- Dec 31, 2007
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VIA and Transmeta just both announced new super-small x86 CPUs. VIA boringly follows their new tradition calling theirs a VIA Eden-N (I'm guessing N is for nano) and it can run on a VIA Nano-ITX mobo. The mobo is only a 4 3/4" (120mm) square, which is pretty small to say the least.
Transmeta's much more cool sounding Efficeon (yay for marteting teams inventing funky names like that) is x86 compatible (like all Transmeta CPUs it's a weird architecture, but this one sounds really cool). It can fit into nVidia's nForce3 Go120 which is only 3.3"(84mm) x 6.1" (155mm) for a more traditional oblong shape with less surface area than VIA's little mobo. And yes, that's right, nForce3. Why is that possible? Because the Efficeon has an on-die memory controller just like the A64 does, so nForce3 works with Efficeon too. Funky!
But the really cool thing is that these little low-power low-heat chips with their tiny new mobos are both x86 compatible!!!
Imagine loading up a PDA with an <i>actual</i> version of WinXP and run real life every day software instead of special PDA versions. It could be no larger than any hard drive based MP3 player. (Or even smaller if you wanted to use more expensive storage solutions.) Sweet!
It'll be no gaming king, but still, it's about time. And I think the best part is that once again there is nothing that VIA can do that someone else can't do the same or better. ROFL @ VIA
So what do you folks think? Are these super-low-power processors and micro mobos something that excites you too?
Imagine, your next super-cool portable gaming device might not be a Game Boy Advance. It might be a fully-fledged miniature PC capable of running classic old games like Quake1 or Half Life! I dunno. I'm impressed. I'd <i>love</i> to see some good heat, power, and performance benchmarks.
<pre><A HREF="http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030905" target="_new"><font color=black>People don't understand how hard being a dark god can be. - Hastur</font color=black></A></pre><p>
Transmeta's much more cool sounding Efficeon (yay for marteting teams inventing funky names like that) is x86 compatible (like all Transmeta CPUs it's a weird architecture, but this one sounds really cool). It can fit into nVidia's nForce3 Go120 which is only 3.3"(84mm) x 6.1" (155mm) for a more traditional oblong shape with less surface area than VIA's little mobo. And yes, that's right, nForce3. Why is that possible? Because the Efficeon has an on-die memory controller just like the A64 does, so nForce3 works with Efficeon too. Funky!
But the really cool thing is that these little low-power low-heat chips with their tiny new mobos are both x86 compatible!!!
Imagine loading up a PDA with an <i>actual</i> version of WinXP and run real life every day software instead of special PDA versions. It could be no larger than any hard drive based MP3 player. (Or even smaller if you wanted to use more expensive storage solutions.) Sweet!
It'll be no gaming king, but still, it's about time. And I think the best part is that once again there is nothing that VIA can do that someone else can't do the same or better. ROFL @ VIA
So what do you folks think? Are these super-low-power processors and micro mobos something that excites you too?
Imagine, your next super-cool portable gaming device might not be a Game Boy Advance. It might be a fully-fledged miniature PC capable of running classic old games like Quake1 or Half Life! I dunno. I'm impressed. I'd <i>love</i> to see some good heat, power, and performance benchmarks.
<pre><A HREF="http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030905" target="_new"><font color=black>People don't understand how hard being a dark god can be. - Hastur</font color=black></A></pre><p>
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