Novatech Ion Fusion review

Despite its name, the Ion Fusion was actually around before Nvidia launched its Ion chipset.

Novatech's nettop has an integrated Intel graphics processor coupled with a dual-core Atom 330. The latter meant the Fusion was 63 per cent faster overall in our benchmarks than the single-core Atom-based PCs on test this month. However, the Intel GMA 950 chipset isn't as powerful as the Nvidia 9400M and can't play full HD video or 3D games.

This point is fairly irrelevant, though, since the bundled 19in widescreen monitor has a resolution of only 1,440x900 and can't display full HD video natively. However, the screen is bright and has an anti-glare finish to reduce reflections. Colours are vibrant, and you can choose from a number of preset modes. The Logitech keyboard and mouse are basic, but perfectly adequate for everyday use.

The Ion Fusion is much larger than the other nettops here, but still smaller than the traditional tower PCs reviewed this month. Novatech includes a set of plastic feet that let you prop the Ion Fusion on its side, but it will still take up a fair amount of space on your desk, and can't be tucked away like Acer's Aspire Revo or Aleutia's H1 Hotel. The Fusion's DVD writer makes installing software much easier, however, and lets you watch DVDs and back up your files easily.

It's a disappointment that Novatech hasn't fitted other useful components, such as wireless networking, eSATA or HDMI ports, or even a memory card reader. There are six USB ports, but two of those will be used by the bundled keyboard and mouse, which could have used the two PS/2 ports instead. We were surprised to see old-fashioned serial and parallel ports, but they could prove useful for old devices.

The extra performance from the dual-core Atom processor will be useful in everyday Windows tasks. It means the Ion Fusion is a fine choice as long as you don't want to watch full HD video. Upgrades such as a WiFi dongle and a memory card reader are inexpensive and, as a bundle, the Ion Fusion is great value and wins our Budget Buy award.