Nvidia offers Intel-thrashing netbook GPU tech
GeForce 9400M to make SCCs Small, Cheap Gaming Computers
Nvidia is clearly in with Intel: it's announced a netbook integrated-graphics chipset designed to work with the Atom CPU.
Enter the GeForce 9400 - codenamed 'Ion' - which essentially knocks the socks off the Intel integrated graphics Atom-based netbooks have thus far shipped with.
For instance, Nvidia touted its part's ability to smoothly process 1080p HD video - though how much 1080 video will be displayed on devices with a 1024 x 600 display and only VGA output is open to question.
Nvidia also boasted this can be done with "minimal affect on battery life".
Rarely, for an Nvidia announcement, there were no hardware suppliers on hand to talk about their decision to use the new part. But with CES just around the curve, we expect netbook makers to be quickly announcing product line revamps that use the Nvidia part rather than Intel's clunkly, old GMA 950 graphics.
COMMENTS
Its or gone worng lol
I was just reading this and thinking, I have a Dell D400 and its the pentium M cpu. its just about the right size for me for using as a second pc as I use it for looking at the internet etc while watching tv. the battery is only 3800mAH but this still gives 2 hours and 41 minutes in desktop mode, although this could easily be boosted to over three hours by adjusting the screen brightness and power management settings. but I read some netbooks do that.
I am able to load webpages at a decent turn of speed ( faster than the atom I know i have had three netbooks) and there is wifi and bluetooth built in and I have been able to play games like midtown madness 2 and san andreas and the simpsons hit and run. just in case i need too lol. most at 640*480 res but at least as its a small screen and it does a very good job on resizing the image it still more than playable up 25FPS on gta san andreas which is not to bad ( honest )
I understand that most netbooks are around the 1kg but this is 1.7kg. I am sure it would be possible today to lower this.
The point is there is older stuff you can get that works loads better than the very slow atom and if they used the Centrino/pentium m setup and used the 4800/6600 batterys they could get the over 4 hours battery life people they want.
but at least you could do something on it. and they could use the lastest die size for the cpu and its sorted...
Or to cut a long story short. there is already the tech out there to do what they need....
Well...
Untill Nvidia confess about just what chips are and are not affected by their current BGA "quality" problems, I'll avoid all of them (just in case).
Good
I was pretty disgusted by the way netbook makers bought into Atom: "ooooh, Intel has done all the engineering for us, we just have to wrap Intel's work in slightly different plastic and go to market!"
We can buy about 50 different netbook products - and about 48 of them have essentially identical specs. Such a success for competition and innovation! Expletive expletive expletive. Even the HP 2133 - a really superior screen, superior keyboard and very good case - killed off because HP could sell the same Atom box as everyone else. F*ck.
You know what Intel's action is called? It is called monopoly power excluding competition from the market. Stick that in your pipes and smoke it all you Reg and Inq hacks and all you uncritical review-site Atom fanboies. You heard it here first.
ARM, AMD (ha! maybe in a past age when the company could execute), Via all have tech that could make netbooks that beat Atom on some or many metrics, but no computer company had the balls to make something different.
Nvidia might change this state of statism. If so then good for Nvidia.
There really needs to be a truly vituperative icon to adorn a post - for those cases where the poster wants to make absolutely clear his level of sincere anger/disgust/contempt for the status quo.
Oh, it does eat batteries...
according to the nVidia's web site, the 9400M "eats" 18W, compared to 945 which "eats" 6W.
AC: the companies *will* sell such netbooks since it's a competitive market. They didn't want to sell netbooks but then Asus came with the EEE which sold millions, and then everyone started creating and selling netbooks like crazy, so they know that if they don't sell a model with 9400M, their competitor will and that competitor will make money. This happens all the time in this market.
@AC
"In other words it will be just as inefficient as the current chipset, which lets down the Atom so badly? Give us longer run-times before mostly pointless graphics acceleration."
No, not really, according to some websites, the Nvidia part can suck up to 18W, while Intel's current solution for Atom (945 + the accompanying southbridge) uses mere 7.5W in the worst case scenario. So it won't be just as unefficient, it'll be a whole lot more inefficient. :D On a mre serious side, while it won't do for a netbook with a 4-cell battery, it may be quite OK for the 6-cell ones and it will certainly make for interesting, small, cheap and quiet media-center PCs.
