Since January when the Ion platform from NVIDIA first launched, not many netbooks or nettops have taken advantage of the HD capable platform that crams a 9400M GPU into the netbook chassis. A few machines have trickled onto the market using Ion but not as many as NVIDIA had hoped.

NVIDIA has confirmed that Samsung will be launching an Ion-powered netbook model soon. The GPU maker won’t confirm details like model, specs, or pricing other to say its Ion platform is being used.

One thing that most gaming PCs have in common is that they pack the highest performance parts they can get their hands on into a rig that sucks down power like a Hummer slurps fuel. With more people looking to go green, I guess it was inevitable that a green gaming rig was launched.

Maingear has announced the Pulse gaming PC, which it claims to be the world’s greenest gaming PC. The rig is based on the NVIDIA Ion platform and it is also the world’s first upgradable Ion PC. The small form factor machine can be upgraded from Ion graphics to an NVIDIA 9800 ECO video card that needs 40% less power than a typical 9800 GT requires.

The netbook will soon get a graphics boost, with a number of companies preparing to announce Nvidia ION powered models. Word is, there should be some big announcements from “key” players at Computex, the annual PC trade show in Taipei at the beginning of June. This thanks to Pocket-Lint’s man inside.

The computer uses an Intel Atom chip as standard netbooks, but uses the new graphics chip from Nvidia called ION to allow users to use more demanding applications. Users will be able to view 1080p content and play games like Spore and Portal.

Some leaked Acer slides suggest the company is planning a high-end nettop device with NVIDIA’s Ion graphics chipset. The Acer Hornet is a compact computer with either a dual or single-core Intel Atom processor, together with the 1080p-capable Ion, and be optionally VESA mounted on the back of a monitor.

We don’t have full specifications for the Acer Hornet, but we do know it has an HDMI output and a Wiimote-style motion-sensitive remote that can be used for gaming and and general control. The slides also suggest that the Hornet is “silent” while operating.

Intel and NVIDIA aren’t exactly the best of friends. Just when things were looking up in the relationship thanks to NVIDIA allowing SLI on the Intel X58 chipset, NVIDIA ousts Intel as the GPU of choice in the new MacBooks.

A rumor circulated around the Internet that claimed Intel may be looking to kill NVIDIA’s new Ion platform that combines the Intel Atom CPU with an NVIDIA 9400 GPU. The rumor had Intel only selling the Atom CPU with its 945 chipset.

I am a big fan of netbook computers. I have tested several and found them to be great for reducing my load when traveling to places like CES. The catch is that netbooks offer little graphics power meaning that you get a less than ideal HD video and gaming experience on most netbook computers.

NVIDIA announced a new platform this week called Ion that promises to provide Intel Atom powered netbooks and net tops with the graphics muscle they need for better HD video viewing and even PC gaming.

Rock Band has proven to be one of the most successful games in the music genre. This weekend the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band 2 launched and brought with it new accessories for the game. One of the coolest is a new drum kit from ION.

The ION Drum Rocker for the Xbox 360 is now available. The kit has an all-metal bass pedal and can have up to three cymbal pads attached to it for a more realistic drumming experience. The kit can also support a second bass pedal.