- VIA launch PT880 chipset

I totally forgot to post about this late last week in the midst of things around here. VIA has launched their latest chipset, the PT880 for the Pentium 4. It is basically the same as the older PT800 but includes a Dual Channel memory controller which VIA call DualStream64. The new chipset is designed to compete right up against Intel's Canterwood chipset which has already been on the market for around 6 months, which might make you think VIA have left their run a little late. As far as add-in partners go, VIA have already secured deals with ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI.

The full press release can be read in our New Products Forum.

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."