Hard Drive Performance

We used HD Tach to gauge read performance with our Maxtor 80GB HDD. We'll be comparing the CL10000's controller against the M9000's. Disks were freshly imaged and defragmented, formatted in NTFS.

M9000	CL10000

There isn't much difference between the two, but the CL10000's access times are 12.6ms, as opposed to the M9000's 13.4ms. The average read speeds of the CL10000 is 35162.7kps with 8.6% CPU utilization.

Network Performance

We used to test the networking speed, and Windows Task Manager for CPU usage. We copied a variety of install files, totalling 418 MB, varying in sizes of 300kb to as much as 60MB per file from the CL10000 machine, to our ABIT NF7-S box.

Both systems were connected via a CAT-5E crossover cable, which should prevent any bottlenecks that would arise with our standard 10/100 router.

Upload Test

It took just under a minute to transfer the files to the ABIT box. The CL10000 averaged 7.93MB/sec, and according to Task Manager, about 22% CPU usage.

Download Test

Downloading wasn't as fast, averaging 6.96MB/sec, but CPU usage was a little lower at 20%.

Final Words

Let's get something out of the way... the EPIA CL10000 is not suited to be a power house, LAN party machine. The only role I can see it performing at a LAN party is that of a small, eight person server, but the processing power, and memory support isn't there for anything more.

That being said, I do think the CL10000 does have some interesting potential, even for power users. The size of the CL10000 will make it very easy to install almost anywhere. Though I haven't seen it, I've heard stories of them being installed in cars, but I'm certain many of you can find more creative applications.

For a person with a limited budget, and who is a non gamer, the CL10000 based system should run you no more than 350$ if you do some shopping. The motherboard retails for , and it's possible to find everything else for about another 150$. It's not going to be a screamer, but it'll be good enough for a web surfing, word processing and email machine.

The CL10000 would also make a good base for some kind of a home server. Though I wouldn't use it for an enterprise level database or file server, it should be fine for a home file server. The dual NICs also allow you to setup a real firewall or router, should you have the necessary skills and software. If you have a few gaming PCs in your home, like we mentioned earlier, you can setup the EPIA as a small game server. It's also well suited for web serving for small to medium sites, so that's an option as well.

As a base for a HTPC, the CL10000 has some of the tools. MPEG-2 decoding is done through hardware, though there is no TV-Out or tuner. However, adding a card such as the AIW VE will help a little in the 3D performance area (not much though), and add all the great AIW features to make you own TiVO. There is only two channel sound though, which won't be all that interesting if this was to be a centerpiece to a high-end setup. For a dorm room, this should set you up nicely.

Finally, fans of quiet computing will be quite happy that the CL10000 is near silent. The motherboard runs cool enough that you don't even need a case fan, leaving only the fan on the C3 and probably the PSU as your only sources of noise.

Pros: Compact, fully integrated solution, dual NICs, quiet.

Cons: Lack of CPU power, poor 3D gaming performance, 2-channel sound, and limited expandibility.

Bottom Line: A good base for a entry system, or server. It's low cost, and high integration will certainly have some appeal, even to enthusiasts, so long as its limitations are understood.

If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.

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