VIA Nano E-Series CPUs offer native 64-bit support, guaranteed longevity, and extreme energy efficiency
By Vlad Savov 
posted April 23rd 2010 7:49AM
posted April 23rd 2010 7:49AM
VIA Unveils Nano E-Series at ESC 2010, Readies Embedded Industry for Next-Generation 64-bit Computing
VIA launches world's first 64-bit power-efficient processors for tomorrow's embedded markets
Taipei, Taiwan, 22 April 2010 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA Nano E-Series processor, bringing native 64-bit software support, virtualization capabilities and extended longevity support to embedded markets.
The move to 64-bit software architecture is an essential transition for the future of the embedded industry. Forthcoming operating systems such as Windows® Embedded Standard 7 will be able to leverage a 64-bit software eco system that provides up to double the amount of data a CPU can process per clock cycle. This translates in to greater ease in manipulating large data sets and an overall performance boost compared to non-native x64 architectures.
"VIA Nano E-Series processors have been designed to facilitate the shift towards new technologies that will shape the embedded industry for years to come," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The VIA Nano E-Series will mean that technologies such as 64-bit computing and virtual software deployment will become the norm, not the exception for tomorrow's embedded system developers."
The VIA Nano E-Series also supports VIA VT virtualization technology, allowing legacy software and applications to be used in virtual scenarios without impacting on performance. And as with all VIA processors, the VIA PadLock™ Security Engine offers hardware based data encryption standards that meet widely accepted international standards.
Visitors to the VIA Technologies booth at ESC Silicon Valley 2010 will be able to see the VIA Nano E-Series in action. Join VIA at Embedded System Conference 2010, April 27 – 29, San Jose, McEnery Convention Center, Booth No.1238.
For more details, please visit:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/company/events/esc2010/index.jsp
VIA Nano E-Series Highlights
Available at speeds from 800MHz to 1.8GHz, VIA Nano E-Series processors have guaranteed product longevity of seven years and are built on the successful 64-bit, superscalar architecture that powers the VIA Nano 3000 Series and 2000 Series processors.
All VIA Nano E-Series processors are fully compatible with a range of fully integrated media system processors including the VIA VX800, VIA VX855 and forthcoming VIA VX900 and VIA VN1000 digital media chipsets, offering exceptional hardware acceleration of the most demanding HD video codecs and industry leading 3D graphics capabilities.
* World's most power-efficient out-of-order x86 architecture
* Full support for 64-bit operating systems
* High-performance superscalar processing
* Most efficient speculative floating point algorithm
* Full CPU virtualization support
* Advanced power and thermal management
* Leading-edge hardware security features
* Pin-to-pin compatibility with VIA Nano, VIA C7 and VIA Eden Processors
* DDR2 and DDR3 memory support
VIA Nano E-Series Availability
VIA Nano E-Series processor samples are available now to project customers.
For further information about the VIA Nano processor family and the VIA Nano E-Series, please go to:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/nano/index.jsp#e_series
VIA launches world's first 64-bit power-efficient processors for tomorrow's embedded markets
Taipei, Taiwan, 22 April 2010 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA Nano E-Series processor, bringing native 64-bit software support, virtualization capabilities and extended longevity support to embedded markets.
The move to 64-bit software architecture is an essential transition for the future of the embedded industry. Forthcoming operating systems such as Windows® Embedded Standard 7 will be able to leverage a 64-bit software eco system that provides up to double the amount of data a CPU can process per clock cycle. This translates in to greater ease in manipulating large data sets and an overall performance boost compared to non-native x64 architectures.
"VIA Nano E-Series processors have been designed to facilitate the shift towards new technologies that will shape the embedded industry for years to come," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The VIA Nano E-Series will mean that technologies such as 64-bit computing and virtual software deployment will become the norm, not the exception for tomorrow's embedded system developers."
The VIA Nano E-Series also supports VIA VT virtualization technology, allowing legacy software and applications to be used in virtual scenarios without impacting on performance. And as with all VIA processors, the VIA PadLock™ Security Engine offers hardware based data encryption standards that meet widely accepted international standards.
Visitors to the VIA Technologies booth at ESC Silicon Valley 2010 will be able to see the VIA Nano E-Series in action. Join VIA at Embedded System Conference 2010, April 27 – 29, San Jose, McEnery Convention Center, Booth No.1238.
For more details, please visit:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/company/events/esc2010/index.jsp
VIA Nano E-Series Highlights
Available at speeds from 800MHz to 1.8GHz, VIA Nano E-Series processors have guaranteed product longevity of seven years and are built on the successful 64-bit, superscalar architecture that powers the VIA Nano 3000 Series and 2000 Series processors.
All VIA Nano E-Series processors are fully compatible with a range of fully integrated media system processors including the VIA VX800, VIA VX855 and forthcoming VIA VX900 and VIA VN1000 digital media chipsets, offering exceptional hardware acceleration of the most demanding HD video codecs and industry leading 3D graphics capabilities.
* World's most power-efficient out-of-order x86 architecture
* Full support for 64-bit operating systems
* High-performance superscalar processing
* Most efficient speculative floating point algorithm
* Full CPU virtualization support
* Advanced power and thermal management
* Leading-edge hardware security features
* Pin-to-pin compatibility with VIA Nano, VIA C7 and VIA Eden Processors
* DDR2 and DDR3 memory support
VIA Nano E-Series Availability
VIA Nano E-Series processor samples are available now to project customers.
For further information about the VIA Nano processor family and the VIA Nano E-Series, please go to:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/nano/index.jsp#e_series
Nano who?
@itkonlyyou25: Really?... I like the cat tho. :|
I have always wondered why VIA Rail never sued VIA for using almost the same trademark "VIA"
@AppleDrank
Because none of them are Apple
:P
@AppleDrank Maybe because they aren't competitors and don't think it'd be worth the money won in court?
@AppleDrank : Because trademarks are industry-specific.
@AppleDrank
EDIT: its because Via Rail is Canadian...
If it was American is WOULD make sense to sue, because if you have a legal team sitting around doing nothing all day twiddleing thumbs you need to keep them primed and ready, so they send them out on these training runs and make a little $$ to boot!
@John Stracke
"Because trademarks are industry-specific."
Then how do you explain "MONSTER CABLES"
taking heat to MONSTER mini golf?
(F-U MONSTER CABLES!)
@AppleDrank : "Then how do you explain "MONSTER CABLES""
Ah, the problem of evil.
@njsrikar
I know what you mean!! I HATE it when companies try to protect their name!!
/s
Hopefully people will finally start buying these things, since they're actually much better CPU's than the Atom's.
@drange Well, for that to happen, Intel has to stop forcing the device manufacturers into using their CPUs. I doubt if any well known manufacturer will dare to do that.
@njsrikar
I know Samsung had a few Nano netbooks at one point, without any of the stupid limitations all Atom netbooks have (screen size etc). Sadly, they also carried similarly specced Atom ones with the same exterior but with all these limitations, and since these where a few bucks cheaper no-one bought the Nano ones.
VIA has a big problem selliing these chips for netbooks since typical netbook buyers only look at price, and typically leave something better just to save 30 bucks off of their purchase.
@njsrikar Intel used to be a lot more successful in this sphere and these business practices got them in hot water (though it was probably still worth it in the end), right? So, now most of their former rebate practices are over and I'm not sure there is the same financial (rebate) incentive or other "force" that Intel is using, right? Now, AMD is used by most OEMs, it's just that Intel is a decent amount ahead and it's the cost/benefit, right? I dunno, not closely following the race, just the prices and benchmarks on things in my desired builds when they come up.
Please correct me, and preferably show a source, if I'm wrong.
@drange
People might start buying them if VIA stops lying. "Industry leading 3D graphics". Yeah, right. VIA claims they are better CPUs but VIA hardware has rarely performed anywhere near what the company claims. I've owned more than one VIA (itx) motherboard, and they've all been underwhelming. Poor manufacturing standards, poor drivers, poor technical support, and a horrible web site. These are the reasons why people don't buy their products.
@drange I would buy VIA if companies actually offered to put them in computers.
Seems kind of ominous that they're quoting idle power instead of TDP.
@John Stracke with that kinda idle, how far can TDP go?
3W? 30W?
@blland : I don't believe there's any upper limit on the difference between idle power and TDP. Modern CPUs keep the idle power down by shutting off whole swathes of the chip. In theory, Intel could make a 130W Xeon that idles as low as these things do.
The fact that they're quoting idle power instead of TDP tells me that they would lose a TDP comparison. Low idle power is good, but it doesn't tell me much about how long I can actually *use* my laptop.
@John Stracke Initial production versions of the 1.0 GHz VIA Nano ULV processor will have a maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP) of just 5 watts (and an idle power of just 100mW), scaling up to 25 watts for the 1.8 GHz VIA Nano processor (500mW idle power).
@sys3175 : Thank you.
Does anyone else not understand the model numbers? U3500 is faster than U3400 but U3300 is faster than both and U3100 tops the U3300. The model number of the L3050 would make me believe that the LOWER the number, the faster the chip, but that's counter-intuitive considering what Intel & AMD have done over the past decade.
@Jason Litka Also counter-intuitive to a normal system of mathematics. :)
Here's my problem with Via's Nano chips. How exactly do I get my hands on one? Mini-ITX boards based on Atom are plentiful, and I can even find C7 or C3 based hardware if I want it for some reason. Zotac has a huge line of Ion/Atom boards that are very capable. But Nano? It seems to be an OEM-only offering, and it's hard to get excited about hardware that tells DIYers to get lost.