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

Name: Test Settings - Preview: VIA VN1000 And Nano DC Platform: An IGP With Game?
Author: Thomas Soderstrom

by Thomas Soderstrom November 2, 2010 at 1:00 AM

Test Settings

Test System Configuration
Via Nano DC CPU	VIA Nano DC Dual Core 1.80 GHz, QDR-800 FSB, 2 x 1 MB L2 Cache
Via Nano DC Motherboard	VIA VT8591B, DDR3-800/1066/1333 VN1000 Northbridge, VT8261 Southbridge, BIOS 080014 (8-27-2010)
Via Nano Graphics	Integrated S3 Chrome 520 IGP, 512 MB System RAM Driver Version 8.16.12.0019
ION 2 CPU	Intel Atom D525 Dual Core with Hyper-Threading 1.80 GHz, QDR-800 FSB, 2 x 512 KB L2 Cache
ION 2 Motherboard	ASRock ION3D-ITX, DDR2-667/800 Northbridge on CPU, ICH8M Southbridge, BIOS L0.9 (09-06-2010)
ION 2 Graphics	Nvidia Next-Generation ION, 512 MB Discrete RAM GeForce 258.96
ION CPU	Intel Atom 330 Dual Core with Hyper-Threading 1.60 GHz, QDR-533 FSB, 2 x 512 KB L2 Cache
ION Motherboard	ASRock A330ION, DDR3-800/1066 Nvidia ION Single-Component "Chipset," BIOS P1.40 (07-23-2010)
ION Graphics	Nvidia ION, 256 MB System RAM GeForce 258.96
Core i3 CPU	Intel Core i3-530 Dual Core with Hyper-Threading 2.93 GHz, QPI, 4 MB L3 Cache
Core i3 Motherboard	Intel DH57JG, DDR3-800/1066/1333 Northbridge on CPU, H57 Southbridge, BIOS 0228 (1-25-2010)
Desktop Graphics	Intel HD Graphics, Max System RAM
DDR3 SDRAM	4 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 SDRAM	4 GB (2 x 2 GB) Crucial DDR2-800 at CAS 4-4-4-9
Software
OS	Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

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.

Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS) Lowest DX10 Settings (No AA)
Crysis	Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Lowest DX10 Settings (No AA)
DiRT 2	Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml Lowest DX10 Settings (No AA)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat	Call Of Pripyat Benchmark version Lowest DX10 Settings (No AA)
Audio/Video Encoding
iTunes	Version:9.0.2.25 x64 Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min Default format AAC
HandBrake 0.9.4	Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob file from The Last Samurai (1 GB) to .mp4, High Profile
TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress	Version: 4.7.3.292 Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9
DivX Codec 6.9.1	Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search
Xvid 1.2.2	Display encoding status = off
MainConcept Reference 1.6.1	MPEG2 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 CS4	Version: 11.0 x64, Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
Autodesk 3ds Max 2010	Version: 11.0 x64, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV)
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 9.0	Version: 9.0.663, Virus base: 270.14.1/2407, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files
WinRAR 3.90	Version x64 3.90, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
7-Zip	Version 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 Vantage	Version: 1.0.1, GPU and CPU scores
PCMark Vantage	Version: 1.0.1.0 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks
SiSoftware Sandra 2010	Version 2010.1.16.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark

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Summary

About the author

Thomas Soderstrom @hardware_tom

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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CTPAHHIK 7 years ago

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.

Other Comments

damasvara 7 years ago

At last, VIA! Let the triple threat flame war begins!
dEAne 7 years ago

VIA shouldn't stop it should move right away.
Ramar 7 years ago

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. =[
luke904 7 years ago

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.
CTPAHHIK 7 years ago

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.
firebee1991 7 years ago

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.
super_tycoon 7 years ago

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.
Jarmo 7 years ago

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.
sudeshc 7 years ago

At least they are trying and seems like a good one. They should speed up things a bit.
lashton 7 years ago

correct me if im wrong but i thought no intel CPU had OOO execution
theshonen8899 7 years ago

Yay VIA! I hope they can finally topple Intel and bring back powerful mobile solutions. All hail competition and the price drops that follow!
Crashman 7 years ago

CTPAHHIKD525 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.
I will be very happy if the production version can stomp on the D525 while consuming similar power at a lower cost, mostly because I think the low-energy market is far too inflated right now.

Yet rather than brag about what could be a performance leader in the low-energy class, VIA calls this a "mainstream desktop" solution. I think they need to rethink the marketing on this.
Darkerson 7 years ago

All things considered, I was rather impressed by what Via has to offer, especially since its not finalized yet. While I would never game with this, I would more then consider using it for an always on file server/NAS. Heres to hoping they are able to further improve it along the way. In the long run, the more options we have, the more these companies will compete for our money. Good job Via!
liquidsnake718 7 years ago

at least its good to know my dual core atom 330 and nvidia ion 1 12inch netbook is in good company and almost as good as a general laptop while my PC is still a beast.... asus really makes the lightest and thinnestdual core atom netbooks..... check out the asus eesashel 1020n... its a great netbook...
IzzyCraft 7 years ago

I enjoyed you VIA when you made mobos that didn't need expensive rambus ram for intel but sorry you mean nothing to me anymore :T

The thing i would look for was movie playback and in that arena it's not exactly a show stopper. With that platform i'd be most concerned with if it can play full 1080p movies and flash particularly flash playback. then i'd look into power consumption etc.

Really these low power solutions are meant for cheap media playback or cheap workstation solution.
randomizer 7 years ago

Heatsink orientation is all wrong! Must resist urge to straighten...
dominatorix 7 years ago

I' want to see this on a netbook/notebook solution.
Reynod 7 years ago

No AMD products in the comparison charts?
elbert 7 years ago

I want to see the 40nm Nano DC clocked at 3GHz with an Nvidia discrete GPU compared against i3's. Good review but could the Nano DC been tested for OCing. I would like to get an ideal of how far a 40nm Nano DC can OC.
K2N hater 7 years ago

Looks pretty good for HTPCs rather than gaming.