14 DAY TRIAL // Intel and AMD may be the two biggest players in the CPU industry, but VIA also has its x86 license and it plans to go ahead and release new products next year, not just a new dual-core NANO chip but also a chipset that actually supports DirectX 11 graphics.
Intel will soon launch the Sandy Bridge processors with integrated graphics and Advanced Micro Devices intends to bring out its Fusion APUs soon after.
Basically, both companies will release products with better processing and graphics, though AMD will likely have the upper hand in the latter area, with its DirectX 11 support.
Now, the third greatest maker of x86 CPUs, VIA Technologies, is reportedly planning on offering stronger products of its own next year.
One of the products will be a dual-core NANO processor, which will support VIA's 1333MHz V4 Bus and will feature a clock speed of 2GHz.
Also, the new NANO will come with 2MB of L2 cache memory and a TDP (thermal design power) of 20W.
The second major release on the company's part, also slated to take place in 2011, is that of the VN11 chipset, which will complement the new CPU's processing abilities with its own DirectX 11 graphics.
According to Digitimes, VIA may be hoping that, through these releases, it will somehow make up for the losses it registered during the first half of 2010.
For those interested in numbers, net loss was of NT$1.44 billion during the first two quarters of 2010, which corresponds to US$45.011 million or NT$1.89 per share.
These figures were considerably more serious than last year's same period, when VIA suffered losses of NT$786 million.
As for VIA's other plans, the company seeks to have TSMC produce the new chip and chipset and aims to merge VIA Optical Solution, its optical storage manufacturing subsidiary, on September 30.