VIA EPIA M10000

VIA's mini-ITX platform has been generating quite a stir, particularly among the modding community, which takes great pleasure in cramming the tiny boards into whatever they can find. And even for those who aren't interested in a PC built out of Darth Vader's helmet, the highly integrated EPIA M boards are still useful for digital-media applications. The M10000 is the latest in the series and now features a super-fast (ahem) 1GHz processor.

Okay, so the 1GHz VIA C3 processor is hardly 'extreme', but the new Nehemiah core is still powerful enough to run Windows XP, office applications and, of course, DVD, MP3 and DivX applications.

The board itself is tiny at just 170 x 170mm, but crams in literally everything you need. The CLE266 north bridge supports PC2100 memory and the single DIMM socket supports up to 1GB of RAM. There's also an integrated graphics core with MPEG-2 decoder and, although it's frankly pathetic for gaming - 974 in 3DMark2001 SE - it's good enough for 2D tasks.

Although 3D may be lacking, the M10000 makes up for this in other areas with LAN, S-Video and composite video TV-out (which also doubles as a S/PDIF), plus VIA's VT1616 audio codec. FireWire is supported too via an additional backplate, which includes two USB 2 and two FireWire ports.

We didn't have any Darth Vader helmets to hand, so we made do with a Cubid 2699 ITX case (£81 inc VAT). Measuring just 295 x 273 x 64mm, this case is small enough to blend in with most living rooms, and with an external PSU it stays cool too. Due to the slim dimensions, you'll need to fork out for a notebook-sized optical drive, although an adaptor for standard EIDE cables is included. There's also a PCI riser card, and we managed (just) to squeeze an ATi All-In-Wonder Radeon VE into the system. As well as boosting the 3DMark score to a more respectable 1,935, it fulfils all your PVR (personal video recorder) needs.

The new 1GHz CPU held up quite well in normal use too, coping with office apps and the Internet. It's sluggish, but not unusable. DVD playback swallowed about 50-55 per cent of the CPU's time, but DivX playback was easier, using 35-40 per cent. DivX encoding was a different story, though, taking 74 minutes, 42 seconds.

The M10000 is a great platform for MP3, PVR and basic office or Internet applications, and - partnered with a quiet case like the Cubid 2699 - it's simple to conceal in any home.

Author: Gareth Ogden