14 DAY TRIAL // VIA Technologies announced the launch of its newest mainboard for desktop computer systems running Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system. The new mainboard, named pc3500, features a low power design and an option-rich platform that enables computer system integrators to build machines running Vista that use only 24W in idle state, half the power requirement of a typical machine compliant with U.S. EPA's latest Energy Star Program Requirement for Computers: Version 4.0.
Additional power and energy saving technologies enable the VIA pc3500 motherboard to draw as little as 1.09 watts in Sleep Mode, and 0.68 watts in Standby, while playing a DVD movie makes the system consume under 35W, even if that is one of the most power intensive computing applications available today. "With the launch of VIA pc3500 mainboard we are leading the way in developing innovative low power platforms that enable our OEM and SI customers to meet the growing worldwide demand for energy-efficient PCs," commented Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, who was cited in the company's press release with the occasion of the pc3500 release. "Consumers and business users who purchase PCs based on the VIA pc3500 mainboard will not only be able to significantly reduce their energy costs but also minimize their environmental impact while running all the latest software applications."
The VIA pc3500 mainboard is the latest of a line of energy efficient motherboards from VIA that are based on the VIA CN896 digital media IGP chipset, a certified product against Microsoft's Windows Vista Basic. The chipset features the VIA Chrome9 HC integrated graphics processor, IGP for short, that is DirectX 9.0 compatible. The IGP provides 3D video acceleration for games and 2D acceleration for applications, while Chromotion 3.0 video display engine that is integrated into the graphics chip offers hardware support for video processing tasks. The pcs3500 mainboard was built to house the power efficient VIA C7-D processor that supports the 400MHz VIA V4 frontside bus and the entire system is able to function and deliver a multimedia experience for less than 25W of power.
The VIA pc3500 mainboard comes equipped with two DDR2 system memory slots that supports up to 2GB of memory with a maximum speed of 667MHz. Additional functionality can be achieved thanks to the PCI Express x16 slot and PCI slot and its full set of connectivity features such as four USB 2.0 ports, two SATA II/PATA connectors, a 10/100 network interface card and an eight channel audio chip.