VIA Reveals 1-Watt x86 CPU

[error_f0rce]

VIA has announced a 1-watt x86 CPU, calling it the most energy efficient x86 processor in the world. The chip runs at 500 MHz and can do so without any active cooling. During its idle state it consumes a mere 0.1 watts. The VIA Eden ULV will be mainly targeted towards industrial, commercial and ultra mobile uses and is expected to show up in embedded systems. The tiny CPU measures only 21mm x 21mm.


View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[newtekie1]

1w is simply amazing.

 

[suraswami]

hmm if they anounce a dual core will it be 2-watt processor? That would make a dent for INTEL and AMD's market share?

Dual core on Low power laptops for school and college would be fun.

 

[Solaris17]

sweet its amazing to see what tech is coming to.

 

[DaMulta]

Just think if you owned a company that didn't need high end machines. 1000 computers running 50watts or more vs this low low wattage CPU. The savings could be huge!!!

 

[error_f0rce]

Just think if you owned a company that didn't need high end machines. 1000 computers running 50watts or more vs this low low wattage CPU. The savings could be huge!!!

Yep, or imagine being able to run a 500MHz CPU in a cell phone or something smaller off just regular batteries. Using this in conjunction with an OLED display you could have an uber-portable, solar or motion powered device.... that would be so sweet

 

[jydie]

Yep, or imagine being able to run a 500MHz CPU in a cell phone or something smaller off just regular batteries. Using this in conjunction with an OLED display you could have an uber-portable, solar or motion powered device.... that would be so sweet

A solar powered laptop or PDA (with battery backup)... that would be awesome!!! I have a solar powered scientific calculator that is over 20 years old, and it still works perfectly. The industry needs to consider solar power more often these days.

 

[suraswami]

Or I can run SQL Server mobile edition on my palm top and be at a beach still supporting work.

 

[hat]

Probably very OCable

 

[DRDNA]

these will be the wanted CPU for mobile devices

 

[Deleted member 3]

Or I can run SQL Server mobile edition on my palm top and be at a beach still supporting work.

Where I'm from everyone tries to get away from work...

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

Where I'm from everyone tries to get away from work...

Where we're from, work follows you around no matter how much you try

Most IT related people are on call 24/7

 

[mandelore]

this is simply great stuff. i was impressed by AMDs reported 40W cpu, but 1W is very nice, and for 500Mhz, they dont need to scale that up, just make a quad core version (intel method of 4 strapped together) and you have a 4W 2Ghz processor.

simply amazing stuff

 

[jocksteeluk]

hats off to Via, they have found their market and they are sticking to it with success.

 

[reueljoab]

i didn't see this coming... its just incredible... 1w processor... wow...

 

[suraswami]

Where we're from, work follows you around no matter how much you try

Most IT related people are on call 24/7

100% true. With this and the stupid f.. machine which always does 'bmmmm..bmmmm', Blackberry it is pain. Have to carry those bricks everywhere.

 

[GSG-9]

this is simply great stuff. i was impressed by AMDs reported 40W cpu, but 1W is very nice, and for 500Mhz, they dont need to scale that up, just make a quad core version (intel method of 4 strapped together) and you have a 4W 2Ghz processor.

simply amazing stuff

I was just thinking the same thing, its not going to happen, but if somone made a quad core board for these you could basicly have an 8 core computer running with a total cpu power draw of 8w. Think about that, a computer with 4ghz of total power could run bioshock (not sure now well) since it is designed with multiple cores in mind. Im sure it would die in single and even dual threaded apps but it would at least be able to run with some newer ones.

 

[lpfreak]

lol 1 watt per 500mhz, therefore amd+intel= power hoggers when via theoretically can make 10watt procys running at 5 ghz

 

[error_f0rce]

I'm not sure how greatly CPU and GPU architecture varies, but one application I'd love to see of these low power chips is on a graphics card... no more 800w-1kw power supplies for OC'd xfire or SLI rigs.... and the potential for extreme graphics on laptops/mobile devices is exciting too!! Anyone who has a gaming laptop knows how much battery life playing games sucks, you get 2 hours if you're lucky on a 12-cell battery full performance/brightness....

 

[insider]

VIA recommends pairing the 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV with the CX700/M chipset for a system that only draws 3.5 Watts, at a maximum, storage devices not included. VIA expects a system powered by the 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV and CX700/M with storage and connectivity options to consume no more than 10-watts of power.

Expect the 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV processor to show up in embedded systems.

They have a winner here if widely available and cheap to buy, I'd buy one or two small factor systems based on that platform for running 24/7 as a low cost server using a mere 10 watts, rather than my current system eating up around 300w idle!

 

[error_f0rce]

They have a winner here if widely available and cheap to buy, I'd buy one or two small factor systems based on that platform for running 24/7 as a low cost server using a mere 10 watts, rather than my current system eating up around 300w idle!

No kidding, and you've got to love the 0.1w idle.... I mean that seems almost impossible

 

[3991vhtes]

as generic as VIA processors are, I'm amazed by their new technology!

 

[newtekie1]

I want 4w quad-cores!

 

[GSG-9]

I want 4w quad-cores!

In quad socket motherboards made by TYAN, they could tear it up, 16/32gigs of ram. Your main system without videocard would be pulling 32watts as a low point! (16w for the cpus, 2v for the ram *not sure how many watts a stick of DDR2/DDR3 ram uses and lets assume 8 4gig sticks (32gb of ram)

Needless to say, a computer with a node of 16cores and 32gigs of ram is overkill for these 500mhz cores, but still. I would like to see how it would run.

 

[newtekie1]

It might be a little overkill for 500MHz cores, but in some instances the ability to do multiple tasks at once is a plus.