14 DAY TRIAL // Via just finished developing their new CN800 chipset and announced its availability. The new product will be integrated in future silent and cost effective architectures.
Using a combination between a new northbridge and VT8327R southbridge, the new product from Via adds a number of new interesting features such as: PCI-E slots (x16, x1), DDR2 400/533 and an integrated graphics core capable of MPEG-2 decoding. This core is actually the latest in the Unicrome series and uses very low power, making it as efficient as ever when it comes to power consumption. Along with the new stuff, there come older features such as AGP 8x support, Via Vynil Audio based on the HD standard and Raid 0,1 and 0+1 support. Depending on the configuration, a Gigabit Ethernet port can be integrated into the motherboard.
This new CN800 chipset leaves me with mixed feelings since we all know that, although Via CPUs use extremely low power, they also perform poorer than their AMD counterparts when comparing 2 CPUs working at the same speed. This is a good product to buy if you want a passive cooled PC that consumes less than any other combination you could come up with. On the other hand, if you want performance, stay away.
Via announced that CN800 products will be available in stores later this month.