive (relatively) Windows 7 Home Premium as the Started edition is severely limited. Thus jacking up the price of the product.

This entire netbook segment is so messed up and out of place. When I first heard about a "netbook" I thought they were going to be dirt cheap. But it appears that people want to have their cake and eat it too and netbooks are just getting more and more expensive to account for feature creep.

I'll buy a real laptop any day over an over-priced "netbook".
Quote perplekks45 7th August 2009, 12:58
Win7 HP wasn't expensive on pre-order. :D
Quote LAGMonkey 9th August 2009, 17:08
main problem of course with all these Atom boards is of course Adobe.

they really need to get their arse in gear and encode hardware flash, my full fat ATOM isnt capable of playing flash videos however if i download them (in *.flv) Nvidia kicks in and 1080p is no sweat for the little thing.

*grumble* blooming adobe *grumble*
Quote perplekks45 9th August 2009, 17:32
And explain again why they would care?
Quote Elton 9th August 2009, 20:15
Quote:
Originally Posted by LAGMonkey
main problem of course with all these Atom boards is of course Adobe.

they really need to get their arse in gear and encode hardware flash, my full fat ATOM isnt capable of playing flash videos however if i download them (in *.flv) Nvidia kicks in and 1080p is no sweat for the little thing.

*grumble* blooming adobe *grumble*

The same Adobe who's been promising GPU accelerated Flash for years now?
Quote perplekks45 9th August 2009, 22:52
They don't have any real competition at the moment. They have all the time in the world.

Maybe if we'd all support MS' Silverlight... but never mind, all those kids yelling "M$!! Muahaha, I'm sooo funny!!!" will never agree to that. :(
And it's not that great to be honest.
Quote Elton 10th August 2009, 02:17
Adobe can pretty much do what they want since they control a relatively large share of their respective markets.

That said, we do need competition, because if not, then Flash will go the way of TN monitors and run slower and more system intensive as time goes by.
Quote thehippoz 10th August 2009, 02:43
yeah with win 7 around the corner, it's kinda strange thing to do.. unless they plan on a really low cost system, it makes sense as windows xp can be bundled with word 2007 to make a great deal.. must have software for netbook- they are selling bundles like this for cheap here (checked and they are legit)

http://www.cdsfu.com/index.php?categoryID=87
Quote dyzophoria 10th August 2009, 04:26
Quote:
Maybe if we'd all support MS' Silverlight... but never mind, all those kids yelling "M$!! Muahaha, I'm sooo funny!!!" will never agree to that. :(
And it's not that great to be honest.

hehehe, honestly though Silverlight seems very promising..

anyway, I was wondering if dx10 is really that great a deal on the ion platform..
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