NVIDIA Ion sequel to be much faster?
updated 02:30 pm EDT, Wed July 1, 2009
NVIDIA Ion Sequel Speedup
The sequel to NVIDIA's Ion platform could be much faster than its predecessor when it ships, leaks today would show. While the current graphics and chipset combo is based on the GeForce 9400M and has just 16 visual effects cores, Fudzilla now hears that it will have 32 cores, potentially doubling the amount of simultaneous effects it can handle at once. The difference will have the most dramatic effect on 3D but could also impact general-purpose computing tasks that need CUDA or OpenCL.
A refresh with these specifications could further cement NVIDIA's current advantage in netbook- and nettop-grade graphics, which often use Intel-based graphics due to cost differences forced by Intel. It also hints that a direct replacement for the 9400M is enroute and should improve future notebooks like eventual updates to Apple's MacBook line or Dell's Studio XPS 13.
