Via inches forward with 64-bit chips
Published: 24 Jan 2008 07:48 GMT
Via Technologies is making processors based on a new architecture this year that may help the tiny company inch up the chipmaking pecking order.
The chips, which utilise the so-called Isaiah architecture, are expected to provide double the performance of the company's current chips but consume the same amount of power. They will come with two cores and run at 2GHz.
The first Isaiah chips will make their debut towards the middle of the year. Via announced the architecture in 2004, but it has now released the fuller specifications.
Via occupies only a sliver of the market, but it has managed to land a few interesting design wins with its low-power chips. HP has used Via chips in some computers sold in China, while Samsung Electronics and Oqo have put Via processors into handheld computers. Many thin-client makers also buy processors from the Taiwanese company.
For Via, the processors sport a few firsts. For one thing, the chips can process instructions out of order, something chips from Intel and AMD have done for years. This enables the chip to keep churning while waiting for crucial data.
To date, Via has stuck with in-order execution to keep power consumption low.
"With out-of-order execution, you can do things while waiting. The bad news is that you execute things that later get thrown away [and hence consume more power than necessary]", said Glenn Henry, president of Centaur Technology, which is Via's processor design subsidiary.
The chips will also be capable of processing 64-bit software. AMD has had 64-bit chips since 2003. Intel came out with so-called x86-64 chips for desktop and notebooks that can process 64-bit software a few years later.
Although 64-bit chips have been out for years, few consumers or even business users use 64-bit software on their desktops and notebooks. The several delays to Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system hurt the evolution of a 64-bit market.
A wafer of Isaiah chips. The company will try to get the processors into notebooks, thin clients and cheap desktops
Credit: Via makes way for 64-bit chips from CNET News.com
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