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VIA "Eden" EPIA-M (933 MHz C3) |
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Specifications, Benchmarks, Conclusions
Motherboard Specifications
- External connectors:
- 1x PS2 Keyboard connection, 1x PS2 Mouse connection
- 1x 15 pin CRT VGA Monitor output
- 1x 25 pin Parallel port (EPP/ECP Compatible)
- 1x S-Video Output
- 1x RCA Video Output/S/P-DIF Output
- 2x USB 2.0 compliant ports
- 1x RJ-45 10x100 Ethernet connector
- 3x Audio ports (Line out, Line in, Mike in)
- 1x 16C550 9 pin Serial port
- CPU Specifications
- Embedded VIA C3-E 933 MHz Processor
- Enhanced Ball Grid Array (EBGA) packaging
- Internal 128kb Level 1 cache running at full speed
- Internal 64kb Level 2 cache running at full speed
- Chipset:
- VIA CLE266 Northbridge
- VIA VT8235 Southbridge
- Audio:
- VIA VT1616 6 Channel AC97, allowing for full 5.1 surround sound.
- LAN:
- VIA VT6103 Ethernet controller, supporting 10/100Mb Ethernet Speeds
- TV-Out:
- Via VT1622M "Macrovision", supporting up to 1024x768 NTSC or PAL output.
- Graphics:
- Integrated CastleRock Graphics Adapter with MPEG2 Decoding
- Internal Connectors:
- Memory: 1x 184pin DDR-SDRAM DIMM Slot, supporting DDR-SDRAM modules up to 1GB in size
- USB: 1x USB 2.0 Pin header for up to 2 additional USB 2.0 Ports
- Firewire: 2x Firewire internal connectors, for up to 2 additional FireWire Ports
- Power: Standard 20pin ATX Power Connector
- Front Power Connectors: Supporting standard power/reset switches, power and HDD LED's
- I²C Port
- Front Audio connectors: Mike and Line Out
- 3 12v Fan Headers: 2x 3 Pin with monitoring, 1x 2 Pin
- Connector for 2nd COM port
- Wake on LAN
- System Intrusion
Benchmarks
SiSoft Sandra 2003
The only "tweak" I have running is that I have set the ram to CL2 in the BIOS.
  
The Arithmetic, Multimedia and Memory Tests.
3D Mark 2001SE
I tried this mainly to compare to the EPIA. The original EPIA would not run 3DMark on 1024x768 "Default" settings, and when lowered to 800x600 it scored 216. The new EPIA-M ran 3DMark at 1024x768 Default, and came up with a score of 381.
Other Software:
Smoothwall
I installed Smoothwall .99SE onto the EPIA-M, and it went without a hitch. It detected the on-board Ethernet adapter as a VIA Rhine PCI Fast Ethernet card. The EPIA-M is more than powerful enough to cope with the demands of being a basic router/NAT machine.
Windows XP (SP1)
All of the testing etc. was done on Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 installed. Windows found drivers for most of the hardware, and when I inserted the motherboard CD it installed all the drivers for me. On checking the VPSD website, the drivers on CD (as of today) are the latest available.
Video Tests:
DVD: The DVD capabilities of the EPIA-M are a fantastic improvement over the original EPIA. I tested with PowerDVD Deluxe 4.0 XP, and never had one problem. This is mainly due to the addition of the MPEG2 decoder. When I played all of my high-action scenes that can normally bring down a slower machine (the asteroid collision in New York scene in Armageddon, the fight scene in Star Wars: Episode II) it flew through them like a fast machine or standalone DVD player would.
DivX: I installed the DivX 5.02 PRO codec on the machine. I also installed BSPlayer, as Windows Media Player isn't really the best program to be viewing DivX with. I test-encoded a DVD on top-quality settings (2-Pass, all DivX PRO features enabled) which ended up being a 1.5gig file. I copied it through the network onto the EPIA-M Machine, which played the whole movie perfectly with no slowdowns or stutters. I then tried playing it across the network, which also worked fine. I've thrown about 15 different types of DivX file at the box - it’s played them all with no hitch at all. This motherboard is perfect for a "DivX Box", as it can handle all DivX formats with no slowdowns, and has integrated TV-OUT, so no monitor is needed!. I wired up a serial to infrared adapter, and installed winlirc - which allowed me to "train" a standard remote control to work with the box. I haven’t had the time to find a decent program that will act as a front end for playing DivX's over a network - if you find one, please let me know :D
TV-Out: I have found the TV output on this machine to be flawless. When watching a video file, its very watchable (just like watching a DVD player!) and when you go into the video options to enable the TV out (Control Panel/Display Properties/Advanced/Output) it actually sets Windows up to use large text - which is a great help, you can plainly read the text on the TV now.
Conclusions:
VIA has definitely listened to the users of the EPIA on this one. They've fixed up all of the major problems that stopped the EPIA becoming a perfect TV-Run machine. Anyone who is looking to set up a dedicated TV-Run machine should look no further than the VIA EPIA-M - its high quality DVD and DivX playback make it a perfect choice!
This board was kindly provided for review by Fiona Gatt of VIA Arena.
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