14 DAY TRIAL // It is already known that the Fusion architecture will spawn more than one sort of APUs, and it seems that AMD is definitely going to go all the way with the compactness factor, even preparing an Ontario platform in the nano IT form factor.
As end-users no doubt know by now, at least to some extent, the Fusion architecture is what will lie at the base of AMD's upcoming line of processors.
Already the codenames Ontario, Zacate and Llano have been made public, and it seems that the Ontario will be quite compact itself.
For those that do not remember, the Ontario is the version of Fusion that is meant for mobile PCs, such as notebooks and, of course, netbooks.
Now, Fudzilla reports that such accelerated processing units will also be available in the nano ITX form factor.
Fusion-enabled nano ITX platforms will support DDR3 SODIMM laptop memory slots but will still turn heads by virtue of the mere fact that they will support DirectX 11.
Obviously, support for such an advanced graphics technology on this type of motherboard is nothing to be frowned upon.
The Hudson chipset will provide SATA 3 Gbps and SATA 6 Gbps support, as well as USB 2.0 and, in the case of the more expensive version, USB 3.0 as well.
It should be noted that the Ontario itself has a wide feature set of its own, the list including 1,080i and 1,080p HD playback capacity, as well as the UVD 3.0 decode engine, H.264, VC1 and MPEG-4 hardware support.
The part should even settle for a TDP (thermal design power) of 9W, which should lead to a very power efficiency platform, even with the necessary fan for cooling.
With all this under consideration, HTPC (home-theater personal computer) systems may, in fact, see this nano ITX Ontario platforms as quite appealing.