Intel Atom-ION setup overpriced

[Guest]

Cheapest Atom 330/ION Mobo/Cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131408 -$160

Am2/Am2+/Am3 785g Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394 -$80

3 ghz Athlon II Cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681 -$76

So for $4 less then the cheapest Ion/330 board someone could have a system with ~3 times~ the cpu horse power and equivalent on-board graphics. They would both use ddr2 ram. The ION setup doesn't have IDE for using older hardware so that could cause some problems. So for an overall value the AMD setup wold be much faster and can easily be upgraded down the road. The only major difference is the 20 watt or so power difference at idle and roughly 60watts or so at full load. What do you guys think of this?

 

[MarkG]

I agree, but you're also paying for the small size and the low heat output with an Atom system; I doubt you can stick an Athlon II in a case the size of a DVD player with a couple of tiny 'silent' fans.

Also, I believe a typical Ion system's idle power is only about 25W, which is probably less than the Athlon II by itself.