After the server crash and loss of forum threads (and my need to re-register) - I thought I would re-place a thread here to collect upcoming information about new ION2 systems - and the kicker for me - fanless version such as the new Shuttle:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/09/shutt...ttop-cred/
Lets get the discussion going
Excellent finds - thanks! - that POV board is very exciting with the passive video card plug-in - wonder if it's got HDMI 1080p, the pictures here don't show..
http://www.pointofview-online.com/showro...uct_id=143
The "MB-D510-MATX" variant - what a heatsink! But great for fanless - couple that even with a lower end fanless Geforce PCI-E graphics card with HDMI and you are set, assuming you put it in a well vented case - but should be no issues.
magnetik Wrote:Excellent finds - thanks! - that POV board is very exciting with the passive video card plug-in - wonder if it's got HDMI 1080p, the pictures here don't show..
It definitely can do 1080p, don't know if it has DVI or HDMI out (or both), but that doesn't matter much since DVD and HDMI are electrically compatible so you could just use a simple cheap DVI<>HDMI adapter or a DVI-to-HDMI cable.
ion_man Wrote:....but that doesn't matter much since DVD and HDMI are electrically compatible
really? didn't know that. found a few sellers for the POV mobo in Australia, not sure if they stock the video card to suit though... will keep an eye out.
http://www.pointofview-online.com/userfi...X-G210.jpg
On closer inspection - your right, you can see a DVI connector here - and above it looks like what could be a HDMI connector too.... nice.
Just would need to find a nice vented case with extra height for the video card....
I see you have done your research
Thanks again - given some more options to the mix - will have to keep an eye out for any POV mobo reviews
when will ION2 system on store ?
I'm really quite disappointed with these Mini-ITX "ION2" platforms
(and I use the term ION2 very loosely) for HTPC purposes.
In order for the Intel Pineview platform to support VDPAU, you
need an external GPU. To me, this defeats the point of having
a Mini-ITX form factor since now you need a much larger case.
And to top it off, the new Atom D410/D510 chips do not buy
you much speed over the current Atom 230/330 lineup.
Now, since many of these platforms do come with a mini-PCIe
interface, you could plug in a Broadcom Crystal HD card to get
1080p acceleration without VDPAU. However, the on-board Intel
chipset limits HDMI output to 1366x768 -- which is just 720p quality
(and the CPU should already be able to handle 720p decoding on its
own).
Anyway, given the current line of ION2 products which have been
announced (or available), I still think that the "ION1" platforms are
still the way to go. Or, just wait for a new line of Pineview systems
with a built-in Nvidia G210 GPU.
Certainly agree with you on those points. But it seems the Pineview has lower heat outputs allowing some of these units to go fully fanless, which for me is very exciting. Speed is not really an issue for me.
I think with the right passive PCI-E graphics card you should be able to get a fairly compact unit - say a board like this..
http://www.pointofview-online.com/showro...uct_id=146
But yes, why they avoided HDMI output over 720p I have no idea?
Riffmaker Wrote:I'm patiently(tho not really..I want it NOW) for this to be released http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/zotac...thank-for/ or hopefully a motherboard with those specs(I want something larger than a 2.5 drive in my htpc)
...and I'm waiting for the same specs in an asRock packaged case, without any fan inside but with Remote and BluRay, and able to dim the lights in the front. Hope somebody just release one.
With Zotac here I would need external player and external IR receiver to make it complete for a HTPC.
My main gripe is that there's only ever one expansion slot. I know it's hard to have lots of expansion in such a small form factor, but I'll really need two. Either that, or I'd want onboard graphics that support VDPAU Feature Set C. Then I could live with one PCIe slot.
That PCIe slot would be for a HD soundcard, of course (either the Auzentech X-Fi HomeTheater HD or the ASUS HDAV1.3) ready for bitsteaming that Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA goodness to my amp over HDMI.
I'd like VDPAU feature set C, as I have quite a lot of DivX/Xvid movies and hardware acceleration would be nice, as would hardware accelerated 1080p upscaling.
I could achieve this either by plugging in a graphics card (Nvidia G210 should do it) or by having onboard graphics that are capable. This is what I was hoping for from the ION2, but so far it looks like I'm out of luck, so I'm back to the situation of looking for two PCIe slots!