Highest performance VIA Eden ESP processor brings improved digital media and security features for new breed of multifunctional fanless devices

Taipei, Taiwan, 19 August 2003 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced the availability of the VIA Eden™ ESP7000 processor based on the highly efficient CoolStream™ architecture featuring the PadLock™ Data Encryption Engine and enhanced digital media performance for fanless entertainment, communication, commercial and industrial applications.

Recognized as the leading fanless native x86 processor for the embedded market, the VIA Eden ESP enjoys an expanding customer base of Set-Top Box, Thin-Client, Point of Sale and Industrial PC vendors from around the globe. Targeting primarily living room entertainment and communication devices, the new Eden ESP7000 processor enables higher performance from the VIA Eden Platform through the integration of technologies such as StepAhead™ Advanced Branch Prediction, SSE multimedia instruction support and a full speed floating point unit enabling PC functionality from systems that are traditionally single purpose devices.

"The rapid adoption of broadband connectivity in the home is driving the need for fanless devices that not only deliver enhanced digital media performance/capabilities, but also feature consumer electronics design values, such as low noise, that are appropriate for the living room," said Richard Brown, Associate Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The new VIA Eden ESP7000 processor has raised the performance bar for this segment and enables quick time to market for a range of innovative system designs for a variety of advanced applications."

One such device is the paperback-sized Nimble V5 Personal Video Conferencing Player that fits easily onto any desktop in the house or office and operates silently while drawing only approximately 12 watts of power. It is ideal for friends and families to stay in touch through video, voice, text, email, instant photos and file exchanges, allowing individual users to enjoy multi-modal video conferencing that until now has only been available through broadband Internet services at high subscription rates. “Thanks to the VIA Eden ESP7000 processor’s superb thermal and physical properties, we were able to design the Nimble V5 to eliminate the problems of noise and power consumption while combining all the capabilities of a complete PC at a fraction of the cost and size of dedicated video conferencing devices,” said Dr. Jeng-Feng Lee, CEO, Nimble Microsystems.

The Eden ESP7000 processor’s low power consumption with added features and native x86 performance and compatibility are driving its growing acceptance in the Industrial PC market. The JREX-VE family of 3.5” SBCs from Kontron use a range of VIA low power platforms, and are revolutionizing the IPC market through standardization in order to reduce system costs. These boards conform to the same layout and design that allows the use of standard PC SDRAM memory and ATX power supplies for quick and easy upgradeability. “The introduction of the Nehemiah core to the VIA Eden Platform affords greater depth to our JRex-VE line of 3.5 inch SBCs, particularly now that we can offer an ultra low power version with the VIA PadLock Data Encryption Engine,” said Martin Bodenschatz, Product Manager Standard Components, Kontron Embedded Modules GmbH.

PadLock features a high-performance hardware Random Number Generator (RNG) that does not rely on valuable CPU cycles to produce entropy for applications such as data security. The PadLock Data Encryption Engine has undergone comprehensive testing by leading data security firm, Cryptography Research, Inc. and results show high-performance, high-quality entropy and ease of use. To view the complete Cryptography Research report, please go to the VIA Eden ESP7000 web site at: http://www.via.com.tw/en/Products/eden_padlock.jsp.

About the Nimble V5

For more information regarding the Nimble V5, please go to the VIA Eden Platform Internet Appliance partner products web site at: http://www.via.com.tw/en/Products/eden_pias.jsp.

About the JREX-VE

For more information regarding the JRex-VE, please go to the VIA Eden Platform Industrial PC partner products web site at: http://www.via.com.tw/en/Products/eden_industrialpc.jsp.

About the VIA Eden ESP7000 Processor

The VIA Eden Esp7000 processor is based on the unique VIA CoolStream™ architecture of the “Nehemiah” processor core that minimizes power consumption while optimizing performance, making it an ideal solution for the new generation of innovative fanless designs. Housed in VIA’s low profile EBGA package that reduces thermal density, the VIA Eden ESP7000 consumes a mere 6 watts of Maximum Thermal Design Power and nearly 1 watt of typical power when running at a clock speed of 733MHz. Measuring only 1.5mm high, it is ideal for highly compact systems that require native x86 performance, compatibility and reliability.

Available at a speed of 733MHz, the VIA Eden ESP7000 processor comes packed with advanced performance features such as StepAhead™ Advanced Branch Prediction, sixteen pipeline stages, support for SSE multimedia instructions, a full-speed Floating Point Unit (FPU) and an efficiency-enhanced 64KB Full-Speed Exclusive L2 cache with 16-way associativity for memory optimization. For enhanced digital media applications such as high quality DVD and audio playback, the VIA Eden ESP7000 can be coupled with the highly acclaimed VIA CLE266 chipset, featuring an integrated hardware MPEG-2 decoder, DDR266 SDRAM support, VIA Vinyl™ Audio integrated 5.1 surround sound, high-speed USB2.0 ports, and 10/100 Fast Ethernet.

To enhance the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of electronic data, the VIA Eden ESP7000 integrates the VIA PadLock™ Data Encryption Engine, the world’s first hardware Random Number Generator (RNG) integrated into a CPU. Designed as an extension of the VIA Eden ESP7000 processor core, PadLock™ delivers world-class levels of entropy for security applications without relying on vulnerable software or drivers to access it. For more information on the VIA Eden ESP7000 processor, please visit the VIA Eden Platform website at: http://www.via.com.tw/en/Products/eden_esp7000.jsp.