Manli ION - a small computer with great potential.
The 21st century, having entered literally the first decade in the life of mankind, has already managed to make a computer revolution aimed at miniaturizing all possible gadgets. Ultra-slim MP3 players, PSP Slim, flash drives just a little more than a credit card, ultra-thin mobile phones, Aplle and Sony Vaio laptops, and more recently a netbook-style fashion app — thin, lightweight, comfortable mini-sized laptops with good battery life, and now also an iPad — and this only in the last decade. But evolution is moving by leaps and bounds, and we get a new platform from the graphic giant Nvidia - nettops. A computer in such a small box the size of a DVD player, what else would you need? So the consumer is demanding and performance - just with this approach, Nvidia and created its platform - ION.
I got a nettop in my hands, which you will not find on the shelves of Russian stores, but being in Asian countries you will find it easily. The manufacturer of "baby" is a strong player in the Asian market, a product of Manli. Asian tigers are gaining their strength and are striving to seize most of the world market, so cold and severe Russia has come under the eyes of Manli. In this article, I will introduce you to the Nvidia ION-based nettop from Manli.
But first, let's try to answer one, at first glance, a seemingly easy question. Why do we need ION? Having opened the textbook on chemistry for the eighth grade, I found the definition of ion. An ion is a monatomic or polyatomic charged particle. This definition already gives the first idea of ​​what is inside. There really is an atom - Intel Atom. And it can really be single core or dual core. It is commendable that the mobile and productive processor is inside, but what is the charge of ION? The answer is also quite simple. For the first time we meet with a product of such a small size, and inside we get not integrated graphics from Intel, which is not able to work with modern applications. Nvidia ION - this is the code name and the graphics processor integrated into the nettop, it is based on the GeForce 9400. At the output, we get a computer the size of a ten-inch netbook, but only a couple of times more productive.
')
Naturally, the engineering model for the press fell into the hands of an OEM unmarked box. Inside is everything you need for work: the nettop itself, the power supply device and the transparent white stand. To put it mildly, that is not too rich equipment. After the motherboards, which come with a bunch of all kinds of “uselessness”, you feel a little deprived, although on the other hand, nothing should be included in the package anymore.
The power device resembles the usual charger from modern netbooks - small, light and Chinese. The power cord from the network to the device is suitable from most modern power supplies. Thanks to the manufacturer for not wiser with unique connectors.
Stand for nettop made in the original form. The main disadvantage of its design is the lack of fixing the nettop. I confess honestly a couple of times, I almost dropped it.
The very same box looks, in my opinion, very nice. The thickness of only 20 mm - can be hung on the wall next to your plasma TV.
A simple design, based on a blue flower, is not only annoying, but, on the contrary, should evoke positive emotions in females. Such a gadget will allow you to win the heart of even the most cool IT pros.
In a vertical position on the top edge of the nettop, the user has access to a card reader, usb port, as well as connectors for connecting a microphone and speakers. If the presence of a card reader on top is justified by convenience, then the presence of the remaining connectors is at least not aesthetically pleasing. Imagine how these wires will rise from your nettop, so cool fit in your room.
On the back edge, we can see a LAN connector, analog VGA, four USB, as well as HDMI. The presence of HDMI pleasantly pleased me, because through “this thing” it is possible to watch HD movies on a TV with a large diagonal.
Inside such a small and pleasant body are located:
Intel Atom 330 1.6 GHz processor;
OEM motherboard manufactured by model MCP7A-ION;
RAM 2 GB DDR2 800 MHz CL6;
Nvidia ION graphics;
Samsung HM250HI 250 GB hard drive;
operating system Windows 7 Enterprise x86 32 bit.
The Atom 330 processor, which means there are two physical cores, and thanks to Hyper-Threading technology, the number of virtual cores is four. Two gigabytes of DDR2 standard memory is enough for comfortable work with the Windows 7 operating system. A 250 GB hard disk will allow you to store a small collection of movies and music. Let's proceed to the tests:
The Super Pi 1M processor test is completed in 1 minute 35 seconds. For a modern processor, this is a very long time; for a mobile one, this is also long. Intel has increased the number of cores, but performance by modern standards is not sufficient by modern standards. It is clear that the heat release is very low, but I would prefer to have a box 10 mm wide larger to improve the cooling of a hotter and more efficient processor.
But in the wPime 32m multi-core test the number of cores plays a big role, it took 66 seconds to calculate the number Pi. For comparison, the Intel Atom 230 (this is half the Atom 330) considers twice as long, which, in my opinion, looks logical.
Rendering images is a difficult task even for powerful PCs. Ionist atom can say it is almost out of touch, the result is 1550 points in the CineBench R10 test. About 7-8 times less than what can be obtained on a modern computer with an Intel Core i7 920 processor.
DDR2 memory is almost outdated, although there are plenty of computer owners with this memory standard. Above the screenshot shows the results of the test memory for reading and writing. The results are 2640 Mb / s and 2839 Mb / s for reading and writing, respectively. For such a platform, the result is very decent. Why can not put memory with timings CL5 5-5-15? This would give a good performance boost. In light of the fact that the prices for memory with delays CL5 and CL6 do not practically differ, this aspect remained a mystery to me.
Next, I checked the graphics capabilities of the ION platform. Synthetic benchmark 3DMark05 showed the result of 2159 3DMarks. There is very little for a gaming PC, but toys for entertaining a small child or favorite games that were released a couple of years ago will work comfortably here.
1172 3DMarks score in 3DMark06 test. The benchmark, released a year later, began to work more actively with shaders, namely, they are responsible for lighting the 3D scene. The result is naturally not a record one, but we are not planning to use such a device for playing Crysis.
But I liked the hard drive, 64 Mb / s is a decent figure for a 2.5 inch hard drive. And the amount of 250 GB is enough for a torrent tracker.
And finally, the integrated benchmark PCMark05 with a score of 2313 PCMarks. Good result for such a platform. Separately, I note the speed of video encoding - 170 kb / s For this processor, this is quite the expected result.
Findings.
I damn like IONs, but what attracts me to them, I can't fully understand. I like its dimensions, it is small and convenient to transport. He is beautiful. People who are far from IT-technologies, having seen it, will certainly be interested in it. It is quiet - perhaps this is one of the main requirements of many users. Manli ION you can safely leave torrents for the night. But with all the abundance of advantages, I want “faster, higher, stronger” - even more productive. Platform performance is its weakness, but the creators leave a simple way to increase the power of ION. In the bios of the device, there is a parameter responsible for overclocking the processor. By simply switching the system bus frequency from 533 MHz to 667 MHz, you can get an Intel Atom with a clock frequency of 2000 MHz. Immediately I recall the slogan of advertising - 25 percent free.
I got a nettop in my hands, which you will not find on the shelves of Russian stores, but being in Asian countries you will find it easily. The manufacturer of "baby" is a strong player in the Asian market, a product of Manli. Asian tigers are gaining their strength and are striving to seize most of the world market, so cold and severe Russia has come under the eyes of Manli. In this article, I will introduce you to the Nvidia ION-based nettop from Manli.
But first, let's try to answer one, at first glance, a seemingly easy question. Why do we need ION? Having opened the textbook on chemistry for the eighth grade, I found the definition of ion. An ion is a monatomic or polyatomic charged particle. This definition already gives the first idea of ​​what is inside. There really is an atom - Intel Atom. And it can really be single core or dual core. It is commendable that the mobile and productive processor is inside, but what is the charge of ION? The answer is also quite simple. For the first time we meet with a product of such a small size, and inside we get not integrated graphics from Intel, which is not able to work with modern applications. Nvidia ION - this is the code name and the graphics processor integrated into the nettop, it is based on the GeForce 9400. At the output, we get a computer the size of a ten-inch netbook, but only a couple of times more productive.
')
Naturally, the engineering model for the press fell into the hands of an OEM unmarked box. Inside is everything you need for work: the nettop itself, the power supply device and the transparent white stand. To put it mildly, that is not too rich equipment. After the motherboards, which come with a bunch of all kinds of “uselessness”, you feel a little deprived, although on the other hand, nothing should be included in the package anymore.
The power device resembles the usual charger from modern netbooks - small, light and Chinese. The power cord from the network to the device is suitable from most modern power supplies. Thanks to the manufacturer for not wiser with unique connectors.
Stand for nettop made in the original form. The main disadvantage of its design is the lack of fixing the nettop. I confess honestly a couple of times, I almost dropped it.
The very same box looks, in my opinion, very nice. The thickness of only 20 mm - can be hung on the wall next to your plasma TV.
A simple design, based on a blue flower, is not only annoying, but, on the contrary, should evoke positive emotions in females. Such a gadget will allow you to win the heart of even the most cool IT pros.
In a vertical position on the top edge of the nettop, the user has access to a card reader, usb port, as well as connectors for connecting a microphone and speakers. If the presence of a card reader on top is justified by convenience, then the presence of the remaining connectors is at least not aesthetically pleasing. Imagine how these wires will rise from your nettop, so cool fit in your room.
On the back edge, we can see a LAN connector, analog VGA, four USB, as well as HDMI. The presence of HDMI pleasantly pleased me, because through “this thing” it is possible to watch HD movies on a TV with a large diagonal.
Inside such a small and pleasant body are located:
Intel Atom 330 1.6 GHz processor;
OEM motherboard manufactured by model MCP7A-ION;
RAM 2 GB DDR2 800 MHz CL6;
Nvidia ION graphics;
Samsung HM250HI 250 GB hard drive;
operating system Windows 7 Enterprise x86 32 bit.
The Atom 330 processor, which means there are two physical cores, and thanks to Hyper-Threading technology, the number of virtual cores is four. Two gigabytes of DDR2 standard memory is enough for comfortable work with the Windows 7 operating system. A 250 GB hard disk will allow you to store a small collection of movies and music. Let's proceed to the tests:
The Super Pi 1M processor test is completed in 1 minute 35 seconds. For a modern processor, this is a very long time; for a mobile one, this is also long. Intel has increased the number of cores, but performance by modern standards is not sufficient by modern standards. It is clear that the heat release is very low, but I would prefer to have a box 10 mm wide larger to improve the cooling of a hotter and more efficient processor.
But in the wPime 32m multi-core test the number of cores plays a big role, it took 66 seconds to calculate the number Pi. For comparison, the Intel Atom 230 (this is half the Atom 330) considers twice as long, which, in my opinion, looks logical.
Rendering images is a difficult task even for powerful PCs. Ionist atom can say it is almost out of touch, the result is 1550 points in the CineBench R10 test. About 7-8 times less than what can be obtained on a modern computer with an Intel Core i7 920 processor.
DDR2 memory is almost outdated, although there are plenty of computer owners with this memory standard. Above the screenshot shows the results of the test memory for reading and writing. The results are 2640 Mb / s and 2839 Mb / s for reading and writing, respectively. For such a platform, the result is very decent. Why can not put memory with timings CL5 5-5-15? This would give a good performance boost. In light of the fact that the prices for memory with delays CL5 and CL6 do not practically differ, this aspect remained a mystery to me.
Next, I checked the graphics capabilities of the ION platform. Synthetic benchmark 3DMark05 showed the result of 2159 3DMarks. There is very little for a gaming PC, but toys for entertaining a small child or favorite games that were released a couple of years ago will work comfortably here.
1172 3DMarks score in 3DMark06 test. The benchmark, released a year later, began to work more actively with shaders, namely, they are responsible for lighting the 3D scene. The result is naturally not a record one, but we are not planning to use such a device for playing Crysis.
But I liked the hard drive, 64 Mb / s is a decent figure for a 2.5 inch hard drive. And the amount of 250 GB is enough for a torrent tracker.
And finally, the integrated benchmark PCMark05 with a score of 2313 PCMarks. Good result for such a platform. Separately, I note the speed of video encoding - 170 kb / s For this processor, this is quite the expected result.
Findings.
I damn like IONs, but what attracts me to them, I can't fully understand. I like its dimensions, it is small and convenient to transport. He is beautiful. People who are far from IT-technologies, having seen it, will certainly be interested in it. It is quiet - perhaps this is one of the main requirements of many users. Manli ION you can safely leave torrents for the night. But with all the abundance of advantages, I want “faster, higher, stronger” - even more productive. Platform performance is its weakness, but the creators leave a simple way to increase the power of ION. In the bios of the device, there is a parameter responsible for overclocking the processor. By simply switching the system bus frequency from 533 MHz to 667 MHz, you can get an Intel Atom with a clock frequency of 2000 MHz. Immediately I recall the slogan of advertising - 25 percent free.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/85773/
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