New VIA PT880 Intuitive Dual Channel Chipset for the Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor Gains Strong Industry Support

Leading motherboard vendors confirm support for the VIA PT880, taking advantage of the new DualStream64™ memory controller and advanced storage and connectivity technologies including Serial ATA and V-RAID

Taipei, Taiwan, 7 November 2003 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced the VIA PT880 chipset, the latest addition to VIA's family of high-performance core-logic solutions for the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, that has been selected by key motherboard vendors including ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI for their high end solutions. Featuring the revolutionary DualStream64™ memory controller, an intuitive package of new dual channel DDR400 memory technologies, the VIA PT880 integrates support for 800MHz FSB, Hyper-Threading, AGP8X and a plethora of cutting-edge connectivity and storage technologies.

"Again, VIA leads the field with this high performance chipset and unmatched feature set for the enthusiast, competitive gamer or specialist professional user, with DualStream64 fully answering their memory demands," commented Richard Brown, Associate Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The unique intuitive memory controller technologies that maximize dual channel DDR400 memory performance make the VIA PT880 chipset without doubt the industry's most balanced chipset for the Intel Pentium 4 processor."

Broad Industry Support for the VIA PT880

Many of the world's leading motherboard manufacturers have confirmed design wins for the VIA PT880 chipset, including ABIT, AOpen, Acorp, ASUS, Azza, Biostar, Chaintech, DFI, Elitegroup (ECS), Epox, Gigabyte, Jetway, MSI and Soltek, clearly demonstrating the breadth of choice available to consumers. Here's what some of the industry's foremost vendors are saying about the VIA PT880:

"The VIA PT880 is the latest in a long series of reliable, high-performance chipsets from VIA that have helped build the success of our acclaimed motherboards for the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor," said Joe Hsieh, Director of Motherboard Business Division, ASUSTek Computer Inc. "VIA chipsets provide a perfect combination of performance, stability and advanced connectivity, ensuring our customers to enjoy the full benefits of their ASUS motherboard."

"Gigabyte's motherboards have always represented the pinnacle of performance on the Intel® Pentium® 4 platform," said David Chiang, General Manager of Channel Business, Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. "The VIA PT880 based GA-8VT880 Ultra continues that fine tradition by leveraging VIA's unique DualStream64™ memory controller and providing unparalleled dual channel memory access speeds."

"MSI's new VIA PT880 based PT880 Neo-FISR and the Intel Pentium 4 processor are a powerful combination that enable the highest levels of performance possible for today's most demanding gaming and multimedia applications," said Jeans Huang, Senior Vice President of R&D Division, MSI.

"Our loyal fan base of users have come to expect only the best from our family of high performance boards for the Intel Pentium 4 processor," said Scott Thirlwell, Marketing Director, ABIT Computer. "The upcoming VIA PT880 based VT7 motherboard will not disappoint these fans, thanks to the outstanding dual DDR400 memory performance enabled by VIA's new DualStream64 memory controller."

About the VIA PT880 Chipset with DualStream64

The VIA PT880 introduces the revolutionary DualStream64 memory controller, providing lightening fast access to system memory to enable unparalleled performance in power-hungry 3D graphics and multimedia applications, so providing the optimum platform for today's most demanding PC enthusiasts and professionals.

DualStream64 achieves impressive memory bandwidths of up to 4,800 MB/s by harnessing intuitive technologies such as an enhanced data prefetch protocol, improved memory branch prediction with a larger on-chip branch table, and tighter read/write turn-around for improved clock timings. Furthermore, with an asynchronous bus design and the new high throughput Ultra V-Link chipset interconnect enabling a 1066MB/s link with the VT8237R South Bridge, the PT880 allows maximum system flexibility and optimization options, as is often demanded by today's power users.

In combination with the acclaimed VIA VT8237R South Bridge, the VIA PT880 offers the most complete range of storage, multimedia and connectivity features for the Intel Pentium 4 processor. In addition to enabling native support for two Serial ATA Hard Drives, as well as up to four IDE devices, it provides optimal data transfer rates and data integrity through V-RAID, a revolutionary integrated RAID controller with support for RAID Level 0, RAID Level 1, RAID 0+1, and JBOD configurations.

The VT8237R also features the VIA Vinyl Multichannel Audio Suite for superlative 6-channel and 8-channel immersion audio support, while VIA's Advanced Connectivity Suite offers a host of high-bandwidth connectivity options, including support for the VIA Gigabit Ethernet companion controller, integrated 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet and up to eight high-speed USB 2.0 ports.

The VIA PT880 is part of VIA's unique Modular Architecture Platform (V-MAP) that reduces design times and shortens time-to-market for motherboard partners through pin-compatibility with VIA core-logic solutions, and allows motherboard partners to cover multiple market segments with a single design.

For further information on the VIA PT880, please see the VIA website at:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/p4-series/pt880.jsp.

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