Apr 06, 2001
Via's C3 chip is manufactured using a 0.15 micron process. The chip, successor to last year's unsuccessful 0.18 micron Cyrix III, has been redesigned to include 64kB of Level 2 cache memory. It is available immediately in a 733MHz version, with 750MHz and 800MHz versions expected to follow.
Like its predecessor, the new chip fits into the Socket 370 motherboard architecture used by Intel's Celeron chip, but boasts a 133MHz system bus. The higher bus speed combined with on-chip Level 2 cache means that Via's C3 could out-perform the Celeron. The C3 costs $54, as opposed to about $80 for a 733MHz Celeron.
Richard Brown, Via's director of international marketing, said that the C3 can lower the cost of budget PCs. "[Rival chip makers Intel and AMD] have low-cost processors, but they're basically just high-end chips with bits disabled," he said.
By using a 0.15 micron process, the C3's die is actually smaller, and therefore cheaper to manufacture than the Cyrix III, he added.
Via plans to introduce more low-cost processors later in the year. Codenamed Ezra, a 0.13 micron version of the C3 is expected by the third quarter of this year, at speeds of up to 1GHz.
A more ambitious chip is planned for release next year. It will feature 256kB of Level 2 cache and Intel's SSE multimedia instruction set instead of AMD 3D Now technology in the C3. This next-generation C3 is expected to run up to 1.2GHz. A mobile version of the C3 will also be available. Via said this chip uses 5.1W of power compared to 6.8W for a Celeron, and it will use less than 4W in the future.
A new motherboard design also plays a part in VIA's value PC vision. At 215x 191mm, so-called iTX motherboards will be smaller than the existing MicroATX. Via showed a demonstration board with a single PCI slot, two Dimm sockets, integrated graphics and optional LAN and FireWire functions. Via also has a reference iTX system design, called the Information PC, designed to cost less than �500.
