First Cedar Trail Nettops Use Nvidia, AMD Instead of Intel IGP

News
By Wolfgang Gruener
published

The first Cedar Trail PCs are making their way to customers.

However, there is a twist and PC makers are trying to make their way around persistent rumors that Intel has trouble getting the drivers for the PowerVR graphics chip to work as it should. German publication heise.de noticed that Intel's Atom D2500 is now available in Lenovo's IdeaCentre Q180 as well as in Giada's i35G. Neither model relies on Intel's integrated graphics system, but a third party solution.

Lenovo uses AMD's Radeon HD 6450A and Giada includes Nvidia's GeForce GT 520 chip. There was no information available from Lenovo and Giada available why the two manufacturers are accepting the extra cost. The AMD and Nvidia chips are much more capable than Intel's integrated graphics, but they also consume more power and work somewhat against the economic idea of a nettop PC.

Lenovo's IdeaCentre Q180 comes with 2 GB memory, as well as 500 GB HDD and currently sells from $303.

Wolfgang Gruener
23 Comments Comment from the forums
  • But can it play Crysis ?
    Reply
  • ragenalien
    No, no it cannot. Decent graphics for a holy crap low end processor does not make for a gaming machine.
    Reply
  • sonofliberty08
    just dump that crappy atom and replace with fusion or tegra
    Reply
  • PrvtChurch
    They are likely using discreet graphics b/c the integrated one doesn't work.
    Reply
  • AbdullahG
    65487Barn484But can it play Crysis ?Buy it and find out.

    It's unfortunate Intel continues to sell the Atom brand. The AMD E-350 is a much more considerable choice.
    Reply
  • law shay
    65487Barn484But can it play Crysis ?
    Are you nuts ?

    These are low-powered entertainment devices -- not gaming beasts. However, I can tell you that my netbook equipped with AMD E-350 can play titles like: (a) the famous 3D Final Fantasy* (b) Need for Speed**. It can also play 720p from youtube (on battery).

    * Final Fantasy VII
    ** Need for Speed: Underground 2.

    :P
    Reply
  • dalauder
    Are there benchmarks for the Atom D2500 yet? Is it really that atrocious? If it can keep up with a Core 2 Duo, then $300 is a nice price for a typical Windows computer in a tiny package with simple connectivity nowadays.
    Reply
  • soccerdocks
    AbdullahGBuy it and find out.It's unfortunate Intel continues to sell the Atom brand. The AMD E-350 is a much more considerable choice.
    They're not even in the same class. Cedar Trail is supposed to have a TDP of 1-2 watts. The E-350 has a TDP of 18 watts.

    Even if Cedar Trail were in the same class as the E-350 it would still not be unfortunate. It would be great that Intel is competing with AMD.
    Reply
  • de5_Roy
    why use seperate gfx with atom when you can use amd's e-series or llano apus. may be it'd cost less than the atom configuration.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    sonofliberty08just dump that crappy atom and replace with fusion or tegraTegra no, Fusion maybe, depending on model. Compatability issues aside, even a Tegra 3 is DOG SLOW compared to these Intel/AMD nettop chips. Clockspeed means nothing by itself. Granted, the Tegra (and other such mobile ARM-compatible chips) use almost no power, but this is the wrong market.

    Also, even a Tegra 3 gets spanked on the graphics side by an old SGX543MP2 like the one in the iPad 2. I can't wait to see what the Series 6 chips can do.
    Reply