14 DAY TRIAL // NVIDIA's ION chipset platform has been making a serious statement at this year's Computex 2009 computer show, with several system vendors having announced their latest designs. The ION, as some of you probably already know, has been designed to provide support for an energy-efficient platform that can be adopted by small-sized systems such as netbooks and nettops. However, it appears that this low-power chipset can also be adopted by an energy-efficient gaming system, which has just been released by custom PC builder Maingear. Dubbed Pulse, this new solution is built on the GeForce 9300M graphics chip and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
“The Maingear Pulse with Nvidia graphics is perfect for anyone who wants a small, energy efficient, and stylish PC. With its Nvidia ION-based motherboard, the Pulse delivers the best graphics solution available for low-power, small form factor designs.” says Drew Henry, general manager of the desktop GPU business unit at Nvidia. “By adding the GeForce 9800 GT ECO, gamers can enjoy superior performance in a design that saves both energy and space.”
Since it announced the ION chipset platform late last year, NVIDIA has been promoting the performance capabilities of this chipset, which can be paired with a low-power CPU such as the Intel Atom and provide users with the basics in computing performance.
This new system from Maingear looks to take full advantage of the features delivered by the Zotac GeForce 9300 motherboard, as it provides users with a gaming system that is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 CPU, running at 2.93GHz. For those looking to increase frame rates, the Pulse can be upgraded with a discrete graphics solution, thanks to the available PCI Express 2.0 slot. Additional features include HDMI, eSATA ports, 802.11 b/g wireless connectivity, a 300-watt power supply and a 500GB hard drive. For high-performance enthusiasts, Maingear provides the necessary tools to upgrade to 8GB of DDR2 memory, a GeForce 9600GT ECO or 9800GT ECO graphics cards and even a speedy SSD with up to 160GB of storage.
With a price tag that puts it among those higher-priced netbooks available on the market, the Pulse gaming rig from Maingear is available now at a starting price point of US$799.
