VIA is attempting to tackle Shuttle's stranglehold on the micro-PC market with the launch of the C3M266 motherboard coupled with a C3 processor. It's to be the basis for a barebones system with onboard graphics and Ethernet that takes up very little space.

As the benchmarks amply demonstrate, the combination of a 1GHz C3 processor and this motherboard won’t win any awards for speed. It typically runs at about a fifth the speed of a 2.5GHz P4. This means it's tolerable for basic tasks such as word processing - and in a pinch can stretch to watching movies - but it’s not really adequate for gaming or anything even remotely taxing, such as graphic design.

The C3M266 also has some distinct shortcomings that will stop it from being as good a basis for a loungeroom PC as a pre-built Shuttle XPC. The XPCs, for example, typically come with onboard 5.1 digital S/PDIF sound and TV outputs, so you can easily plug the XPC into a home theatre system. The C3M266 on the other hand lacks native TV-out (so you'll need to add a daughter card) and only has analog 5.1 outputs, which most home theatre systems don't support.

If what you're really after is a basic PC for surfing the Web and word processing, you won't find a better value for money combo.

Update: Please contact BCN Technology for more information on the VIA C3M266FL. The contact in the magazine is incorrect. We apologise for any inconvenience.