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Computex debut for VIA's new wave
June 04, 2002

If proof was needed of VIA's diversification then look no further than this year's Computex. Amongst the announcements was the incredible CLE266 motherboard chipset - it sports USB, AGP 8x, and 2 video capture ports. With real-time MPEG-2 compression too and no external AGP slot this seems like the perfect mini-motherboard chipset!

"The VIA Apollo CLE266 boasts a complete integrated VIA 128-bit 2D/3D graphics engine with a high quality video processing unit including MPEG-2 decoding, video scaling and Alpha Blending. In addition, there is support for CRT, LCD or TV dual display technology, two Video Capture ports and Picture in Picture functionality for multi-channel capability. The VIA Apollo CLE266 North Bridge is connected to the very latest in South Bridge technology, the VT8235 through a 4X V-Link connection to the North Bridge transferring data at 266MB/s, twice the speed of the conventional PCI bus. This enables CLE266 based systems and devices to take advantage of the integrated support for 6 USB 2.0 ports with 40 times more bandwidth than USB 1.1, as well as ATA-133, the fastest available IDE interface. Additional features include integrated VIA MAC for 10/100Mbps Ethernet, integrated PCI support, 6 Channel Surround Sound AC'97 audio interface and MC'97 modem."

VIA press release - CLE266

TheDDRzone have a rather splendid collection of pictures from Computex, including some incredibly small Eden based motherboards seemingly from NFIC and AAEON (146 x 101mm!). TheVIA powered Beetle is in there, and we think we spy a dual NIC motherboard in there too, which will please the cable gateway crowd.

Lots of pictures from Computex at DDRzone

Also announced was the Envy24HT Multi-Channel Audio Controller - aimed squarely at the mid to upper range of the market. It seems VIA is gunning for Creative Labs & Turtle Beach's territory. With 10 x 24-bit outputs and 192kHz sampling, this is not a half-hearted effort. Partners include M-Audio, TerraTec, Altec Lansing, and ESI.

VIA press release - Envy 24HT

Also on show was VIA's latest C3 processor, which consumes just 5.7 watts whilst storming along at 1GHz. Like previous C3s, it still only requires a heatsink and a small fan.

VIA press release - 1GHz C3