Presenting the latest VIA Nano 3000 processors

For use with thin and light laptops and all-in-one PC

Dreams do come true no matter how long it takes. About a year ago, we heard that VIA was working real hard on a new processor line to give Intel's aging Atom a run for its money. Now the company has confessed that the news was indeed true.

VIA Technologies CPU division, after a long wait of five years, released a 64 bit central processing unit (called VIA Nano) for personal computers in 2008. The 64-bit architecture, unveiled on 24 January 2008, was designed from scratch and was launched on May 29. It includes low voltage variants and the Nano brandname.

The one which I will be talking about now is the Nano 3000 series. These processors are targeted at Windows 7-based thin-and-light notebooks and all-in-one desktops.

VIA Nano 3000 Series

The Nano 3000 chips are based on 64-bit superscalar ‘Isaiah’ architecture with core speed ranging from 1GHz to 2GHz; each is capable of flawless playback of high bit-rate 1080p HD video and they are 20 percent more efficient than existing VIA Nano processors.

Of the six initial 3000 Series, four have an idle power draw of just 100mW; the two top-speed versions (at 1.8GHz and 2.0GHz) require 500mW. This will result in higher battery life and longer battery backup time.

VIA Nano 3000 Series processors use the NanoBGA2 package, making them pin-to-pin ompatible with VIA Nano 1000 Series, VIA Nano 2000 Series, VIA C7, VIA C7-M and VIA Eden.

Also on the cards are advanced features including 64-bit support, SSE4 for enhanced multimedia processing, advanced CPU virtualization technology and the industry-leading encryption and security capabilities integrated in the VIA PadLock Security Engine.

VIA Nano 3000 Series Availability

VIA promises that we will see these new efficient processors powering up all-in-one desktops as well as thin-and-light laptops in the very near future, most probably by Q1 2010.