Processors (CPU) in Mini HTPCs
In a Mini-PC being used primarily for home theater, the CPU is not the most important component, the graphics chip is more critical to video performance. However, the CPU plays a vital secondary role and is the main ingredient in making the computer generally snappy in use. CPU performance also becomes critical when you perform tasks outside of the hardware accelerated functions of the graphics chip. Typically for the ION graphics chip this can mean Flash video or the upscaling of SD video to HD output (operating system and driver dependent).

In the tables below, performance is measured by a specific CPU measurement called PassMark (higher is better). Just looking at raw CPU clock is inaccurate so the PassMark ranking should be used when comparing performance. CPU contribution to power usage is measured by Thermal Design Power or TDP (lower is better).

CPUs are ordered by Passmark score, fastest first.

Intel Core2Duo 'P' Clock: 1.2-3.33Ghz, FSB: 1066Mhz Cores: Dual, TDP: 25W (P8700) PassMark: 1778* (P8700)

Core2 Duo 'P' Mini-PCs:  Fujitsu Esprimo Q1500

Intel Core2Duo 'E' Clock: 2.6Ghz, FSB: 800Mhz Cores: Dual, TDP: 65W (E5300) PassMark: 1708* (E5300)

Core2Duo 'E' Mini-PCs:  Lucida TV2

AMD Athlon Neo X2 6850e Clock: 1.8Ghz, FSB: ?Mhz Cores: Dual, TDP: ?W PassMark: ?*

Athlon 6850e Mini-PCs:  Dell Zino HD 400

AMD Athlon X2 3250e Clock: 1.5Ghz, FSB: ?Mhz Cores: Dual, TDP: ?W PassMark: 716*

Athlon 3250e Mini-PCs:  Dell Zino HD 400

Intel Atom N330 Clock: 1.6Ghz, FSB: 533Mhz Cores: Dual, TDP: 8W PassMark: 622*

Atom N330 Mini-PCs:  Acer Revo 3610,  ASRock 330,  ASRock 330-BD,  ASRock 330Pro,  ASRock 330HT,  ASRock 330HT-BD,  Asus EB1012,  Asus EB1501,  Funtwist Fiono,  Haleron H-BOX,  Viako Mini-E,  Zotag MAG HD

AMD Athlon 2850e Clock: 1.8Ghz, FSB: ?Mhz Cores: Single, TDP: ?W PassMark: ?*

Athlon 2850e Mini-PCs:  Dell Zino HD 400

AMD Athlon 2650e Clock: 1.6Ghz, FSB: ?Mhz Cores: Single, TDP: ?W PassMark: 409*

Athlon 2650e Mini-PCs:  Dell Zino HD 400

Intel Atom N230 Clock: 1.6Ghz, FSB: 533Mhz Cores: Single, TDP: 4W PassMark: 311*

Atom N230 Mini-PCs:  Acer Revo 1600,  Acer Revo 3600,  Acer Revo 3600L,  Asus EB1502,  Lenovo Q110,  LG XPION X30,  Zotag MAG HS

External Links
• Intel Atom Overview
• Wikipedia list of Atom CPUs
• Notebookcheck Mobile CPU Benchmarks
• *CPU Benchmarks

Page last updated: 14-Dec-09

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