VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced the VIA CX700 digital media IGP chipset for the VIA C7® and Eden® processor platforms, the most advanced x86 embedded chipset that integrates all the cutting-edge features of a modern chipset's North and South bridges, including rich video graphics, HD audio, and DDR2 and SATA II support, into a single, compact and highly power-efficient package.
Block Diagram :
Specs -
- » 533MB/sec Front Side Bus
- » Supports up to 4GB DDR2 533/400MHz or DDR400/333/266MHz SDRAM
- » Integrated VIA UniChrome Pro Graphics
- » Chromotion CE Video Display engine
- » MPEG-2 Decoder
- » Video De-blocking
- » Adaptive De-Interlace
- » DuoView+™
- » Optimized Unified memory Architecture (UMA)
- » 200MHz Graphics Engine Clock with separated 128-bit data paths
- » 128-bit 2D and 3D Graphics engine
- » Multi-configuration LVDS/DVI transmitter
- » Support for VIA Vinyl HD Audio
- » Serial ATA support for up to 2 devices
- » Parallel ATA133/100/66 support for up to 2 devices
- » Support for up to 6 USB 2.0 ports
Features :
In the VIA CX700, VIA has integrated all the key functionality of both the North and South bridges of a regular VIA chipset into a single chip package exactly the same size as a North bridge, i.e. 37.5mm x 37.5mm, representing a saving of over 34% in board real estate.
This represents a major breakthrough for the embedded industry where ultra compactness is essential, and will have significant benefit for embedded boards such as PC/104 and VIA EPIA mainboards.
Complementing the power-efficient VIA C7 and fanless VIA Eden processors it supports, the VIA CX700 is based on a highly sophisticated power efficient architecture that enables such rich integration into a compact package with a maximum power envelope of just 3.5 watts.
A number of key power management technologies are incorporated that monitor activity and dynamically control power according to system load requirements.
A host of leading digital media, memory and connectivity technologies are packed into the single-chip package of the VIA CX700:
Video – Enhanced video quality is provided through the proven VIA UniChrome™ Pro IGP core with its 128-bit 2D/3D graphics, acclaimed hardware MPEG-2 video decoding acceleration and intelligent video rendering technology of the Chromotion™ CE video display engine; this is complemented by the VIA Vinyl HD Audio controller supporting up to eight high definition channels delivering a richer all-round digital media experience.
Memory – VIA's renowned memory controller technology has been incorporated into the VIA CX700, with support for both DDR400 and the high-bandwidth DDR2533 memory up to 4GB with ECC capability, and 32-bit as well as 64-bit system memory to extend performance, design and cost flexibility to developers.
Connectivity – Broad connectivity comes with support for SATA, SATA II and PATA drives, two COM and six USB2.0 ports, and four PCI slots, allowing for considerable flexibility in board configuration. Moreover, developers can also integrate support for ISA through an ITE PCI bridge chip, combining legacy ISA connectivity with high bandwidth DDR2 memory support for far more powerful embedded systems.
Display – Flexibility is extended to display technologies, with the VIA CX700 integrating a multi-configuration LVDS/DVI transmitter, a popular feature for embedded systems, as well as standard TV-out, and incorporating DuoView to enable dual screen display.
Launch :
Volume shipping of the VIA CX700 is expected to commence in Q2 2006. Three weeks ago, VIA announced the C7 processor with much fan-fare. The processor boasts a 1.2GHz to 1.5GHz core clock with an average power consumption under 1W -- perfect for the dozen or so UMPCs and PMPs that have lined up to adopt the C7. Industry insiders tell us that with the CX700 IGP, we should expect to see even more UMPC manufacturers make announcements since the chipset is really the first full featured, DX8.1 capable IGP with such low power requirements.
Interestingly enough, the CX700 has no PCIe support. While this is typically fine for SFF and embedded solutions, many SATA, Ethernet and audio interfaces are moving twoard PCIe as a unified interface.