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

Name: Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding - Preview: VIA VN1000 And Nano DC Platform: An IGP With Game?
Author: Thomas Soderstrom

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

57 Comments

Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding

Media encoding and playback are often considered the primary functions of low-energy platforms, so this is where the real test begins. Apple iTunes runs surprisingly fast on the Nano DC processor compared to the Ion/Atom solutions, outpacing even the 1.8 GHz ION 2-based solution.

This is the slowest this editor has ever seen HandBrake run, with low-energy solutions requiring around four times as much encoding time as a low-cost desktop processor that’s clocked less than twice as high.

VIA smashes the Intel Atom-based ION platforms in DivX and Xvid encoding, yet it can’t hold a candle to our cheap desktop CPU. Perhaps the low-energy platforms should be considered “playback-only” devices?

MainConcept might not be among the main concepts for low-energy computing, yet it’s nice to see VIA’s improvements over Atom-based ION solutions.

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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.