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VIA Eden processors

B

BossNoodleKaboodle

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
1,818
I've been considering one of their Mini-ITX embedded solutions for a F@H/multimedia box attached to my TV. Are these any good? Does WinXP install on them easily? Are there any issues with them in general I should know before buying them?
 
Dont plan on playing games on them. I have one for my CarPC, they are neat and great little things, fun to mess with and amazing on how small they are. Windows Xp Pro SP2 installed perfectly and i used nLite to trim it down, runs awesome.

I have the EPIA800 BTW, bottom of the barrel one. The M1000 is the all around best choice.
 
There isnt really an equivalent, its a different architectue. the FPU and such arent very good on these processors. Though VIA does have a Dual core Eden processor coming out very soon, might wanna keep an eye out for that.
 
I have an EPIA-M 1Ghz as an HTPC client node. It works really well. Just use a DVD decoder that supprts the onboard MPEG2 decoder, I use PowerDVD, and it is quite a capable box. I'm not sure about DivX/Xvid playback though.

XP installed like any normal PC. And downloading the latest graphics driver from viaarena.com got the MPEG2 decoder working properly with PowerDVD.
 
Slower than a P3, but then again you can't passively cool the P3 either. Hell, a lot of the eden chips don't even have heatsinks, let alone fans. Nor is the P3 in an itty-bitty package.

I've been considering getting one of the dual-eden setups for a tiny SMP box to play with (a nice compliment to my full-size dual P3 setup)

Those cpu's really are little marvels, you just have to understand what they are made for. They're not incredibly fast...they're not supposed to be. They're incredibly cool running and power efficient and are made for completely silent systems. I SO want one, I just need the spare cash.
 
Some models come with an onboard MPEG 2/4 hardware decoder, which should help with the multimedia playback. The lack of an AGP/PCIe x16 slot cripples it in the gaming department, but it's fine for RTSs and such and less intensive (older) FPSs.

For office use, that is, purely 2D in Windows, it's perfect. You might have to fiddle with the cooling fan on the HSF a bit as some find it noisy, but after that it's completely silent, down to the PSU if you use the passive (laptop-style adapter w/ DC-DC PSU) version. It's also very, very small. You could make your own Mac Mini-style system with it if you're so inclined :)
 
BossNoodleKaboodle said:
would it be slower or faster than a 1ghz P3?
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For folding or gaming it would about = a 200MHz P3. Search for "Dual Via" and there is a link to the FPU comparison. It's about 1/5th.

Vias are built for one purpose, multimedia, and they do this great. They are not designed for much else.
 
BossNoodleKaboodle said:
ah, so for a few Watts more I could just do a Pentium 3 computer and that would likely perform much better.
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Aside from the onboard stuff, yes :)
 
A few more watts? The difference is a little more stark that than. The eden-n at 1Ghz is rated for 7 watts. I'd like to see a p3 only draw 7 watts. Plus those nano-ITX boards are so incredibly small. If you want to build an itty-bitty smaller-than-a-mac-mini kind of computer, then these are the way to go.
 
7*5=35 watts, which is the specs of a 1-1.4GHz P3. They are not really that efficient when you factor in raw processing power.

For price, I would consider one of these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6785475789&category=31496&rd=1
(it's slightly larger than a standard miniITX, so case might be a concern)

I'm using one of these for a CarPC. Only downside is the USB 1.1. These turn up on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6781457212&category=4614&rd=1

This would be sweet if you could find out a way to power it! Smaller than a nanoITX board? It just might be:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6785800331&category=4614&rd=1
 
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This would be sweet if you could find out a way to power it! Smaller than a nanoITX board? It just might be:
Click to expand...
Dang, its a motherboard on a pci card! My question is how does the system its plugged into handle it? As a stand alone second computer, or what? Or does it ONLY draw power from the slot? I read the manual, but it never discusses it.
 
Think it's just the slot. I was wondering that myself... I know there are other add-on/backplane type cards out there that take a single molex connector.
 
That is a full stand-alone PC, doesn't need a backplane and most certainly will NOT work in the PCI slot of another system. Trust me, I have a few of that type. It can draw power, sure, but that PCI slot will interfere with the rest of the system. Power looks to be AT style, and the listing states AT/ATX. I built a PC that fits into two 5.25" bays using one. Teeny things.

sleepeeg3, I actually have one of those Intel "ITX" boards. Have had it running for a month or so, and from what I've tested it runs two to three times faster than a Via at the same speed. It is a KILLER deal, if you don't mind the lack of "goodies" on the board. It also runs cool as can be with only the airflow of a PSU in a slim desktop case. Guess I should finally start a thread.
 
widefault said:
Power looks to be AT style, and the listing states AT/ATX.
Click to expand...
Props dude, I think your little project was where I first heard about these things! http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=841431&page=1&pp=20&highlight=sbc

You're right - that is an AT style connector there on the end. I don't think there is such thing as an AT -> ATX adapter so you might have to get creative powering it if you are doing a miniPC project. You could get an AT power supply easily for under $20 on eBay: http://search.ebay.com/at-psu_W0QQfromZR40QQsojsZ1 and maybe take the guts from that.

Anyway here is another option: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6785444052&category=4614&rd=1
 
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That is a full stand-alone PC, doesn't need a backplane and most certainly will NOT work in the PCI slot of another system. Trust me, I have a few of that type. It can draw power, sure, but that PCI slot will interfere with the rest of the system.
Click to expand...
Actually, I was just thinking that It only LOOKS like a pci card, but maybe thats for a riser?
 
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