Atom and Nano
TweakTown has posted a comparison of the Intel Atom and the VIA Nano. The Atom, obviously, is what is powering a large portion of the netbooks on the market now and those coming out soon. The Nano, however, is where things get interesting.
I alluded to this in the quick blurb about the Avaratec netbook, but one of my biggest gripes with the Atom is that Intel seems to be very insistent upon not offering a better video solution than the underpowered GMA950. While this really isn’t a big deal for a netbook, it really limits what one can do with the platform when you look at it from a little further away.
Something I have a lot of interest in is a low-power, small form factor media center. Right now, there’s no Atom system that could do it. Granted, the Eee Box is one of the few around, but even when you look at building your own Atom based system, you’re not going to get one with the option to include a PCI-E video card on it. This means that the CPU has to do all of the work when playing video. This means that, unless the CPU is a total workhorse, you’re left with poor quality HD playback. All of the reviews seem to agree that 720p content is playable on the Atom (at almost full CPU usage), and that 1080p content is unwatchable.
So what’s this have to do with the article? Here’s the spoilers: the Nano doesn’t have video card limitations; it runs cooler and draws less power; it’s more powerful. The real kicker? You can drop a Nano in an existing C7 based board and it works.
It just so happens I have a SFF PC with a C7 board in it that I’d be more than happy to exchange processors with. I think VIA might have made a sale (when they come out, anyway).
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!