The first Nvidia ION was true refreshment in the HTPC world. Not only because of the power-saving Atom CPU, but also graphics performance that were head and shoulders above Intel's GMA950 and similar solutions. However, it was evident that performance was still insufficient to run the newest games, even in the lowest resolutions and detail levels. This is exactly what the new revision of ION set out to do, to reduce consumption of the first ION and increase graphics performance.

The new generation ION (or simply put, ION 2) is rather different from the old platform, particularly in the architecture field. ION 2 platform places the integrated memory controller inside the CPU, as well as Intel’s integrated graphics processor (IGP), a feature exclusive to the new Atoms. However, one drawback of ION 2 is that the memory controller contained within the new Atoms is single-channel, which means that we could kiss our dual-channel memory expectations goodbye. The previous ION revision had a dual-channel memory controller, which means that it has an advantage in this regard over the new version. Yet even if the existence of a dual-channel memory controller is an advantage in itself, it was quite commonly seen that the manufacturers install only a single memory module in ION-based machines, which negated any potential performance improvement due to the dual-channel memory controller. So even if this might appear as a serious design flaw, it’s really not that much of a drawback in real world conditions. The discreet NVIDIA graphics chip contained within the latest ION is a more advanced inheritor of the 9400M in the form of G31x or G21x chip. Unlike 9400M, the new chip is manufactured in 40 nm, which reduced both the size and consumption of the chip. Core and shader unit clocks have also been increased, which yields an additional performance increase. Even with the increase of clocks, the version with 16 CUDA cores, the same number as 9400M, has a consumption smaller by 2.3 W (13 W compared to 15.3 W). If low consumption is a priority, there will be platforms with 8 CUDA cores available, and the TDP of which amounts to only 6 W!

The crucial difference lies in the fact that the memory for the discreet graphics chip is now separate, whereas old revisions used system memory. As always, this leads to a tremendous performance increase, as was the case here as well. The graphics memory can amount to up to 512 MB DDR2 or DDR3, which is more than enough for these chips. Another difference is that ION 2’s graphics chip has hardware support for DirectX 10.1, unlike its predecessor. However, not all is ideal, since ION 2 uses the PCI-E x1 mode for graphics communication, which could be a problem in applications requiring fast bus data transfer, which could even lead to the new platform being slower than the old one is specific usage scenarios. In order to decrease consumption even further, ION 2 is able to use the NVIDIA Optimus technology, which balances the work between the IGP in non-demanding applications (with the discreet graphics chip off), while switching the workload to the full-fledged discreet graphics when high performance is necessary. In order to check out the advantages and disadvantages of the ION 2 platform ourselves, we’ve been provided with Zotac’s ZBOX HD-ID11 for testing purposes.

Unlike the previously reviewed solutions, Zotac’s ZBOX brings forth an important novelty: it allow the user to choose the desired memory to use on his/her own, and the same goes for the HDD and operating system. This provides the ultimate in ZBOX flexibility, with each user choosing his particular preferred settings. You can add any standard 2.5” HDD to extend available storage space, or an SSD if you wish to further reduce consumption. ZBOX only contains one system memory extension SODIMM slot. The samples currently available at the market have the HDD and memory already chosen and preinstalled, while the user can choose his/her own OS.

The CPU in ZBOX is Intel’s Atom D510, working at 1.66 GHz, not only containing two physical cores, but also the HyperThreading technology, which makes the CPU present itself to Windows as a quad-core CPU. The discreet NVIDIA chip is GT218, with 16 CUDA cores and 512 MB DDR3 memory, which is the strongest available version of ION 2’s NVIDIA graphics chip. This device, however, has NVIDIA’s Optimus technology turned off, so somewhat higher consumption is expectable. The bundle also contains a power adapter, DVI-VGA adapter, XP, Vista, Win7 and Linux driver disc, a multi-language manual, a stand for mounting the device vertically, screws and an adapter to help mount it on a wall or a monitor. The upper and lower sides are black and have a piano/glossy finish, which makes fingerprints and dust easily visible (which may make it difficult for users who have the need for constant contact with the device). When the device is placed horizontally, you can easily see the ring on top emitting blue light when the device is on, which contributes to its elegance more than anything and is unlikely to be bothersome to anyone. The bottom contains four small pins, which ensures good airflow even when the device is placed horizontally. The front contains the power button, audio connectors, a card reader, USB and status LEDs. If you find five USB ports insufficient, there is another one on one side, concealed by rubber, which makes it difficult to notice at first.

Both sides contain airflow openings, as well as the bottom, where the fan is located. When on, but in more or less idle mode, the device is completely silent, you can only hear the HDD and the fan rotating at 1200 RPM if you’re concentrated. After firing up Office and watching 720p HD video over the GPU, the fan remained at the same speed level in a room with a temperature of 25 degrees Centigrade. Things heated up with 1080p video, and the fan sped up to 4000 RPM, but remained relatively silent even then. However, when we started some more demanding games, the fan went as far up as 6500 RPM, being very noisy, and managing to decrease the temperature of the CPU cores and the GPU only down to 80 degrees! Yet these temperatures didn’t compromise system stability in the least, and the device heats up the least when in a perfectly vertical position, i.e. on the stand, while it heats up the most when installed in the VESA mount. The problem is that, once it catches up on speed, the fan takes a very long time to slow down, due to poor ventilation inside the enclosure, which keeps the temperatures at a high level for rather long periods. With the BIOS version supplied with the device, we’ve noticed that the Atom CPU’s frequency isn’t reduced when the PC is in idle mode, which negatively impacts the cooling time required to bring the temperature down. BIOS does contain settings related to the behaviour of the fan with regard to the CPU temperature, so that you can reduce noise during gaming sessions, but the temperatures will rise even higher. A new BIOS should solve the Atom clock (pun intended) problems and therefore impact temperature and noise directly.