How does VIA

[todpod]

CPUs stack up against the AMDs and Intels offerings in the same space. Newegg has several M/B CPU combo between $50-100 and even an ARM board. I don't really keep up on these things but they look interesting now that prices are were they are at.

I am under no illusion as to what these are, but for a basic web surfer media player these could be ideal.


for reference

http://www.newegg.com/Motherboard-CP...ategory/ID-446

 

[SPBHM]

CPUs stack up against the AMDs and Intels offerings in the same space. Newegg has several M/B CPU combo between $50-100 and even an ARM board. I don't really keep up on these things but they look interesting now that prices are were they are at.

I am under no illusion as to what these are, but for a basic web surfer media player these could be ideal.


for reference

http://www.newegg.com/Motherboard-CP...ategory/ID-446

Via C7-D is painfully slow, even for basic web browsing,
the "l2007" (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135322) is based on Via Nano, so it's MUCH better, but still, only comparable to a single core Atom,

with $100 you can get a Celeron G530 (dual core sandy bridge at 2.4GHz) and a h61 MB, that's a totally different level of performance... even if compared to the e-450 and fastest Atom, the difference is huge.

 

[Fox5]

There are AMD C-50, E-350, and E-240 boards and Intel Atom boards at only a bit mor ethan the VIA boards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138365
This would be my recommendation, it even comes with 8GB of ram.

 

[todpod]

There are AMD C-50, E-350, and E-240 boards and Intel Atom boards at only a bit mor ethan the VIA boards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138365
This would be my recommendation, it even comes with 8GB of ram.

Actually I just ordered that board for a computer that we are building for my son, bang for the buck its hard to beat esp with the included memory. The computer less monitor will be less then $200. It will be running linux so no MS tax. I had issues with AMD(ati) and linux in the past hopefully we will be able to work though that.

So basically its not worth saving $10 bucks if I can to go with a VIA chip. I live on the trailing edge of technology and try to save $$ whenever I can.

 

[Fox5]

Actually I just ordered that board for a computer that we are building for my son, bang for the buck its hard to beat esp with the included memory. The computer less monitor will be less then $200. It will be running linux so no MS tax. I had issues with AMD(ati) and linux in the past hopefully we will be able to work though that.

So basically its not worth saving $10 bucks if I can to go with a VIA chip. I live on the trailing edge of technology and try to save $$ whenever I can.

VIA is only worth it for the absolutely budget conscious or maybe if you have specials needs, like I think the VIA cpus have dedicated AES acceleration.

Both the AMD Brazos and Intel Atom platforms are far above VIA in performance and driver support.

 

[CKTurbo128]

Very slow. Expect Pentium III/Atom speeds. Probably would be okay enough for light office duties or basic functionality that is not CPU intensive.

 

[dac7nco]

I built a VIA-based system several years ago, with a C7-D (dual core) for a car computer, with 4GB memory and a <300MB XP installation. It was awful. A Pentium E5200 (core-2) ended up several times faster, and cheaper as well. VIA CPUs should be avoided at any cost... your phone is likely faster.

Daimon

 

[Ferzerp]

maybe if you have specials needs

:sneaky:

 

[todpod]

My phone is not faster, it was high tech 5 or 6 years ago, its a LG Dare . Like i said living on the trailing edge of tech. Maybe I should have my own web site trailingedge.com. You would have to IE 6 to access it though.

 

[cbn]

Actually I just ordered that board for a computer that we are building for my son, bang for the buck its hard to beat esp with the included memory. The computer less monitor will be less then $200. It will be running linux so no MS tax. I had issues with AMD(ati) and linux in the past hopefully we will be able to work though that.

So basically its not worth saving $10 bucks if I can to go with a VIA chip. I live on the trailing edge of technology and try to save $$ whenever I can.

That sounds like a neat ultra budget build-up.

What case, PSU and drive are you using? (Ironically, those will probably be the expensive parts)

 

[Soulkeeper]

VIA is only worth it for the absolutely budget conscious or maybe if you have specials needs, like I think the VIA cpus have dedicated AES acceleration.

Both the AMD Brazos and Intel Atom platforms are far above VIA in performance and driver support.

this is correct
they essentially perform like a P4 with the exception of the "military grade" padlock tech
I've seen benchmarks where the AES stuff was able to match/beat a core2

Ultimately I think the fact that they are still on 65nm (edit: I guess nano x2 is 40nm) and tied to the old P4 bus are what are keeping them in the last decade so to speak. I really think the via team, although small, are pretty smart people.

Right now I see them more as a toy, like the raspberry pi. They aren't competitive/relevant in most cases (even less so than a few years ago).

I remember them announcing the nano well before atom hit the scene.
It took them years to get it to market after initially annoucing it and by that time atoms/brazos/ion flooded the market and stole via's niche.

 

[Tuna-Fish]

VIA today is mostly selling to all kinds of strange embedded systems.

Basically, if you take apart an ATM, there's a good chance it has a VIA board in it. They have developed all kinds of niche features used by POS terminals, ATMs, and other control systems of the like, and have strong business relations with companies making such things. They are probably going to keep building those things way after most of the presently hot tech companies have kicked the bucket. However, this means that for the past decade or so, the speed of their CPUs has not been their primary selling point. And it shows.

 

[todpod]

That sounds like a neat ultra budget build-up.

What case, PSU and drive are you using? (Ironically, those will probably be the expensive parts)

Here is the case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811154091

Not much for the PS but it will only drive the the M/B and a 2 tb hard drive. The big hard drive will serve as part of the redundency for our movies.