Page 1: Intro, Box, Parts, Specs, SN
Intro:
The EPIA series from VIA has really come a long way since its initial inception years ago. When the series was first released, it was a unique formfactor. The problem is that it was slow and the expandability was not there. Fast forward a few years and the later designs are nothing like what it was. You get speed and expandability in a great size. If Windows is your thing, this board is Vista certified.
SN:
What really sets the SN apart from the previous models is the attention to expandability and performance. The SN is the first model to include a PCI Express slot. It even has 16x electrical for those intense graphics cards. Yes, this tiny board can use a powerful graphics board. Since the board is Vista certified, the onboard graphics, the Chrome 9HC, supports DirectX 9 and uses the system memory. There is much more that the SN offers so make sure to keep reading.
Box:
VIA packages its motherboard in single color boxes. The SN series is green. Green is a color that gets much attention today.
Specs:
I'll highlight some specs for you: 1x PCIe 16x, 1x miniPCI, 2x DDR2 667MHz, 4x Serial ATA 2nd, 1.8GHz VIA C7 CPU.
Parts:
You get the usual literature, I/O Shield, IDE cable, Windows driver CD, and no serial ATA cables. That's interesting considering the board is Serial ATA.
EPIA-SN1800:
The EPIA-SN1800 is a mini-ITX board so it measures 17cm x 17cm which is about the size of a CD case. The board is what you would call barebones considering it has a built-in VIA C7 1.8GHz processor. This is nonremovable and is below the big heatsink with the small fan. VIA also makes a slower board that is fanless if that is what you need.
The EPIA-SN features two DDR2 667MHz sockets for a max of 4GB of RAM. This is the first EPIA board with two RAM sockets since the original that took PC133 SDRAM. This section of the board houses the case headers and extra serial port. The EPIA series is huge in embedded markets and they still require serial ports. The CPU fan header is located to the left.
On the bottom of the board holds the single 16x PCIe connector as well as the four serial ATA ports. The serial ATA ports are 3Gb/s. The CMOS battery is vertical to save space on the board and is right near the AMI BIOS. The southbridge is located under the second heatsink shown.
The left side of the board holds the external I/O ports as well as the IDE connect and PSU connector. The theme of this board is cramped. This is expected with the amount of components on the board.
The top of the board holds the only fan on the board. The CPU and northbridge are housed under that large heatsink on the top. Yes, there are jumpers on the board. Pay special attention to the WP1 jumper near the BIOS. It is the write protect jumper that doesn't allow you to change the boot order.
For a small board, VIA managed to pack in the ports. You get 2 PS/2 ports, 2 ethernet (1x Gigabit / 1x 100Mbps), a VGA port, a serial port, 4 USB ports, and the audio ports.
Surprise! We're not done just yet. The bottom of the board contains the miniPCI connector as well as the Compact Flash adapter that shares itself with the IDE channel on the top of the board. Compact Flash is just an ATA connection and many people use it as a flash based hard drive. This board has expansion as the top feature.
The EPIA series from VIA has really come a long way since its initial inception years ago. When the series was first released, it was a unique formfactor. The problem is that it was slow and the expandability was not there. Fast forward a few years and the later designs are nothing like what it was. You get speed and expandability in a great size. If Windows is your thing, this board is Vista certified.
SN:
What really sets the SN apart from the previous models is the attention to expandability and performance. The SN is the first model to include a PCI Express slot. It even has 16x electrical for those intense graphics cards. Yes, this tiny board can use a powerful graphics board. Since the board is Vista certified, the onboard graphics, the Chrome 9HC, supports DirectX 9 and uses the system memory. There is much more that the SN offers so make sure to keep reading.
Box:
VIA packages its motherboard in single color boxes. The SN series is green. Green is a color that gets much attention today.
Specs:
I'll highlight some specs for you: 1x PCIe 16x, 1x miniPCI, 2x DDR2 667MHz, 4x Serial ATA 2nd, 1.8GHz VIA C7 CPU.
Parts:
You get the usual literature, I/O Shield, IDE cable, Windows driver CD, and no serial ATA cables. That's interesting considering the board is Serial ATA.
EPIA-SN1800:
The EPIA-SN1800 is a mini-ITX board so it measures 17cm x 17cm which is about the size of a CD case. The board is what you would call barebones considering it has a built-in VIA C7 1.8GHz processor. This is nonremovable and is below the big heatsink with the small fan. VIA also makes a slower board that is fanless if that is what you need.
The EPIA-SN features two DDR2 667MHz sockets for a max of 4GB of RAM. This is the first EPIA board with two RAM sockets since the original that took PC133 SDRAM. This section of the board houses the case headers and extra serial port. The EPIA series is huge in embedded markets and they still require serial ports. The CPU fan header is located to the left.
On the bottom of the board holds the single 16x PCIe connector as well as the four serial ATA ports. The serial ATA ports are 3Gb/s. The CMOS battery is vertical to save space on the board and is right near the AMI BIOS. The southbridge is located under the second heatsink shown.
The left side of the board holds the external I/O ports as well as the IDE connect and PSU connector. The theme of this board is cramped. This is expected with the amount of components on the board.
The top of the board holds the only fan on the board. The CPU and northbridge are housed under that large heatsink on the top. Yes, there are jumpers on the board. Pay special attention to the WP1 jumper near the BIOS. It is the write protect jumper that doesn't allow you to change the boot order.
For a small board, VIA managed to pack in the ports. You get 2 PS/2 ports, 2 ethernet (1x Gigabit / 1x 100Mbps), a VGA port, a serial port, 4 USB ports, and the audio ports.
Surprise! We're not done just yet. The bottom of the board contains the miniPCI connector as well as the Compact Flash adapter that shares itself with the IDE channel on the top of the board. Compact Flash is just an ATA connection and many people use it as a flash based hard drive. This board has expansion as the top feature.