Page 3: Testing, Conclusion
<B>Standard Testing</B>:
I really don't have any 'standard' testing schema yet. The problem is that I don't have enough boards/cpus/video cards to really test out. I'm sure it'll pick up soon. Anyway, I did some very light testing on this board, and then did my personal tests.
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Here is a shot showing the new CPU. As you can see some things even WCPUID can't even determine. Notice the lack of 3Dnow support and the addition of SSE support.
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The always popular 3Dmark 2001 SE. This board is a bit faster than the older board, as well it should be. Still, don't expect to be playing any high res 3D gaming with it. Escape Velocity Nova is coming soon for the PC, and that should run well on this baby.
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The Arithmetic numbers for the CPU are a normal increase over the Ezra CPU. The real gain is from the full speed FPU and the extra 66Mhz.
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The multimedia scores have a large increase from the Ezra due to the use of SSE. It is good to see this board be faster than a K6-3 450 finally!
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The cache speed has improved over the old Ezra core, it is on pair with similar CPUs. The memory speed is still darn slow. Like I said, this board only needs SDR memory. Regardless, DDR is so cheap now, it doesn't matter.
<B>My Testing</B>:
Now for the real testing, my testing. I pumped this thing up with all the nice codec action that I need. DivX, XviD, nothing goes unturned. MP3s on this thing were no problem, a consistent 8-10% of the CPU with high bit rate streams. Even relatively high bit rate DivX movies were not a problem for this machine. The Divx movies took around 40-90% of the CPU, depending on the bit rate. Xvids are much clearer and better. Xvids took around 20-60% depending on the bit rate. The unit had no problem whatsoever playing DVDs thanks to the built in MPEG 2 decoder chip. Like I've shown in the HTPC part 1 article, the TV output is good. Using S-Video is better, but I don't have a damn TV to test that. Regardless, this unit is good for general multimedia tasks.
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Included on the Driver CD is some utilities that tell you sys temps and general info. The above shot is for updating a bios from Windows. I hate DOS and bios flashing is such a hassle. This should make flashing easier.
<B>Conclusion</B>:
This new type of C3 CPU built on this small motherboard is a winner. VIA has managed to make the M9000 even better with a full speed FPU and more speed. There is a slight whine on the CPU fan, but isn't noticeable past a foot or two. This thing isn't a screamer that can play the latest games, but is perfect for your everyday multimedia needs. This board is priced at around $165, and is well worth it for the money. If you already have the M9000, you probably can wait till the next speed increase comes along.
<center><img src="http://www.aselabs.com/images/awards/2.gif"></center>
I'd like to thank Ken at VIA for sending me this board for testing!
I really don't have any 'standard' testing schema yet. The problem is that I don't have enough boards/cpus/video cards to really test out. I'm sure it'll pick up soon. Anyway, I did some very light testing on this board, and then did my personal tests.
<center>
</center>Here is a shot showing the new CPU. As you can see some things even WCPUID can't even determine. Notice the lack of 3Dnow support and the addition of SSE support.
<center>
</center>The always popular 3Dmark 2001 SE. This board is a bit faster than the older board, as well it should be. Still, don't expect to be playing any high res 3D gaming with it. Escape Velocity Nova is coming soon for the PC, and that should run well on this baby.
<center>
</center>The Arithmetic numbers for the CPU are a normal increase over the Ezra CPU. The real gain is from the full speed FPU and the extra 66Mhz.
<center>
</center>The multimedia scores have a large increase from the Ezra due to the use of SSE. It is good to see this board be faster than a K6-3 450 finally!
<center>
</center>The cache speed has improved over the old Ezra core, it is on pair with similar CPUs. The memory speed is still darn slow. Like I said, this board only needs SDR memory. Regardless, DDR is so cheap now, it doesn't matter.
<B>My Testing</B>:
Now for the real testing, my testing. I pumped this thing up with all the nice codec action that I need. DivX, XviD, nothing goes unturned. MP3s on this thing were no problem, a consistent 8-10% of the CPU with high bit rate streams. Even relatively high bit rate DivX movies were not a problem for this machine. The Divx movies took around 40-90% of the CPU, depending on the bit rate. Xvids are much clearer and better. Xvids took around 20-60% depending on the bit rate. The unit had no problem whatsoever playing DVDs thanks to the built in MPEG 2 decoder chip. Like I've shown in the HTPC part 1 article, the TV output is good. Using S-Video is better, but I don't have a damn TV to test that. Regardless, this unit is good for general multimedia tasks.
<center>
</center>Included on the Driver CD is some utilities that tell you sys temps and general info. The above shot is for updating a bios from Windows. I hate DOS and bios flashing is such a hassle. This should make flashing easier.
<B>Conclusion</B>:
This new type of C3 CPU built on this small motherboard is a winner. VIA has managed to make the M9000 even better with a full speed FPU and more speed. There is a slight whine on the CPU fan, but isn't noticeable past a foot or two. This thing isn't a screamer that can play the latest games, but is perfect for your everyday multimedia needs. This board is priced at around $165, and is well worth it for the money. If you already have the M9000, you probably can wait till the next speed increase comes along.
<center><img src="http://www.aselabs.com/images/awards/2.gif"></center>
I'd like to thank Ken at VIA for sending me this board for testing!