VIA mini-ITX cpu's

[ShadowBlade]

how do the 1GHz via cpu's on mini-itx boards compare to say, a 1GHz sempron

 

[piasabird]

They are a bit underpowered. They have a smaller cache size and are basically an underpowered PIII. I tried a 800Mhz version and it ran ok for email and such. I even played some DVD's on it. I think the Athlon XP2800 I am using now is a lot better processor. Also VIA does not give much support for their products. They use a really small motherboard (For Mini-ITX) and put too much integrated stuff too close together and it can cause problems with quality of sound and interference, and background noise (Electric Interference).

Via tends to be developing processors at a pace quite a bit behind Intel and AMD. They are working on a new processor, but I have not seen any motherboards or systems built for it yet. IBM is actually working with them on their new processors. At best this is a nitche market for people who want smaller PC's more than powerful PC's.

I think their new processor is like a 800 Mhz Quad Pumped PIII on steroids. I have not seen any reviews on it or a motherboard to run it as of now.

This is my personal opinion.

www.tomshardware.com

Had a review on the new MATX Pent-M motherboards that A-Open is making. On their review they said that this motherboard runs cooler and only uses around 37 watts with an integrated video option, and that it uses about 100 watts with a full blown video card. This means it is easier to cool, and runs quite.

 

[Megamixman]

If you can drop the money, there are mini-itx boards for P-M. Or go with the m-atx P-M. But in certain instances mini-itx is the only way to go. I'm thinking of putting a mini-itx in a car (Once i get one). The nano-itx runs at 7W that blows me away. It is perfect for a small cramped place such as somewhere inside a car.

 

[imported_OrSin]

The CPU's are actuilly quiet powerful for thier MHz.
I would say thier 1G would abe alittle bit faster then the Sempron.
But the problem is thier mothboards lack so much thet end the end if you want power thier is no where to got to boost your system. The on board video lacks all but th basic 3d functions. If you want power to say run games don't bother.

 

[ShadowBlade]

i dont want it for games
i want it to watch DVDs, internet and music

trying to sort of build a mac mini pc (not in a mac mini case, just about the same size)

 

[imported_Kensai]

The Via CPUs will be slower than a similar clocked Sempron. They were made to consume very little power and built to decode.

 

[WackyDan]

The Via's are specifically made to be a numebr of things...

Low power... lower than Pentium M
Quiet... they have fanless CPU's at the low end
High performance for specific multimedia roles.... ie; PVR

So... Callling them inferior is wrong to an extent that they are not meant to be used for gaming or high end desktop use.

I've been planning on building one myself for PVR functionality and security camera monitoring/recording, as well a FTP/web server..... They are such low power that you won't hear it and it will make very little impact on the electric bill.

 

[piasabird]

I know some people are touchy about their computers. However, I have actually used a Mini-ITX Motherboard. However, when it comes to just playing a DVD just about any 600 Mhz processor is good enough to play a DVD.

One thing you might try is to consider MS MCE as an OS along with a TV Card with Hardware decoding/encoding and maybe HDTV Capability.

When it comes to power, the Monitor probably uses more power than the actual comptuer. If you are going to play a DVD what are you going to play the DVD on? Is it one of those big Plasma Screen which is HD, or is it a TV, or is it going to be a new LCD Monitor?

I just want you to think of the big picture. Whether you use Mini-ITX or a Pent-M it does not matter from the point of playing a DVD. I can only speak from my own experience. A TV Card takes the stress off of a Computer's Processor, and it is a requirement for MS MCE. This is just one possible suggestion. You can record video live with a TV Card and play it later or watch cable TV. i.e. PVR.

I dont care to argue.

 

[ShadowBlade]

its basically a cheap laptop replacement
i was thinking about getting one of those 7" LCD touchscreens to take with me where a normal monitor wouldnt be available
but usually when im taking my computer somewhere, theres a monitor available

 

[Xenoterranos]

I had that exact idea shadowblade. I saw a mod for those portable PSONE screens (which retail for under 100$ if you're lucky) where you can solder some pins to an unused VGA-OUT port on the mobo and use it as a small LCD. I just got an EPIA M10000 with the 1ghz nehemia core, and it runs great. Right now im using the box the mobo came in as the case for the PC, with the 2.5in HDD taped to the underside of the lid.

As far as heat goes, I unplugged the fan on the cpu and ran it for an hour while web surfing and playing pop-cap games. Speedfan reported the temperature never got over 52C, and via says it's built for up to 82C (correct me if im wrong)

 

[moretoys]

I'm just wondering what the total is for the components is that you're looking at. I'm thinking something between 400-700. There are laptops in that range (upper end) that would be as powerful as what you're looking at (play dvd's, internet, email, music, no gaming). I didn't do much searching, but here is an example.
Of course you don't get the fun of building it then though .
I had thought as well about looking at using a small LCD in my HTPC (just using ATI AIW & their software), my biggest concern was actually trying to read anything on that small a screen, especially when most of them are only composite video in. If you have any luck, or get the project going, let us know.

 

[ShadowBlade]

$425.69 shipped, no display for the mITX system
i was thinking about an mATX system though w/ the aspire x-qpack case, $422.06 shipped

 

[EatSpam]

I have a VIA SP13000 motherboard (1.3ghz C3) running Windows 2003 server with Active Directory, DNS, and print server functions enabled. Can't complain. Not the fastest, but uses a lot less power than an Intel or AMD solution. Onboard SATA RAID works well too.

I also use a VIA PD6000 (600mhz Eden) for my OpenBSD firewall. With a 512mb IDE flash ram module, it only has one moving part - the tiny case fan.

VIA's stuff is good on the low-end...

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: OrSin
The CPU's are actuilly quiet powerful for thier MHz.
I would say thier 1G would abe alittle bit faster then the Sempron.

This is incorrect. There have been plenty of benchmarks and the 1 ghz Nehemia C3 processors are about as fast as a Pentium3 500., with a much slower FPU.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: ShadowBlade
how do the 1GHz via cpu's on mini-itx boards compare to say, a 1GHz sempron

The VIA cpus are far slower, their floating point performance is about on par with a P2-300mhz, integer may be about double that. Also, I believe they're in order cpus instead of out of order, so their general purpose performance sucks. They do have 3dnow support, along with specific support for video decoding, so they're decent for home theater pcs.

If you don't need the size, a downclocked sempron or athlon would be better in performance per watt.

A 600mhz athlon based cpu will outperform the 1ghz VIA in most situations.

P-M ITX boards would be a better choice if you need some decent power at ultra small size, or just get an ultraportable laptop and hook it up to a networked drive.