New chipset designed for VIA C7-M(TM) and Intel® Pentium®-M processors delivers an exceptional Hi-Def(TM) visual and audio experience, DDR2 memory support and power saving technologies for today's mobile digital lifestyle

Taipei, Taiwan, 17th August 2005 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced the VIA VN800, the first chipset solution for the VIA C7-M(TM) processor with DDR2 memory support for fast and efficient system memory access and hardware MPEG-2 decoding for flawless DVD playback.

The VIA VN800 features the S3 Graphics UniChrome(TM) Pro Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP), providing outstanding dual pipeline graphics performance through a 128-bit 2D/3D engine and shared DDR memory support for all the latest applications, while the Chromotion CE Video Display Engine blends hardware-based MPEG-2 decoding acceleration with advanced rendering tools such as Adaptive De-interlacing and Video Deblocking to ensure the clearest playback of digital media content. Furthermore, the VIA VN800 includes support for an external AGP 8X port allowing optional graphics processor upgrades on supporting notebooks.

Utilizing the unique VIA Flexi-Bus Technology, the VIA VN800 enables support for the highly efficient VIA V4 bus interface for the new VIA C7-M processor, as well as support for the Intel® Pentium®-M processor, giving notebook manufacturers maximum design flexibility. The VIA VN800 also supports power efficient DDR2 533/400MHz memory modules for high speed memory access with ultra-efficient, low power consumption, helping to further extend notebook battery life.

The VIA VN800 is optimized for ultra low power consumption to maximize battery life with advanced ACPI support that powers down certain functions of the chipset when not in use. Further, when paired with the VIA C7-M processor, the VIA VN800 offers support for VIA PowerSaver(TM), which can reduce power consumption by as much as 50% by dynamically adjusting processor states.

"Right now we are seeing low power, highly-integrated mobile chipset solutions as one of the key driving forces behind the tremendous growth in the overall notebook market," commented Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "VIA's experience and leadership across all platform segments makes us uniquely positioned to take advantage of this trend, and the launch of the VIA VN800 with its outstanding video playback and advanced power saving technologies will further boost VIA's momentum in the mobile marketplace."

The VIA VN800 also features the high bandwidth V-Link bus to allow communication between the chipset's North and South bridges. When combined with solutions such as the VIA VT8237A South Bridge and a broad array of VIA companion chips, the VIA VN800 provides a comprehensive range of storage, multimedia and connectivity features, including native Serial ATA and support for 6-channel or 8-channel VIA Vinyl Audio, VIA Velocity(TM) Gigabit Ethernet and wireless LAN connectivity, USB2.0 and 1394.