Tech PC takes a look at VIA’s itty-bitty motherboard, the EPIA Mini-ITX.
Unlike most motherboards available today the EPIA boards have the CPU soldered to the board, so upgrading the CPU is not an option. The Eden CPU is unique as it is passively cooled. That’s to say it is cooled by a great looking heatsink and does not have a cooling fan. The Motherboard is therefore completely silent. Via have been able to achieve this by opting for a relatively slow, by today’s standards, CPU speed of 533Mhz and using their ultra low power Eden core. The CPU runs at a mere 1.2v. Because of it’s low power consumption I have been running the EPIA using a tiny 107 Watt power supply and despite powering the Motherboard, CPU, Hard drive and CD Rom, the setup ran flawlessly throughout the four day test period.
