Mac mini [Apple TV] to be nVidia Ion-based?
January 15th 2009
Tom's Hardware has heard a rumor that Apple will build the next-generation Mac mini around nVidia's Ion platform, which pairs the GPU maker's 9400M integrated solution with Intel's Atom processor. If this rumor is borne out, the mothership will be the first to market with this innovative solution that delivers best-of-class integrated graphics performance alongside Intel's flexibly powerful chip that's the back story to the netbook revolution of 2008.
Tom's source has said that Apple is the first to receive prototypes and that nVidia's other partners have yet to see anything other than blueprints.
Still, the blogsphere is far from united on the details of this story. That is, as of this writing, there are at least two variations of the Ion + Atom = Apple product rumor:
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Source: Blogeee.net
We had a discussion with Kasper at AppleInsider on this detail, and according to Kasper, Apple may be using Nvidia's Ion platform for an updated Apple TV. This seems highly plausable. At this time however, neither we nor AppleInsider are absolutely sure where Apple will be using Ion, but an Nvidia partner explicitly said Apple has Ion for Mac Mini.
That said, Tom's Hardware goes on to say that the specifics include a 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor on a 533MHz bus paired with the same HD-capable nVidia 9400M graphics that power Apple's well-received and reviewed unibody MacBooks.
Does the Apple TV need this much horsepower? Doesn't the Mac mini need more juice than a single 1.6GHz Atom? Hmm, perhaps both Tom's and AppleInsider are right--it's been predicted / hoped that the Apple TV and Mac mini would merge into a single multifunction multimedia device for the home...
What's your take?
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