Quiet/Low Power

[iamsostupid]

the ion is a bit overpriced because of the nvidia chipset. you dont need that to run linux at 1920x1200.

i would get this. it's 100% passively cooled system and you get a case and power supply included all for much much less than ION:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856119011

of course that tight little case has a 80mm intake fan that blows over the CPU/IGP, but the reviews say it's quiet and easy to replace.

1GB of DDR2 is $16 and 160GB 7200RPM caviars are only $40.

So that's $143 for a complete atom system, with much more storage space than you expected to get (newegg just prices HDDs such that the 160GB is too cheap to refuse).

With the Foxconn i945 barebones system, you can have a complete Atom/1G/160GB system for less than the cost of a zotac ion motherboard.

what's even more ironic is that it has a low profile 32-bit PCI slot, so that when you eventually retire linux from this machine, a PCI geforce 8400 for $40 will allow you to play high-def video. the only mistake foxconn made with this system is that they included a HD Audio chipset with no HD Audio header on the mainboard. you'd have to get a USB-> SPDIF card. you probably won't use this box for any multimedia, though. i just like the foxconn barebones because it's CPU/board/case/power supply for less than most atom boards, let alone ion.