ZaReason Ion Breeze 3770

The C-Ray ray-tracing performance was nearly identical.

The Crafty chess engine performance was nearly identical.

The RAW to PPM image conversion performance using dcraw was similar between the two systems.

While this is the first NVIDIA ION nettop that we have tested under Linux (along with being the first ZaReason system we have reviewed), we were left being quite pleased with the Ion Breeze 3770. When using the proprietary Linux driver from NVIDIA, the GeForce 9400M GPU works great with an Intel Atom processor and delivers excellent video playback capabilities and is able to even run some games. Aside from faster graphics, when factoring out the other hardware differences with today's tests, the NVIDIA MCP79 performs about the same as the Intel 945 with ICH7 Southbridge.

The price for the ZaReason Ion Breeze 3770 ranges between $400 and $600 USD depending upon the hardware configuration. This price is not too bad, though there are some cheaper (and lower-end) Ion-based systems emerging from the tier one hardware vendors. Of course, seeing the Ion Breeze 3770 shipping in four different flavors of Ubuntu 9.04 is also nice along with their liberal hardware warranty. From the week that we have spent trying out the ZaReason Ion Breeze 3770, we are pleased with this nettop and would recommend it as a possible option to those looking for a media center PC, lightweight desktop, or looking for a system that consumes a minimal amount of power.

More information on this product is available at ZaReason.com.