VIA Technologies and Systemax Manufacturing have announced a new energy efficient Systemax desktop PC powered by a 1.5GHz VIA C7-D desktop processor, which has a maximum power consumption of 20W, along with the low-power VIA pc2500 motherboard.
The company believes the new Systemax Venture VE desktops will hit the sweet spot, lowering the power consumption and total cost of ownership while providing good performance and reliable systems.
Overall, the system comes with painfully basic specs, but then again, they are not aiming at enthusiasts but rather at budget-conscious buyers. For $299 you'll get 512MB of RAM, an 80GB SATA hard drive, VIA UniChrome Pro II integrated graphics processor, and a plain old DVD-ROM drive, with Windows XP Home serving as the OS. An extra $100 will get you a combo optical drive and Windows XP Professional.
Systemax is just the latest of several manufacturers to use VIA's energy efficient C7-D desktop processor in its computers, looking to tap into the growing market for low-budget / low-power PCs. Other manufacturers include Everex, Mecer, and HP.