Via needs to up the ante with Intel and AMD both offering many more low-power CPUs, and that is just what they are doing with their newest ITX board. Via announced today the introduction of the EPIA PX5000EG Pico-ITX board, which has inside it an Eden ULV processor rated for a minuscule 1W of power.
The 500MHz CPU will actually use far less than 1W when in use, with the 1W rating only applying to maximum load on the unit. That allows the CPU to be extremely flexible in placement, with Via priding themselves on a functional CPU that requires no active and potentially no passive cooling. The board itself is extremely small, rivaling embedded boards used in specialized applications but having the wide functionality of the x86 platform. Via is so proud of their accomplishment that they have started a contest called the Naked Pico Challenge, in which you can guess how long one of these CPUs with no heat protection will last under stress. You can read more about the new board in the full press release.