The C7-M ULV processor from VIA Technologies comes in a range of configurations, from the low-power, 3.5-W, 1-GHz Model 779 to the 1.5-GHz Model 775, which tops out at a rather cool 7.5 W (see the figure). The C7-M's silicon-on-insulator technology cuts power requirements by 20% while increasing performance by 15%.
VIA's TwinTurbo technology lets the processor quickly switch from low power to fullspeed mode. The die size is only 30 mm2, including the 128-kbyte L2 cache. The processor employs a 16-stage pipeline. Each model has a 400-MHz front-side bus, but faster bus speeds (up to 800 MHz) and clock speeds (up to 2 GHz) will be available.
The chips have the same NX Execute protection feature found on the Intel and AMD processors. The built-in VIA Padlock security engine includes hardware AES encryption support as well as a pair of Montgomery multipliers for fast public key support.
The C7-M comes in a 21- by 21-mm nanoBGA package. It's found on VIA's EPIE EN 17- by 17-cm Mini-ITX motherboards. The EN EPIA motherboard costs $280. It includes a range of features such as VT1625 HDTV Encoder plus FireWire and SATA disk support.
VIA Technologies
www.via.com.tw