Networking specialist Marvell introduced a new Wi-Fi chipset to provide industry's first 450 Mbps throughput. At the moment, the maximum throughput delivered by a 802.11n WiFi chipset varies around 300 Mbps. This significant speed boost is possible due to a new approach: the chipset makes use of three transmitters and three receivers.

According to the company, the chip supports multiple Wi-Fi standards, namely 802.11 a/b/g/n, which allows it to stream high quality content over the network. Marvell's TopDog boast a signal increase of over 500 percent as compared to other 802.11g chips on the market and of over 160 percent as compared to the 802.11n devices.

Although Marvell's chipset is extremely powerful among its competitors on the market, it cannot even compare to WiMax's extended coverage (about 6 kilometers). However, it is faster than WiMax's 70Mbps.

"Marvell is first to market with an 802.11n 450-Mbps solution so manufacturers can deliver industry-leading wireless range and performance to consumers who are seeking faster and more powerful WiFi capabilities," said Sameer Bidichandani, senior director of technology strategy at Marvell.

The chip includes advanced Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms that allow the transmission of multiple high-definition video streams. The MIMO multiple-antenna system makes use of up to two transmit and three receive paths at the same time to deliver smooth and constant data rates over the whole network, in order to prevent "choking" or "freezing" effects. The high-performance on-chip CPU and internal memory makes the chip easy to integrate in custom designs, while preserving low manufacturing costs.

Marvell refused to disclose its customers for the new chip, but it will be used in notebooks, printers, desktop PC networking gear, routers, as well as set-top boxes, digital TVs, gaming devices, and DVD players. The TopDog 11n-450 will be showcased at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show to take place in Las Vegas, starting January the 7th.