Technical Background

Artigo's Box

VIA managed to include all the features needed for a PC in a 3.9"x2.8" Pico board, concentrating most functionality in the main low power C7 CPU and the VX700 chip which contains all the I/O functions from sound to video and networking. 

VIA Mainboards (Credit: VIA Technologies)

Artigo is powered by a VIA C7 1 GHz Processor and an x86 compliant processor created by VIA labs. The main advantage of the C7 is its low power consumption and low heat dissipation requiring almost no cooling for smooth operation. This type of processor is gaining popularity and was recently adopted by HP in its Mini-Note 2133 model. This processor places VIA as a viable player in the low power consumer CPU market alongside Intel and AMD. 

Overview Chassis 

Artigo - front

Via-epia-px-pico-miniboard (Credit: VIA Technologies)

As mentioned earlier, the system is powered by a C7 1.0 GHz NanoBGA2 processor and all I/O functionality resides in a separate VX700 all-in-one processor. VIA chose only one DDR II SODIMM socket with up to 1GB, and we feel that two sockets would have been much more appropriate in today's market but in all fairness it might have been too much of a tight squeeze in the already cramped pico-sized case. All video functionality is integrated in VIA’s UniChrom Pro II 3D/2D on board and the AGP graphics card with a built-in MPEG2/4 and WMV9 video acceleration. An interesting choice was made to put the IDE connector as the default connection for a hard drive and not the onboard existing SATA connector. Networking wise, the Pico board has a VIA VT6106S 10/100Mbps Ethernet controller which is more or less in sync with current low-end standard consumer equipment. To move into the corporate world a 1Gbps controller would have been more suitable option. The board is fully equipped with all I/O connectors needed, four USB 2.0 ports, COM port, mouse and keyboard PS/2, fan, LVDS/DVI,VGA port, and a full 7.1 channel audio output. For those of you needing more video integrated features, an additional expansion connector for an add-on card VT1625M adds also TV-out and video capture capabilities.

Artigo Specifications:

Processor: VIA C7 1.0GHz NanoBGA2 processor

Chipset: VIA VX700 advanced all-in-one system processor

System Memory: 1 DDRII 533 SODIMM socket (Up to 1GB)

Video Adapter: Integrated VIA UniChromeTM Pro II 3D/2D AGP graphics with MPEG-2/4 and WMV9 video decoding Accelerator

Onboard IDE: 1 UltraDMA 133/100 connector

Onboard SATA: 1 SATA connector

Onboard LAN: 1 VIA VT6106S 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet Controller

Onboard Audio: VIA VT1708A High Definition Audio Codec

Onboard I/O:

1  COM pin connector

1  Fan pin connector for CPU Fan

1  LVDS/DVI panel pin connector

1 Audio pin connector for line-out, line-in, MIC-in, S/PDIF in, and 7.1  channels audio output

1 Multimedia connector to support external TV-out interface,video capture port interface and low pin count interface. One VT1625M add-on card is required.

Back Panel: I/O 1 RJ45 LAN Port, 1 VGA Port

BIOS: Award BIOS (4/8Mbit flash memory)

Form Factor: Pico-ITX (3.9" x 2.8”).

Artigo dimensions: 5.9” (L) x 4.3” (D) x 1.8” (H)/

Artigo weight:1.14 lbs

Installation and Performance

Artigo - Inside the box

VIA must be commended for their simple one page assembly instructions. This document is sufficient for the complete assembly of the unit and even a person with no prior hardware assembly experience can assemble the unit in less than 20 minutes.  

Artigo assembly Instructions page

System Tests: Phase I: Daily Tasks

Running many different types of video including Mpeg, Divx, and Xvid worked smoothly without any lag. Sound was also quite good; we had no problem listening to music with the device. Browsing the internet was a breeze and Office applications such as Microsoft Word 2007 and PowerPoint worked flawlessly even with a number of open documents. Parts of this review were actually written using Artigo and the feeling was similar to that of working with a notebook computer in many respects. 

Phase II: Gaming

Artigo-inside

Noise / Temperature / HTPC Usage

Artigo - small size

Artigo - back - no DVI/PS2 hole

We did run into a strange sound issue which we were not able to isolate at a late stage of the review. For some reason we got a somewhat distorted sound from the Artigo (on both speakers and headphones). This did not happen at the first part of our review and we do not know whether to attribute it to a change in our testing environment or equipment, a software or driver issue, or some sort of defect which effected our specific test unit. Researching this issue on the net turned up empty and so we are fairly confident that this is probably an isolated incident.    

On the downside, gaming isn’t Artigo’s strong side, and unless you want to reminisce on playing solitaire, we suggest you look elsewhere if this is what you are looking for. Although its size might tempt you to try the Artigo as an HTPC it isn’t suited for this task either unless you are willing to settle for DivX and DVD playback.    

Pros and Cons

Pros:

1. Small, light, silent.
2. Relatively inexpensive (around $300).
3. Very simple to assemble (lazy man D.I.Y.).
4. Works smoothly with most Office, internet browsing, and video playback tasks.
5. Can be easily embedded into any D.I.Y project.

1. Hard drive/memory/optical storage not included in the basic package.
2. Requires an external optical drive or an installation flash drive to install OS.
3. Not well suited as a full desktop replacement/gaming.
4. Networking is too slow for corporate needs.
5. No way to attach PS2/DVI cable without drilling the case.