September 2007

Going Green in a Practical Way

VIA continues to lead the field in green computing, and a series of impressive announcements over the last month reinforce that leadership position. Whether at the silicon, platform or partner system level, VIA is enabling a greener future by reducing the impact of computing on our environment.

The 1-Watt Processor

In August, VIA announced the arrival of the world's most power efficient x86 processor. The fanless 500MHz VIA Eden™ ULV chip achieves unprecedented speed for a full x86 processor within a remarkable 1 watt power envelope, opening up new realms for silent yet powerful embedded and ultra mobile system designs.

With the embedded market increasingly turning to the x86 platform for its stronger computing performance, enhanced multimedia and greater flexibility, the 500MHz VIA Eden ULV processor has already been adopted by 30 leading embedded industry players keen to take advantage of its extraordinary low power draw, plus the stable, industry-standard architecture and mature software infrastructure.

Take a look at the 500MHz VIA Eden ULV white paper for more detailed information on both the processor and the fast-changing embedded industry. You can also check out the press release to see what VIA's customers are saying about the new processor.

VIA pc3500 Mainboard Enables the Sub-60W Vista PC

Further strengthening VIA's leadership in providing the world's most energy-efficient computing platforms, the new VIA pc3500 mainboard is a low power, feature-rich platform that enables OEMs and system integrators to build Windows Vista™ desktop PCs that draw up to 72% less power than the latest Energy Star requirements.

Featuring the energy efficient 1.5GHz or 1.8GHz VIA C7®-D desktop processor, the VIA pc3500 mainboard leads the way in meeting the growing worldwide demand for greener PCs that significantly reduce electricity costs while minimizing environmental their impact.

Alaska Wolf Goes Green

ASI Corporation, a market leader in the IT distribution business, has just come out with a new PC in its Alaska range powered by the VIA C7-D processor. The Alaska Wolf PC is available in Wal-Mart stores throughout Mexico at a price of 5,299.99 Mexican Pesos (US$485), including a 17" LCD monitor.

Designed to meet Mexico's growing demand for reliable and affordable computers, the Alaska Wolf PC is based on the VIA pc2500 mainboard, which combines exceptionally low power consumption with advanced productivity and multimedia application performance.  ASI is confident that the launch of the Alaska Wolf PC will help them to achieve their goal of becoming the number one PC brand in Wal-Mart Mexico. Find out more here.

Chippy's Solar UMPC Tour

Ultra mobile device enthusiast Steve "Chippy" Paine recently concluded a unique 5-day journey across Germany, using only the power of the sun to power his VIA C7-M Ultra Mobile Platform-based Samsung Q1b UMPC to keep up with his day-to-day office life while on the road – literally. Chippy decided on the Q1b as his mobile computer because of its outstanding power efficiency and HSDPA connectivity, which meant he could connect to the Internet from virtually anywhere along his route from Strasbourg to Düsseldorf.

"When I did my first tests and calculations about the use of solar power to drive a PC I was quite amazed at the inefficiency of the process and today's 'laboratory conditions' test proves just how much room for improvement there is. It's thanks to devices like UMPCs that this project is at all possible because I really doubt it would have worked with even a 'power saving' notebook PC."

Despite a less than suuny summer in Europe, Chippy was able to compute and connect continuously for all 5 days of his trip. Bravo Chippy! You can read Chippy's trip log, solar implementation planning and all the details of his journey with pictures and maps here.

The Green Lounge

Supporting the emergence of green computing is The Green Lounge, a new website dedicated to green computing. Looking at all the latest news in the fast-growing area of green computing, from companies looking to lessen their organization's impact upon the environment to individual wanting to play their part, The Green Lounge offers practical tips and up-to-date information.

One of the new editorials looks at 10 things to consider when buying, using, and disposing of your computer, while this video shows a quick and easy method for measuring the power consumption of an appliance in the home, to save you buying an expensive electricity current measurement device.

Everyone knows that notebooks are usually optimized to reduce power draw, to enable longer battery life. But what about desktop PCs? Watch this video to see how simple tweaks to your desktop settings can reduce your carbon footprint, along with information on software that can help you monitor your power savings.