VIA PT890 Chipset for Windows Vista Premium

[Jason]

The VIA PT890 together with S3 Graphics Chrome S20 Series based graphics cards provide SIs and OEMs an ideal solution that can take full advantage of the enhanced 3D desktop experience of the upcoming OS

Taipei, Taiwan, 6 April 2006 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced the VIA PT890 chipset, further broadening VIA's range of Microsoft Windows Vista-ready core logic solutions.

Supporting the full range of Intel processors up to 1066MHz FSB, the VIA PT890 provides an outstanding balance of system performance with high bandwidth PCI Express connectivity, advanced DDR2 memory support, comprehensive feature set and solid reliability. Together with either a S3 Graphics Chrome S25 or Chrome S27 graphics card featuring DirectX 9.0 and the Chromotion 3.0 Video Engine, system builders can design VIA PT890 systems capable of delivering the full Windows Vista Premium experience.

The VIA PT890 compliments VIA's already wide portfolio of products including discrete and integrated chipsets as well as processors that stand Windows Vista ready, commented Chewei Lin, Vice President of Product Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. The powerful combination of the VIA PT890 and the S3 Graphics Chrome S20 series graphics cards lends itself perfectly for system builders wanting to design systems able to meet the Windows Vista Premium system and graphics requirements, giving end users the ability to fully take advantage of the stunning 3D desktop features that Vista Premium has to offer.

Utilizing the 533MB/s VIA V-Link interface, the VIA PT890 connects to the latest VIA South Bridge solutions such as the VIA VT8237A, with its integrated VIA Vinyl Multichannel Audio Suite, delivering rich, high definition audio at resolutions as high as 32-bit/192kHz, while the VIA Advanced Connectivity Suite offers a wide range of high-bandwidth connectivity options, including support for up to eight high-speed USB 2.0 ports and high-throughput 10/100 Mb/s Fast Ethernet.

VIA like other manufacturers are already gearing up to become Vista ready. It will be interesting to see how the PT890 performs. We find this interesting as MS has not even released the hardware requirements for Vista yet so how can hardware be considered "Ready"?