Moving onto the AV testing we touch on the real focus of this micro PC. Both systems were tested on their DVD playing credentials while HD playback was strictly the domain of the MAG and the power of its onboard ION chipset.

DVD playback was smooth on both systems using both Media Player 12 and PowerDVD. But as i've spotted elsewhere on the web i experienced greater CPU usage during playback in Media Player while using the MAG. This suggests an issue with the Direct X compatibility with the MAG's ION chipset... despite this the system was still able to function well though.


DVD playback.

Additionally despite the lower CPU usage of the Intel i found that doing anything whilst playing back a DVD caused the system to splutter and stall slightly. The MAG produced nothing like this and was able to cope with additional tasks admirably while continuing smooth and uninterrupted playback.

HD playback on the MAG was also smooth and trouble free.


HD playback.

Indeed CPU usage whilst playing back all this 1080p material never went beyond 60%.