Via is set to carve out a bigger share of the low-cost notebook market with a new line of x86 processors, dubbed Nano, which offer a significant performance boost over their venerable C7 chips within the same power envelope.
Formerly referred to by the code name Isaiah, the new chips were designed to compete with Intel and its upcoming Atom line of chips and will be available in both standard voltage and ultra low voltage SKUs to satisfy a large range of products. Clock speeds range from 1GHz up to 1.8GHz with a maximum power rating pegged between 5W to 25W. All Nano processors include 1MB of L2 cache and an 800MHz FSB.
Intel seems to have the upper hand on the power consumption front, with its 1.86GHz Atom Z540 chip topping out at 2.4W - and a rumored 1.6GHz dual-core part that has a TDP of just 8W. Performance-wise, however, Via seems pretty confident that the Nano will be faster clock for clock. We'll have to wait until the chips hit the market sometime in Q3 to really see how they stack up against each other.