VIA Introduces New pc3500 Mainboard

by Marco Chiappetta — Tuesday, August 21, 2007, 03:25 PM EDT

VIA Introduces New pc3500 Mainboard

Enables OEMs and SIs to build most energy-efficient Windows Vista PCs that draw over 50% less power than the latest Energy Star requirements

Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday 21 August 2007 - Further strengthening its leadership in providing the world's most energy-efficient computing platforms, VIA Technologies, Inc. today announced the VIA pc3500 Mainboard, a low power, feature-rich platform that enables OEMs and System Integrators to build Windows Vista desktop PCs that draw less than 24 watts in Idle State - less than half the requirement of the U.S. EPA's latest Energy Star Program Requirement for Computers: Version 4.0.

In addition, a system based around the VIA pc3500 Mainboard draws only 1.09 watts in Sleep Mode, and 0.68 watts in Standby (Off Mode), comfortably meeting the Energy Star requirements for a Category A system, as summarized in the table below. The system even draws under 35 watts when playing back a DVD, one of the most power-intensive computing applications.

Mode	Energy Star Category A Requirements	VIA pc3500 Mainboard System
Standby (Off Mode)	= 2.0W	0.68W
Sleep Mode	= 4.0W	1.09W
Idle State	= 50W	23.62W
DVD Playback	N/A	34.48W

"With the launch of VIA pc3500 mainboard we are leading the way in developing innovative low power platforms that enable our OEM and SI customers to meet the growing worldwide demand for energy-efficient PCs," commented Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Consumers and business users who purchase PCs based on the VIA pc3500 mainboard will not only be able to significantly reduce their energy costs but also minimize their environmental impact while running all the latest software applications."...

Tags: VIA, PC, CES, mainboard, board, Intro, AI, AR

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com