VIA's PX5000EG Pico-ITX motherboard is no match for a hair dryer

It's been far too long since we've seen a gizmo from any walk of life get torture tested, but the wait for another is over at long last. As part of the Naked Pico Challenge, the crazy cats over at TechnoVoyance set out to see just how long the VIA PX5000EG Pico-ITX board could operate without any cooling whatsoever. After it hummed along for a fortnight without even a hiccup, the line had been drawn, and it was finally time to see precisely what could shut this thing down. We hate to spoil things, but suffice it to say, even this athlete-of-a-motherboard couldn't withstand the pressure of an 1,800-watt hair dryer for more than a minute or two. Head on past the break to see the softcore abuse on video.

[d @ Jun 9th 2008 4:18PM]

nice.

Oh, and BTW Engadget, congrats for the non-apple post.

[Aguiluz @ Jun 9th 2008 4:19PM]

At least clak and iEye are jumping in joy and can finally shut up.

[j_g_puff @ Jun 9th 2008 5:05PM]

Don't hold your breath...there's still plenty of scope for "This is ugly! They should make it look like iPhone"-type comments. It's only a matter of time.

Oh, and there's a minor error in the writeup...this is actually hardcore abuse. If you want to see softcore abuse, try this with a MicroBlaze.

[Blaine Oliver @ Jun 9th 2008 5:08PM]

The new question is, will it melt?

[nxtiak @ Jun 9th 2008 4:19PM]

"1,800-watt hair dryer" is not a hair dryer, it's a heat-gun.

[Aguiluz @ Jun 9th 2008 4:21PM]

I seriously got a hairdyer just like that (save for the color) and it makes the lights dim when I turn it on.

[jpxdude @ Jun 9th 2008 4:19PM]

The pico and mini itx standards are 2 of the most exciting technologies making some leaps and bounds this year. I'm excited about the 'fly creek' mini-itx (micro-atx) coming out from intel this year!! Can't wait to build on these babies...

[Ignatius @ Jun 9th 2008 4:20PM]

Wow.

What a waste.

[Toadlet @ Jun 9th 2008 4:22PM]

In other news - a new weapon was developed for use during the inevitible robot uprising.

[Greg Thompson @ Jun 9th 2008 4:24PM]

This is clearly a viral marketing attempt for Don't Mess with the Zohan.

[Bobs @ Jun 9th 2008 4:26PM]

Is your avatar a black muppet smoking a cigarette while flying a jet with a bra on his head?

[stardash @ Jun 9th 2008 4:45PM]

@ Bobs. Epic win.

[grobbio @ Jun 9th 2008 4:36PM]

These are the things that make me feel that so-called developed countries should change they way of living: breaking on video things that are perfectly working... Stupid and bored kids playing with youtube do things like that... Is that really techno-related information?

so go on and rate me, kids.

[BigTeebo @ Jun 9th 2008 6:02PM]

C'mon now, they are torture testing a computer, not a Tibetan political prisoner's head or something.

[Eyei @ Jun 9th 2008 4:38PM]

Oh yeah, well the 3G iPhone could stand up to a 2,000,000 watt hair dryer! AND it has a screen BUILT IN! So there!


iEye: "There Berries Taste Like Burning"
Clak: "These Berries taste like iEye...mmmmm"

[retro77 @ Jun 9th 2008 4:38PM]

Ouch.

[retro77 @ Jun 9th 2008 4:38PM]

Get ready for will it blow!!!?

[kevin @ Jun 9th 2008 4:52PM]

According to VIA's website it's only rated to 50 deg. C; that hairdryer definitely got hotter than that.

[Tony Rayo @ Jun 9th 2008 5:00PM]

No doubt, also if I am correct the pico comes with a heatsink (but no fans) that they removed. Would have been interested to see what happened with it stock (obviously it can run in a normal environment without the heatsink, although the load didn't look too heavy if it was just Ubuntu + video player). Also I wonder if the unit worked again after letting it cool off.

[Kax02 @ Jun 9th 2008 5:05PM]

Maybe the staff at TechnoVoyance could have set it on fire, submerged it in water, poured LN2 all over it, or run it over with a car as well. They should have considered dropping it out of a plane about 1000ft up and proven that it's breakable as well.

Why not break out a blow torch and slowly focus it on the silicon?

It'd be nice for groups to avoid just throwing the obvious out and going on about how it's a discovery.

In other news, if you use a flame thrower on your liquid cooling system, it might not hold up to the heat!

[LaughingVulcan @ Jun 9th 2008 10:21PM]

Kudos - I was thinking *exactly* the same thing concerning the blowtorch. You can torture test almost anything into failing.

[Reader @ Jun 9th 2008 5:28PM]

Next they should try throwing it in a fire (seriously, an 1800 watt hairdryer??!).

[BigTeebo @ Jun 9th 2008 6:01PM]

Fine then. Via just lost a customer. I want a motherboard I can blow a hair dryer at full blast with on. Is it that hard for manufacturers to make one? Jeesh.

[giyad @ Jun 9th 2008 6:07PM]

that was just mean

[meist3r @ Jun 9th 2008 7:47PM]

Now what I'm asking myself is where/when can I get my hands on one of these? I'd like to buy at least one with the case and use it as a small download client or something. Right now all I can get here is one case without any innards. This is perfect for hooking up external hard drives and run a really small backup/file server and or BitTorrent client. Can someone point me toward a site with shipping to europe that sells these? Preferrably with a power adator that won't fry on 220V.

[jordan @ Jun 10th 2008 10:50AM]

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/embedded/artigo/

[Stew @ Jun 10th 2008 10:25PM]

Hey. This is him from the video. Quick update. The Pico still lives! We let the Pico cool down and tried to start it again. Low and behold, it came alive and booted, no problem!