Via fluffs mini PC launch

IN THE MONTHS SINCE its launch VIA's EPIA line of systems have picked up a small but vibrant community which enjoys stuffing the systems into anything and everything imaginable, with gas cans, original Nintendos, and the Apple's original G4 cube all being popular destinations. Based on the mini-ITX form factor, EPIA is designed to be a multimedia center system, with an embedded processor and a full suite of sound and video capabilities, all powered by VIA's line of C3 processors.

The C3 is an excellent little processor, with very low power requirements, a low temperature, and performance characteristics that are highly competitive against your average K6 or Pentium II-class CPU. The current Ezra-core of the C3 only uses a half-speed FPU, which accounts for the processor's miserable floating-point performance.

There's been much excitement in the mini-ITX community over the launch of VIA's Nehemiah-core C3 processors, which add a full-speed FPU, additional cache, SSE compatibility, and a longer pipeline, all of which should improve performance and CPU scaling. Early tests show Nehemiah performing a full 50% faster than the Ezra-class C3 in some benchmarks, and VIA had previously announced the Nehemiah 1 GHz CPU would be available in an embedded EPIA format in the latest generation of mini-ITX systems—the EPIA M10000. The EPIA M10K is already for sale at multiple online locations, and was originally advertised in some places as being equipped with the Nehemiah core.

Only one problem — it isn't. VIA has been chasing advertisers to remove any mention of Nehemiah.

We've received (and noted online) multiple reports from angry customers who rushed out and bought EPIA M10K systems that were originally advertised as Nehemiah equipped, brought them home, tested them, and found out what they had was a good old Ezra processor running at 1 GHz.

Making matters worse, apparently VIA's own tech support group isn't aware of the problem — at least one end user who wrote to the company asking which CPU was used in the EPIA M10K received a response confirming Nehemiah as the embedded processor.

VIA needs to straighten out whatever kinks have developed in its distribution chain, and straighten them out immediately. Advertising a system with one CPU and shipping it with another running a full 50% slower isn't exactly kosher with most users. Although VIA has done its best to get rid of any mention of Nehemiah, it doesn't sit well with the fans.

Of course, they could always build the EPIA M10K-A….any takers? µ

See also
Via's Nehemiah arrives with ChastityBelt™