It sounds interesting but I still sat Nvida FTW!

I don't think extra CPU power is enough to compensate for an actual GPU.

I want to see the more powerful CPU paired with the Ion. If the last benchmark Toms ran was any indication, the CPU is holding the system back. As soon as it can play flash videos at full screen (for me that's 1920x1080, the review used a 720p screen) it will be first in line for the HTPC factor. I say flash is the last big hurdle since most online shows use it.

Always exciting to see what is upcoming for this sector. The fight between intel and nvidia is fantastic. Intel wants everyone to believe that they can do everything on their own, and Nvidia wants everyone to believe that you need them to do anything more than run basic programs. These advancements should make for some excellent netbooks, net tops, and HTPCs.

"AMD To launch ATOM Killer in 2010" was a Tom's article yesterday I believe. Hopefully they are aiming to go after the Pine Trail ATOM.

If the atom reaches to 2ghz with hyper threading without consuming so much power, and combined with the ion, then that would be great! Though that is pushing it for what a netbook is really used for. It would be nice to have a bit of a performance boost for games. 1.6ghz doesn't quite cut it. Having a powerful netbook (CPU & GFX) would awesome when it comes down to portability. I would be interested in the topics if Intel bumps it up a notch. I personally think the CPU may bottleneck the performance of the ION, but thats just me. 2ghz+ is what I would pair the ION with..

The big thing holding the Atom back is the chipset. Most people I know will not buy Nvidia, since they are a low quality maker (compared to Intel) and have a lot more problems than Intel does with their products. Nvidia offers interesting things, but also headaches and aggravation.

But, Intel makes a terrible chipset, so you're in a situation where you either buy a crap chipset, or buy a chipset with good features from a crap company. Who wants this choice?

So, I'm personally waiting for a decent all Intel solution. I'd buy an Intel/ATI solution too, but there is nothing like that, but Nvidia is not a company I will buy from. I am not alone in this, most of the people I work with and know won't buy Nvidia. Well, not most, but probably close to half. So, for that reason it's relevant.

Also, the Ion doesn't address the real issues with the Atom platform, which is the processor. I mean, it can help in some situations, but, really, it's up to Intel to increase the performance of the processor to really help make this platform more useful.

So, I think this is much more significant than the Ion. You get better performance in every field, and you don't have to buy Nvidia products and potentially have problems. Even if you don't, you can't compare the support from a company like Intel, to a half-rate company like Nvidia that releases software that regularly gives BSoD (Ntune, anyone)?

Now, before everyone yells at me at how good Nvidia is, you may believe that, and many people do, but there are also many that do not. A buddy of mine bought a Core 2 motherboard with an Nvidia chipset, after me warning him not to even think about it. Of course, he knew better, and I was just being ridiculous. Two days ago, he messages me about problems he's trying to solve, and then does some research and finds all the issues about his 790i chipset, after blowing up with Ntune and finding out that's a common problem. Of course, after I berated him for his insolence for not listening to me (you'd do the same thing, we're all human and love gloating), he was funny and claimed his motherboard was fun, and just needed tweaking here and there to make it stable. Of course, this is after reading page after page of 790i issues people have.

So, buy Nvidia if you want. It's got the additional feature that you'll be able to post on more forums about the problems you have with it, and be able to share with fellow users. That's nice really.

I'm still trying to figure out what Intel is trying to accomplish. I know they are trying to reduce power usage but jeez, my netbook lasts me easily 2 1/2 hours alone. That's plenty enough. If it's only going to make a difference by 30 minutes, it's not worth it. That's why they have larger cell batteries. The performance boost cannot be that great to have a jaw drop. Though like what everyone else says, each company going back and forth to make something better is great. By the way, I love Nvidia and never had a single issue with their video cards. I never tried their chipsets though so i wouldn't know ta152h. I'm a little AMD fanboy. Anyways, maybe I'm missing something big on this whole new release.

Competition is good… anyway you look at it.

If the new Atom is superior awesome, if not, ION will do. I could care less whose processor is best, I will buy whoever is in the lead.

Hopefully pinetrail is great....

Sorry, but nVidia makes very good chipsets. So does Intel. Intel chipsets are also designed only Intel processors by Intel, which stands to reason that it is a much simpler affair for them to design a chipset with fewer compatibility issues.

You say that "I am not alone in this, most of the people I work with and know won't buy Nvidia. Well, not most, but probably close to half. So, for that reason it's relevant." Relevant? I don't think so. You could know 3 1/2 people, for all I know. Give me evidence that nVidia chipsets are far more problem prone, not personal witness from "the people you know."

Now, when Intel designs a decent GPU, you be sure to let me know. We'll see if Larabee will make me eat my words or not. Probably not.

Now, about Pine Tree, or whatever, you can color me unimpressed. Yes, it will have more processing power, but unless the on-chip graphics are capable of DXVA, it's just not going to get the following that the ION chipset is getting in the HTPC, nettop and netbook markets.

...Someone took it upon themselves to give everyone in this thread a thumbs down.

Lamer.

Pinetrail is overdue - it should have been released in April 09. It's interesting to see Intel using HP and other manufacturers as their clearing house for the current-gen Atom.

To be honest, my interest in a Pinetrail netbook would only pique with Win 7. Combine these two with mobile broadband, and you now have a netbook with the same functionality and basic performance as a sub-$1000 notebook, but with killer portability.

Second generation netbooks will be extremely more capable than anything out today, but I believe the 32nm Medfield platform due out in 2010 will be the one to drool over. I expect to see 8-hour devices become standard with dual-core Atoms comparable in performance to today's C2D.

SuppliesideJesus,

If you had any reading comprehension, you'd have been able to determine that this type of problem is easy to find on the internet. He had no problems finding out that Ntune blew up for a lot of people, and then found out all the problems with his chipset that other people were having.

In other words, since clearly abstract reasoning is not your strong suit - do a search on Google. Or Bing, if you're faddish. You'll find more than 3.5 people.

Did you also forget the Nvidia recalls not so long ago? There are even articles about Nvidia boasting about their garbage chips not hurting their sales. I won't post a link, because it's a competing website, and I'm not too comfortable doing that, but, there is a really popular website I mentioned earlier, Google, that you can do a search on. You'd really be surprised at how much information you can get by starting there.

Why not Pinetrail + 16x1 PCI-E ?
That would be great since I can add a 9500GT or 4670 or Fanless 9400GT or anything into my HTPC
And please Intel...don't force Pinetrails to only exclusive to DDR3..that would be an uncool thing to do

I'm not all too interested.

I want to see AMD to step in the game with a superior product. AMD is hurting, and has no part of the large market of netbooks.

However, if this is a decent imorovement over the pathetic Atom, then I'll be happy.

... go ION!!!

So could you still add a separate GPU, or would you have to use the one integrated in the chip?

My reading comprehension is just fine, ta152h. It seems that you are the one that was held back in elementary school. It you'd take notice, I did not take issue with your comments about nTune. It is a sub-par piece of software that needs a lot of work. That's why I don't use it, at any rate. Do you also hate AMD/ATI because the AVIVO transcoding software is abysmal?

Any company that designs chipsets that work with processors designed by THEIR COMPETITION in the chipset market are bound to run into problems. The same kind of thing occurred with VIA chipsets and ATI chipsets (before they were swept up by AMD) in the past - it is impossible to make the perfect chipset.

No, I did not forget about nVidia's recent recall of two of their mobile GPUs. They dealt with their mistake very graciously, and paid for it handsomely. The fact that the recall did not hurt them, especially in this economy, is a testament to the high quality of their (other) products and their high quality of service. If I were them I'd brag about it too.

Virtually every company will have recalls - sometimes products that shouldn't be released to the public are. Your beloved Intel had a recall a few years ago. Did you hate them back then too?

And yes, Google is a wonderful tool. I would recommend using it to look up a good doctor, as there is clearly something lodged in your colon. Maybe it's an nVidia chipset...