14 DAY TRIAL // VIA Technologies announced that it entered a partnership with the company Systemax Manufacturing, a system integrator and computer manufacturer from the U.S. to launch the new Systemax PC, that wishes to be a highly energy efficient computing platform powered by the 1.5GHz VIA C7-D desktop processor. This PC is not addressed to the high end computing market segment, but to those areas where energy efficiency is paramount.
The Systemax PC is , according to a VIA press release, based on the low power VIA PC2500 mainboard and the C7-D processor and the maximum power drawn form the grid is 20W. This computer system used the VIA CN700 digital media chipset with the VIA UniChrome Pro II integrated graphics processor and not discrete graphics card that would dramatically increase the power consumption. According to the press release "the Systemax PC bundles hardware and software and fully addresses the need to run high performance desktop applications while enabling US businesses, schools and homes to lower their electricity usage and therefore their power bills significantly". "We are excited to join forces with Systemax to further extend our reach in the US market," said Brian Sam, Sales Director for the US and Latin America, VIA Technologies. "The VIA PC2500 mainboard allows Systemax to stay ahead of the game and enter new territories, combining leading edge solutions with ultra low power consumption in highly affordable desktop PCs."
As the integrated graphics solution from VIA comes with hardware MPEG-2 decoding capabilities and 3D/2D acceleration, some semblance of video performance will be achieved even if the processor, running at only 1.5GHz is very slow for today's standards. As the graphics solution is directly integrated into the mainboard, the video RAM must be taken from the system's memory, that is not so high to begin with (only 512MB of slowest DDR2 memory running at 533MHZ). The storage options of whoever might buy this system are severely limited, as the Systemax VIA based computer comes with only an 80GB hard disk drive.
The system coming with Microsoft Windows XP Home and a DVD-ROM drive is priced at $299.99, together with a 90-day warranty, while the one running Microsoft Windows XP Professional is equipped with a 52x32x52/16x combo drive and a longer one year parts warranty. "More and more businesses and consumers in the US are looking for reliable, energy efficient computing solutions, without having to compromise on performance," commented Tammy Thompson, Vice President of Systemax Manufacturing Inc. "With the new Systemax PC model Venture VE we've hit the sweet spot, lowering the power consumption and total cost of ownership while providing good performance and rock-solid, reliable systems."