Ion Breeze 3770 -- NVIDIA ION Linux Performance

Info & chat about quiet prebuilt, small form factor and barebones systems, people's experiences with vendors thereof, etc.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
dougz
Posts: 317
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 3:03 pm

Ion Breeze 3770 -- NVIDIA ION Linux Performance

Post by dougz » Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:00 am

For those interested in Linux performance with Ion, here's some specs and a review of a US$399 box.

It's a shame that it is a Zotac single-core MB since the same company has a dual-core 945 box.

Specs --
The Nvidia Ion is here! The Ion platform takes the energy efficient Intel Atom processor and adds to it the powerful Nvidia 9400M video card. The result is a powerful, yet energy efficient (as low as 22 watts!) compact desktop computer.

* Intel Atom 230 (1.6 GHz, 512KB Cache, FSB 533MHz) CPU
* Nvidia ION GeForce 9400M GPU
* 8x USB 2.0 Ports
* 1x PS/2 Port
* 1x DVI Port
* 1x VGA Port
* 1x HDMI Port
* 1x Gigabit RJ45 LAN Port
* 1x eSATA port
* Audio I/O Jacks
* 10.4" x 9" x 4.4"

http://www.zareason.com/shop/product.ph ... t=0&page=1
Review --
The ZaReason system we have our hands on is called the Ion Breeze 3770 and was just released a few days ago. We will have our full review on the ZaReason Ion Breeze 3770 in the near future, but this ION-based nettop uses the Intel Atom 230 processor and depends upon a Zotac ION motherboard internally. Our review unit was configured with 3GB of RAM, a 1TB Seagate ST31000333AS hard drive, and was allocated with 512MB of memory for its GeForce 9400M....

Well, hands down, the NVIDIA ION performs dramatically better than the Intel 945 graphics found on most netbooks, nettops, and other Intel Atom devices. The video playback with VDPAU was substantially better and allowed smooth 1080p H.264 video playback. When it came to gaming, the NVIDIA ION system was always faster than the Intel 945 and in some times it was many times faster. NVIDIA's leads continued when it came to the 2D graphics performance. Not all games were playable with the NVIDIA ION system and the frame-rate was lower in some of the other areas, but it is much better than using Intel graphics.

When it comes to Intel graphics over NVIDIA on these Atom devices, the only advantage in favor of the blue company is their open-source driver support compared to NVIDIA's proprietary-only stance. We will be back with more on the NVIDIA ION performance and the ZaReason Ion Breeze 3770 in the coming days.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... inux&num=1
I can't understand paying the premium for Nvidia graphics for a single-core when the dual-core would still be a bit underpowered.

hans007
Posts: 80
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2005 3:37 am

Post by hans007 » Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:22 am

I dont get why anyone would pay $399 for that.

Its a $130 zotac board in a $80 inwin BM case.


I mean it doesnt cost $190 for 1gb of ram and a 250gb hard drive (Thats $50 ish).


It doesnt even come with an optical drive.

I actually have a case in the same series as this for $400 you could buy a $80 case, 4gb of ram for $25-30, the dual core power supply less version of the board for $170 and still have $75 for a blu-ray slim drive with adapter and a 320 to 500gb hard drive

dougz
Posts: 317
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 3:03 pm

Post by dougz » Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:22 pm

hans007 wrote:I dont get why anyone would pay $399 for that.
I agree.

The only reason for mentioning the box was to point to an article on Linux performance on a (unfortunately single-core) ION platform.

ION seemed like a really good idea until the performance specs came out. It turns out that the SPCR posters were right in suggesting that undervolting a better, low-power processor was a better way to get a low-power, quiet media platform.

goink
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2005 2:06 pm

Post by goink » Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:46 am

dougz wrote: ION seemed like a really good idea until the performance specs came out. It turns out that the SPCR posters were right in suggesting that undervolting a better, low-power processor was a better way to get a low-power, quiet media platform.
Yes and no. Yes, you can build a better/more efficient system by undervolting something. But can you buy that off the shelf in a ready-to-go box. Not everyone wants to look into undervolting, which motherboard to get for that, which stepping of CPU to get and all that...

Not that I would go for the 230 Atom if I got one, but the concept isn't all bad.

ilovejedd
Posts: 676
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:14 pm
Location: in the depths of hell

Post by ilovejedd » Wed Jun 17, 2009 2:51 pm

dougz wrote:ION seemed like a really good idea until the performance specs came out. It turns out that the SPCR posters were right in suggesting that undervolting a better, low-power processor was a better way to get a low-power, quiet media platform.
If you're building something in the Micro ATX form factor (or you're an expert in the art of motherboard cutting), yeah, sure. If you want something in a really small form factor, though, the ION platform strikes a fairly decent balance between cost and performance.

Not gonna pay for the Breeze, though. I can get a better performing, similarly priced Dell/HP computer in an almost similar form factor. Besides, for me, part of the fun is building the actual computer.

greenfrank
Posts: 101
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 2:32 pm
Location: Mexico

Post by greenfrank » Wed Jun 24, 2009 6:03 pm

would be cheaper and funnier to build oneself an atom rig. I did two, one with 230 and other with 330.
Ion is a plus, but is better wiht an atom dual core.

Post Reply