Motherboards Get Smaller

In recent years, with the abundance of server and PC-based appliances gaining a presence in the marketplace, choosing a motherboard has been very difficult. Most motherboards, especially Intel- and AMD-based boards, are generally too large to use to build small appliances.

Fortunately, companies such as VIA have come to the rescue. VIA’s new VT310-DP motherboard introduces dual processing power and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to the Mini-ITX format. The VT310-DP supports the x86 architecture and is powered by two 1GHz VIA Eden-N processors. The board supports up to 2 Gbytes of memory in two slots.

The VT310-DP motherboard uses very little power. Combined, the two 1GHz VIA Eden-N processors draw a maximum of 14 watts.

With power consumption so low, the need for cooling fans is eliminated, and consequently, so is the power required to spin the fans. Another advantage of the lack of cooling fans and the motherboard’s small size is the amount of space required to house the board is greatly reduced, which means system builders can design appliances that are as small as possible.

Working in conjunction with the processors is the company’s CN400 digital media chipset. This chipset features an integrated UniChrome Pro graphics processor with a 2-D/3-D graphics engine, hardware video acceleration and Chromotion CE video display engine.

With such a small motherboard, system builders now have new opportunities to develop high-density server systems, compact appliance servers and embedded digital devices.

The VT310-DP’s $399 price tag might seem high for such a small motherboard, but consider that it includes two 1 GHz processors and the price seems much more reasonable.

PRODUCT SNAPSHOT
> Name: VIA VT310-DP
> Price: $399
> Distributors/Integrators: iGoLogic, iTuner Networks,Logic Supply, Ma Labs, Medialand Systems
> Company: VIA Technologies
Fremont, Calif.
(510) 687-5771
www.viaembedded.com