Zotac Announces New Passive-Cooled ION-ITX R, S and T Series Motherboards

[btarunr]

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world’s largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today introduces three new do-it-yourself friendly mini-ITX platforms – the new ZOTAC ION-ITX R, S and T-series. The new ZOTAC ION-ITX R, S and T series reinvigorates the ION-ITX series with an added boost of graphics power.

Next-Generation NVIDIA ION graphics and a dual-core Intel Atom D525 processor combine to deliver a perfect balance of performance and energy-efficiency in the new ZOTAC ION-ITX R, S and T series. High-definition video playback capabilities enable the ZOTAC ION-ITX R, S and T series to deliver a premium multimedia experience with hardware decode acceleration for smooth playback of high-definition Blu-ray 3D and streaming Internet video content.



“ZOTAC continues to update our award-winning NVIDIA ION platforms. Our latest ION-ITX R, S and T series introduce Next-Generation NVIDIA ION graphics and available USB 3.0 technology to our NVIDIA ION product lineup to let DIY enthusiasts assemble their ideal small form factor system with the latest technologies and features,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.

New passive cooling solutions enable the ION-ITX R, S and T series to deliver a phenomenal quiet computing experience perfect for home theatre PCs and silent computing aficionados.
“ZOTAC understands the noise concerns home theatre PC users have and completely revamped the cooling system on the ION-ITX R, S and T series platforms for noise-less operation,” Mr. Berger added.

The ZOTAC ION-ITX T series takes energy-efficiency to another level with an integrated DC-DC power supply and included power brick that delivers superior efficiency than standard ATX power supplies for a premium eco-conscious computing.

It’s time to play with the ZOTAC ION-ITX R, S and T series.

General Details
New ION-ITX R, S and T series introduce Next-Generation NVIDIA ION technology to mini-ITX
form factor. Features next-Generation NVIDIA ION GPU with 512MB DDR3 memory; features Intel Atom D525 (1.8 GHz, dual-core).

ION-ITX R series

• 2 DDR2-800 DIMM slots (up to 4GB)
• 1 PCI Express x1
• 8 USB 2.0 ports (6 on back panel, 2 via pin header)
• ATX power connector

ION-ITX S series

• 2 DDR3-800 SO-DIMM slots (up to 4GB)
• 1 PCI Express x1
• 2 USB 3.0 ports (back panel)
• 6 USB 2.0 ports (4 on back panel, 2 via pin header)
• ATX power connector

ION-ITX T series

• 2 DDR3-800 SO-DIMM slots (up to 4GB)
• 1 PCI Express x4 (open-ended slot)
• 2 USB 3.0 ports (back panel)
• 6 USB 2.0 ports (4 on back panel, 3 via pin header)
• Onboard DC-DC power supply
• Included power brick

Some common features

• Dual-link DVI-I and HDMI outputs
• 2 SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Onboard 802.11n WiFi (mini-PCI Express)
• High-definition 6-channel audio
• NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology
• Blu-ray 3D ready (requires separate software)
• Intel HyperThreading technology
• Microsoft DirectX 10.1 compliant
• Mini-ITX form factor

[Completely Bonkers]

I thought "next generation" ION was ION2? Is this the old chipset running the new Atom processors? Passive is good, but "that passive" means there is still a lot of heat being generated and this is not an option for quiet 1UE rack, unfortunately.

[csendesmark]

Still Atom?
What is the "new generation" stuff in this?

[ToTTenTranz]

"Next generation ION" is ION 2, the one that uses a 1x PCI-Ex lane for a discrete GPU (notice the 512MB dedicated DDR3).

It doesn't say if it's the 16 or the 48-shader version. The later should have twice the gaming performance, but it's a bit rare AFAIK.

[Jizzler]

Nice.

Been debating whether to stuff a video card and low-power dual/quad-core in my NESputer or just make it easy on myself and use something like these S or T boards.

[ToTTenTranz]

Originally Posted by Jizzler

Nice.

Been debating whether to stuff a video card and low-power dual/quad-core in my NESputer or just make it easy on myself and use something like these S or T boards.

Fusion will be better.

In fact, I bet we'll see quad-core Llanos in Mini-ITX boards as soon as they come out.
Don't know if they'll make passive ones, though.

[Jstn7477]

Forget this Atom crap, AMD Fusion (Brazos E-350) is arriving.

[Completely Bonkers]

Originally Posted by ToTTenTranz

"Next generation ION" is ION 2, the one that uses a 1x PCI-Ex lane for a discrete GPU (notice the 512MB dedicated DDR3).

It doesn't say if it's the 16 or the 48-shader version. The later should have twice the gaming performance, but it's a bit rare AFAIK.

Well I have had an Atom board with ION1 for the last 18 months, and it has a 16x PCI-Ex slot. So I'm not too impressed by this. Nothing wrong with it, but certainly not twice as good as it should be according to Moore's law.

[ToTTenTranz]

Originally Posted by Completely Bonkers

Well I have had an Atom board with ION1 for the last 18 months, and it has a 16x PCI-Ex slot. So I'm not too impressed by this. Nothing wrong with it, but certainly not twice as good as it should be according to Moore's law.

First-gen Atoms (Diamondville, N2xx and 3xx) needed a chipset for north and southbridge functions. Regular Atoms were sold with the old 945G northbridge + ICH7 southbridge, and First-gen IONs simply replaced these last two by a single-bridge nVidia chipset with IGP, the MCP79.
Both bridge solutions had PCI-Express lanes because they were both originally desktop-oriented chips.


Second-gen Atoms (Pineview, N4xx and 5xx) have built-in northbridge functions and IGP, and Intel made sure to castrate the PCI-Ex connections in the new model. So there are only PCI-Ex 1x (originally made for hard-drive connections).

Still, nVidia decided to continue the "ION" branding for one more generation and used that cramped PCI-Ex 1x to connect a discrete graphics card based on GT218 (lower-clocked Geforce 210M).
Thanks to the Optimus thingie, it's not that bad.. but it's but a shell of what a dual-core Atom 330 + IGP 320M could do, gaming and computing-wise.