DVD Playback

Using PowerDVD 7 with the de-interlacing option enabled to improve the video quality the CPU usage was consistently at just 25 percent, with the GMA950 graphics core that includes MPEG2 acceleration helping quite significantly. The VLC playback was incredibly surprising though - even though the software offers no specific video acceleration options the CPU usage recorded was consistently extremely small - around one percent. We even scaled it to full-HD resolution and it carried on without even blinking!

The VIA CX700M2 on the EPIA EX includes MPEG2, 4 and WMV9 playback acceleration, as well as Macrovision support that the Intel 945GC does not have. Neither platform has HDCP support, but it's not like you'd need it because even though the VIA board does offer a digital output neither can playback proper HD content.

We attempted to play a Blu-ray but were told that the chipset was simply not compatible, and other 720p or 1080p HD video trailers in either Xvid, WM9HD or h.264 was more often than not just far too intensive for the Atom to playback. Hyperthreading support does help to a degree but in reality it just doesn't have enough grunt - there was either audio garbling, a/v sync issues, slideshow or blocky video. While we obviously can't speak for every SD video out there - for the most part the playback for DVD size and below was as expected, but bear in mind that if you're a fan of the extra post processing features in FFDShow, like deinterlacing or sharpening for example, then it will tax the CPU that much more.

Power Consumption

While there is a difference between the setups - the EPIA was using a 120W DC-DC PSU which equates to about 25 percent load, whereas the Gigabyte GA-GC230D is using an Enermax 270W ATX PSU that equates to about ~18 percent load. The load difference can effect a PSU's efficiency and hence the reading at the wall, however the results are not unexpected.

The EPIA board uses a C7 of equivalent power use to the Atom, but the VIA northbridge only uses a fraction of the power so the ~20W saving can be easily attributed to that.