Monday, September 17th 2007
VIA Launches Vista-Ready EPIA SN, Fastest Ever EPIA Mainboard
VIA Technologies today announced the VIA EPIA SN-series mainboard, the first Mini-ITX to be based on the Vista-certified VIA CN896 IGP chipset. Powered by the 1.8GHz VIA C7 processor, the VIA EPIA SN provides a performance boost of up to 30% over previous VIA EPIA mainboards, while a fanless 1GHz sku is ideal for Network Attached Storage and other applications requiring passive cooling. The VIA EPIA SN is also the first to provide the added flexibility of a 16-lane PCI-Express port for bandwidth-intensive graphics cards.
With four Serial ATA II ports, an Ultra DMA port, a Compact Flash connector, dual-LAN ports and wireless support, the VIA EPIA SN has the storage and network versatility to suit developers of NAS, digital signage and POS units alike.
The VIA CN896 chipset has been certified by Microsoft to guarantee a reliable and trouble free installation of Windows Vista, with its VIA Chrome9 HC integrated graphics core, designed for high performance in 2D, 3D and DirectX 9 applications, bringing MPEG-2 acceleration to deliver smooth DVD playback while minimizing impact on system resources.
Capable of supporting an unprecedented 4GB of energy-efficient DDR2 667 system memory, the VIA EPIA SN takes compact computing to new levels of system performance. Digital signage and POS developers can take advantage of expansion cards supporting DVI and LVDS displays, while the option of an additional four COM ports and a native LPC bus is important to POS vendors. Multiple native RAID configurations through 4 S-ATA channels and VIA V-RAID within the VIA VT8251 south bridge, and the inclusion of a Gigabit Ethernet port as standard make the EPIA SN series a strong contender in NAS system development.
"With the VIA EPIA SN-series we have listened to our customers and delivered a number of key technology firsts to the Mini-ITX form factor," said Daniel Wu, Assistant Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "I am proud to say that VIA has again raised the bar to develop a Vista-ready mainboard that meets the ever-increasing demands of the embedded industry."
As well as the VIA PadLock Security Engine embedded within the VIA C7 processor, further security is also available through an optional TPM module. More information about the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX SN-series may be found on the VIA website here.
Source:
VIA
The VIA CN896 chipset has been certified by Microsoft to guarantee a reliable and trouble free installation of Windows Vista, with its VIA Chrome9 HC integrated graphics core, designed for high performance in 2D, 3D and DirectX 9 applications, bringing MPEG-2 acceleration to deliver smooth DVD playback while minimizing impact on system resources.
Capable of supporting an unprecedented 4GB of energy-efficient DDR2 667 system memory, the VIA EPIA SN takes compact computing to new levels of system performance. Digital signage and POS developers can take advantage of expansion cards supporting DVI and LVDS displays, while the option of an additional four COM ports and a native LPC bus is important to POS vendors. Multiple native RAID configurations through 4 S-ATA channels and VIA V-RAID within the VIA VT8251 south bridge, and the inclusion of a Gigabit Ethernet port as standard make the EPIA SN series a strong contender in NAS system development.
"With the VIA EPIA SN-series we have listened to our customers and delivered a number of key technology firsts to the Mini-ITX form factor," said Daniel Wu, Assistant Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "I am proud to say that VIA has again raised the bar to develop a Vista-ready mainboard that meets the ever-increasing demands of the embedded industry."
As well as the VIA PadLock Security Engine embedded within the VIA C7 processor, further security is also available through an optional TPM module. More information about the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX SN-series may be found on the VIA website here.
16 Comments on VIA Launches Vista-Ready EPIA SN, Fastest Ever EPIA Mainboard
more options for the HTPC crowd and cheaper to boot.
www.technovoyance.com
Hmmm that thing's tiny, and feature packed. I like it.
Wait a minute, no heatsinks? Surely it needs one?
*or not depending on the arcitecture... maybe if it's as fast as a 1.8gig conroe-l celeron :p
Yep, it uses two heatsinks . One heatsink covers both the CPU and the north bridge and has a fan on it on the 1.8GHz SKU. The 1.0GHz version is fanless. The CPU is the smaller of the two by the way. The south bridge also has a smaller fanless heatsink. Anyone fancy some photos? I have one right here next to me.
Sure, why not?