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VENT-PC1 packs in an ME6000 Mini-ITX board, 60GB 25in hard drive, 512MB memory and vertically mounted slot-loading DVD-RAM drive, all in an 215 x 118 x 170 mm enclosure (excluding the legs).
VENT-PC3 pictured above looks less like an occasional table and more like a rather stylish miniature radiator - this time in an 225 x 56 x 360 mm enclosure - and comes with either an acrylic stand or VESA mounts.
A-Storage is a companion external Firewire drive in the same style, with 2 x 250GB 35in hard drives in a fault tolerant configuration. VIA's new CPU naming convention Posted on September 20, 2004 VIA have decided that the next generation of C3 procesor ("Esther" core) will be called the C7. There will be a version targetted for mobile use called the C7-M, which will include power saving technology. The existing mobile C3 processor (previously called "Antaur") has been renamed as the C3-M.
The addition of the C7 and C7-M sometime next year will bring this total to 6 The Eden ESP brand will remain - any processor that burns less than 7W and can be passively cooled is deemed to be an Eden processor. VIA expects to be able to reach around 12GHz at 7W with the Esther core, so we should see fanless Eden ESPs and Eden-Ns at 12GHz next year. C4 is the name of an explosive, and the processor cores already have codenames such as C5XL and C5P.
The "Gramaphone-ITX-HD" Tony Greenberg wanted to build the classiest system in all of HTPC Land. He was looking around the room to draw inspiration from his decor when it hit him. His case was already there - on top of his stereo rack, was an antique Gramophone beckoning to be restored and upgraded...
Padlock SDK comes Padlock Tru-Delete, a hard drive scrubbing tool optimised for use with recent VIA processors. Tru-Delete fills up all free space on your drive, including previously deleted files with random data, courtesy of the hardware Random Number Generator found in VIA CPUs with the C5XL core and beyond. In terms of current and future Mini and Nano-ITX boards, that would be the M10000, CL10000, TC10000 and PD10000 (all C5XL core with hardware RNG) and the MII 12000, and soon the SP8000E, SP13000, MS8000E, MS12000, and eventually the N5000E, N8000E, and N10000E (all C5P core, additionally with hardware AES encryption).
Intel are trialling "Shelton" in the Asian market - a new low-power processor (and competitor to AMD's Sempron), based on the P6/Pentium M "Banias" architecture.
Specifications (we think): Passively cooled 1Ghz Intel Shelton CPU, i845GV Chipset with on-board Intel Extreme Graphics, Realtek ALC202A 20 bit AC97 Audio and ICH4 I/O Controller, 400Mhz System Bus and 266Mhz Memory Bus. On board connectors: PCI Slot, 1 x DDR 266 DIMM slot, 1 x ATA 100 IDE connector, 1 x Floppy. Back panel connectors: VGA, Keyboard & Mouse Ports, USB 20, 10/100 LAN, Audio In/Out sockets.
PadLock Security Suite, designed for software developers who want to tap into the performance enhancing security features built into the latest VIA processors. The suite consists of tools to allow software developers to incorporate support for the Advanced Cryptography Engine (PadLock ACE) and Random Number Generator (PadLock RNG).
VIA PadLock SDK consists of a step by step programming guide, Windows and Linux source code, and numerous sample programs, supporting VIA processors based on the C5P and C5XL Nehemiah cores.
VIA PadLock ZIP Utility and accompanying source code, demonstrating speedy hardware-based AES encryption through the Advanced Cryptography Engine featured on the C5P Nehemiah processors.
Mini-ITX speed building competition Posted on September 3, 2004 Mini-ITX speed building competition VIA's Tim Brown randomly plucked two computer journalists from the crowd today for a Mini-ITX speed-building competition in London's Leicester Square.
We wouldn't recommend building Mini-ITX PCs at lightning speeds (amusing to watch though it is) - these boards are best at being small, quiet, fully integrated, and low power consumption.
VeXP) is designed to take advantage of the hardware capabilities of the company's CLE266 and CN400 chipsets. Regular readers will know the CLE266 resides on the current crop of Mini-ITX boards, while the CN400 will reside on future EPIA Mini-ITX offerings, such as the imminent EPIA SP boards, and the not-so-imminent Nano-ITX boards. Current CLE266 Mini-ITX boards will benefit from improved MPEG-2 acceleration, while CN400 boards will also have MPEG-4 acceleration. VIA claims the software will cut CPU workload by 50 percent. VeXP supports many popular file formats, including AVI, ASF, CDDA, DVD, MP3, VCD and RM.
Jay Phillips' "SEGA-ITX" Jay Phillips decided to shell his project using a SEGA CD system he found languishing unloved in his basement. One EPIA M10000 and some spare computer parts later and the SEGA-ITX was born...
com have launched the next generation Cubit 3 - an all-Aluminium Mini-ITX enclosure now with a rather splendid enamel finish. Five new colours are available : Pure White, Graphite Black, Larkspur Blue, Shell Pink and Duck Egg Blue (duck eggs are green where we come from). The Cubit 3 has flexible powering options, allowing you to choose a Power Supply suitable for your needs.
John Robinson's "Quiet Cubid" John Robinson decided his MII 10000 and Cubid 3688 case combination wasn't quite quiet enough, so in the true tradition of Mini-ITXing he decided to do something about it. He ended up with a near-silent Linux server and internet router.
The '266' refers to the CLE266 chipset (as found on most current EPIA boards) - the board itself will run any VIA C3/Eden CPU at up to 1Ghz. Specifications include: Dual LAN (one at 10/100 and one at Gigabit speeds), 48-bit LVDS, PCI slot capable of supporting a 3 slot PCI riser, Mini-PCI slot, 2 IDE channels, Dual SATA supporting RAID 0, 1, 0+1, and a bootable Compact Flash Socket. The MX266 will operate from both an ATX PSU and a single 5V input, and a TV out module with composite and component video out will be available early next year. BCM are targetting the board at Medical, POS, Kiosk, and Digital Multimedia applications, and it is fully compatible with all flavours of Windows including Embedded and CE 42, Red Hat and SUSE Linux and a variety of other operating systems.
The "BMWPC" Nico3k assembled low cost components for his Car PC, all apart from the BMW 325i that is. His system has a touchscreen monitor, GPS, DivX and MP3 playback, all powered by an EPIA ME6000 inside an IKEA key box...
IBASE MB860 Mini-ITX motherboard as an evaluation platform for their Efficeon processor. The MB860 is driven by Transmeta's Efficeon TM8600 running at 1Ghz with cunningly integrated North Bridge functionality, and has an ATI M7 graphics controller with 16MB of onboard memory supporting CRT, TFT, TV and TMDS output, and an ALI M1563M South Bridge. Ports and headers are as to be expected on today's Mini-ITX about town, with the possible exception of the LVDS and TDMS interfaces, and the 44 pin laptop-style IDE connector (IDE 2 in the picture). Memory is catered for with a DDR SODIMM socket, which can accept up to 1GB of DDR 333 memory. Ethernet connectivity can be optionally 10/100 or 10/100/1000 (the MB860F).
Embedded power management software dynamically adjusts frequency and voltage to reduce heat dissippation and power usage of the CPU to between 1 and 2W under load.
Windows CE 50 for both their range of Mini-ITX and forthcoming Nano-ITX motherboards in an effort that will include "dedicated technical compatibility and full driver support."
He cut into this project with complete veal, no calf-measures here. Not to toot his own horn, he could easily have butchered this project, but his perserverance hayed off. Old McDonald would be proud - this veally gets our stampede of approval. You could say his project is truly out standing in its field. Hoove you created a project as good or even butter than this?
Each VIA EPIA board generally has 2 variants, a silent "E" variant with a fanless Eden processor, and a slightly faster but fanned one using the C3 processor. Dividing the model number by 10 usually reveals the CPU speed in MHz An EPIA with an "A" after the m...
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