Preview: VIA VN1000 And Nano DC Platform: An IGP With Game?

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It's been a long time since we've previewed a VIA chipset. And yet, here we are with an S3-based DX10 GPU that VIA claims is ready for gaming. How does the VN1000 compare to Intel's Atom and Nvidia's ION? Is it strong enough to ward off Core i3?

Test Settings

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Test System Configuration
Via Nano DC CPUVIA Nano DC Dual Core 1.80 GHz, QDR-800 FSB, 2 x 1 MB L2 Cache
Via Nano DC MotherboardVIA VT8591B, DDR3-800/1066/1333 VN1000 Northbridge, VT8261 Southbridge, BIOS 080014 (8-27-2010)
Via Nano GraphicsIntegrated S3 Chrome 520 IGP, 512 MB System RAM Driver Version 8.16.12.0019
ION 2 CPUIntel Atom D525 Dual Core with Hyper-Threading 1.80 GHz, QDR-800 FSB, 2 x 512 KB L2 Cache
ION 2 MotherboardASRock ION3D-ITX, DDR2-667/800 Northbridge on CPU, ICH8M Southbridge, BIOS L0.9 (09-06-2010)
ION 2 GraphicsNvidia Next-Generation ION, 512 MB Discrete RAM GeForce 258.96
ION CPUIntel Atom 330 Dual Core with Hyper-Threading 1.60 GHz, QDR-533 FSB, 2 x 512 KB L2 Cache
ION MotherboardASRock A330ION, DDR3-800/1066 Nvidia ION Single-Component "Chipset," BIOS P1.40  (07-23-2010)
ION GraphicsNvidia ION, 256 MB System RAM GeForce 258.96
Core i3 CPUIntel Core i3-530 Dual Core with Hyper-Threading 2.93 GHz, QPI, 4 MB L3 Cache
Core i3 MotherboardIntel DH57JG, DDR3-800/1066/1333 Northbridge on CPU, H57 Southbridge, BIOS 0228 (1-25-2010)
Desktop GraphicsIntel HD Graphics, Max System RAM
DDR3 SDRAM4 GB (2 x 2 GB) Crucial DDR3-1333 at DDR3-1333 CAS 7-7-7-20, (Ion at DDR3-1066 CAS 6-6-6-12)
DDR2 SDRAM4 GB (2 x 2 GB) Crucial DDR2-800 at CAS 4-4-4-9
Software
OSMicrosoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
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As with Nvidia’s competing parts, VIA’s latest integrated GPU is designed only to support entry-level gaming. Yet there are few “World of Warcraft” addicts among our staff, and we’ve never found a good way to benchmark that game. Instead, we simply cranked the detail levels of our popular 3D titles down to the minimum settings, with the exception of DX10, which we left enabled.

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Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS) Lowest DX10 Settings (No AA)
CrysisPatch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Lowest DX10 Settings (No AA)
DiRT 2Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml Lowest DX10 Settings (No AA)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of PripyatCall Of Pripyat Benchmark version Lowest DX10 Settings (No AA)
Audio/Video Encoding
iTunesVersion:9.0.2.25 x64 Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min Default format AAC
HandBrake 0.9.4Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob file from The Last Samurai (1 GB) to .mp4, High Profile
TMPGEnc 4.0 XPressVersion: 4.7.3.292 Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9
DivX Codec 6.9.1Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search
Xvid 1.2.2Display encoding status = off
MainConcept Reference 1.6.1MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS)
Productivity
Adobe Photoshop CS4Version: 11.0 x64, Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Autodesk 3ds Max 2010Version: 11.0 x64, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV)
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 9.0Version: 9.0.663, Virus base: 270.14.1/2407, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files
WinRAR 3.90Version x64 3.90, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
7-ZipVersion 4.65: Format=Zip, Compression=Ultra, Method=Deflate, Dictionary Size=32 KB, Word Size=128, Threads=8 Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark VantageVersion: 1.0.1, GPU and CPU scores
PCMark VantageVersion: 1.0.1.0 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks
SiSoftware Sandra 2010Version 2010.1.16.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
TOPICS
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.

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57 Comments Comment from the forums
  • damasvara
    At last, VIA! Let the triple threat flame war begins! :lol:
    Reply
  • dEAne
    VIA shouldn't stop it should move right away.
    Reply
  • Ramar
    I'm interested, but I guarantee that I won't be by the time this is actually released.

    Technology seems to be the one thing in which the underdog third-party can't seem to do better. =
    Reply
  • luke904
    im glad they are making a good try. I believe they will be on par (or maybe even better than an intel and ion platform) by the time the chip is manufactured at 40nm and drivers are finalized.
    Reply
  • CTPAHHIK
    D525 and ION2 is expensive combination. If VIA can deliver at price level of D400 series with ION2 or cheaper it would put good pressure on Intel.

    nVidia was late to market with GTX460, but given it's price point a lot of pressure was put on ATI.
    Reply
  • firebee1991
    Very interesting. While they should take their time and not try and get into the market too quickly, I would be happy to have a third competitor to Intel and AMD. The more competition the better.
    Reply
  • super_tycoon
    Oh good, Tom's did examine the performance of a d525/ion2 platform. For this, I am pleased, even if they chose relatively intense dx10 games, not oldish dx9 ones.... point being I still love my 1215n. The i3 efficiency is damning though, too bad all the optimus ultraportables are (imho) way overpriced.

    However, when the new shrunken processor arrives, I think Tom's should also include netbook-like tests. These low-energy platforms aren't meant to encode videos or apply 100 photoshop filters to a terabyte tiff. The atom was specifically built to reduce cpu overhead (it doesn't even have out-of-order execution). Maybe toss in a ulv i3 if you can scrounge one up. So ya, I'll be waiting.
    Reply
  • Jarmo
    Doesn't this remind me of previous S3 GPU offerings?
    Pretty decent low end performance... if the drivers were up to the task. But they're not.
    The shipping product needs to be rock solid if Via wants to overcome the suspicion.
    5 bucks cheaper but doesn't work... is not the way.
    Reply
  • sudeshc
    At least they are trying and seems like a good one. They should speed up things a bit.
    Reply
  • lashton
    correct me if im wrong but i thought no intel CPU had OOO execution
    Reply