VIA Brings world’s smallest Pico-ITX Motherboard to Market with the VIA EPIA PX

VIA Brings world’s smallest Pico-ITX Motherboard to Market with the VIA EPIA PX

New Delhi , 23 May 2007 – VIA Technologies, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and Personal Computer platform solutions, today announced the VIA EPIA PX motherboard, the first commercial mainboard based on VIA’s recently unveiled world’s smallest Pico-ITX form factor measuring just 10cm x 7.2cm for mobile devices.

Powered by the 1GHz VIA C7 processor and supporting up to 1GB of DDR2 533 SO-DIMM system memory, the tiny 10-layer VIA EPIA PX mainboard is based around the single-chip VIA VX700 system media processor, which features the VIA UniChrome Pro II IGP 3D/2D graphics core, MPEG-2/-4 and WMV9 hardware decoding acceleration and display flexibility, including support for higher display resolutions of up to HDTV for HD DVD playback.

Onboard connectors and I/O enable developers to harness the full power of the mainboard, though the VIA PX-O, a dedicated daughterboard with multiple digital media I/O ports, is available on request to assist project developers in early system testing.

Power efficiency is integral to the platform, with the maximum power (TDP) of the processor and chipset at 9W and 3.5W respectively combined with low power DDR2 memory enabling the VIA EPIA PX to run standard productivity and multimedia applications at under 13W.

“The VIA EPIA PX mainboard sets a new world standard for ultra compact embedded system platforms, providing a full complement of multimedia and connectivity options on a platform smaller than any standard PC mainboard or x86 system-on-module,” said Daniel Wu, Assistant Vice President, VIA Platform Solutions Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. “We are very excited about our new ‘baby’ mainboard, and are working closely with chassis and other infrastructure partners to expedite adoption of the form factor.”

This scale of platform miniaturization has been made possible only by the reduction in size of the core silicon; the 21mm square nanoBGA2 package of the VIA C7 processor and 35mm square VIA VX700 system media processor have a combined area of just 16.7cm2, a board real estate saving of over 50% from previous generation EBGA processors plus twin-chip core logic solutions, and more than that over competing solutions.

VIA EPIA PX Pico-ITX Mainboard Availability

The VIA EPIA PX mainboard is available now for developers, and will be available in limited quantities through authorized distributors in late May. For pricing and availability, please contact your local VIA sales representative or send an email to: embedded {at} via.com(.)tw.

About the Pico-ITX Mainboard Form Factor

The Pico-ITX is the latest miniature full-featured x86 form factor defined by VIA for a new generation of smaller, lighter and quieter embedded PCs, systems and appliances. Further information can be found in the “VIA Pico-ITX Form Factor” white paper available for download from the VIA website at: www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/spearhead/pico-itx/

VIA EPIA PX Mainboard Principal Specifications

Processor: 1GHz VIA C7 processor

Chipset: VIA VX700 system media processor

Memory: 1 socket, up to 1GB of DDR2 533 SODIMM system memory

VGA: Integrated VIA UniChrome Pro IGP 3D/2D graphics core, with hardware decoding acceleration for MPEG-2/-4 and WMV9; 1 VGA port

Audio: VIA VT1708A HD Audio codec

Storage: 1 SATA connector and 1 UltraDMA 133 connector

Networking: VIA VT6106S Fast Ethernet controller + 1 RJ-45 LAN port

Onboard options include: 4 USB connectors for 4 ports, 1 COM port connector, 1 PS2 mouse/keyboard connector, 1 LVDS/DVI connector, 1 multimedia connector to support external TV-out, video capture port interface & LPC interface (add-on card required), 1 audio connector for line-out, line-in, mic-in, S/PDIF in & 7.1 channel audio output, 1 CPU fan connector and 1 Pico-ITX power connector.