VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-M850 Mini-ITX board, the first board to feature the latest VIA VX900 media system processor, creating the ideal solution for today’s HD-intensive, commercial multimedia-centric devices.

The VIA EPIA-M850 is targeted at OEM and ODM manufacturers of commercial multimedia embedded devices. Featuring a 64-bit, high performance VIA Nano E-Series processor and the VIA VX900 unified all-in-one media system processor, the VIA EPIA-M850 delivers a highly optimized platform that boasts comprehensive HD video performance, HD audio and HDMI support in a compact, power-efficient package.

VIA EPIA-M850: Mini-ITX with Multimedia Muscle
Measuring 17cm x 17 cm the VIA EPIA-M850 Mini-ITX board features the VIA Nano E-Series processor, available in both 1.6GHz and fanless 1.2GHz SKUs. The VIA Nano E-series is paired for the first time with the VIA VX900 MSP, supporting up to 8GB of DDR3 system memory and featuring the VIA ChromotionHD 2.0 video processor.

The VIA ChromotionHD 2.0 video engine boasts comprehensive hardware acceleration for the latest VC1, H.264, MPEG-2 and WMV9 HD formats at screen resolutions of up to 1080p without affecting CPU load. Display connectivity support includes onboard HDMI and VGA ports with pin headers for dual channel 24-bit LVDS.

The VIA VX900 boasts the VIA Chrome9™ HCM 3D integrated graphics core with full DirectX 9.0 support and a 128-bit 2D engine with hardware rotation capability. The VIA VX900 also features the VIA Vinyl HD audio codec. Storage includes ports for two SATA drives.

Rear panel I/O includes a Gigabit LAN ports, PS/2 support, HDMI port, VGA port, four USB 2.0 ports, a serial port connector and three audio jacks. An on board a PCIe x4 slot is accompanied with pin headers providing dual channel 24-bit LVDS support (including backlight control), an additional three COM ports, a further four USB 2.0 ports and one USB device port, LPC support, Digital I/O, SPDIF out and an SMBus header.

VIA EPIA-M850 Product Highlights:

* High-performance 64-bit VIA Nano-E Series processor
* Hardware acceleration for VC1, H,264 and WMV9 HD video
* On board HDMI and VGA ports, plus dual channel 24-bit LVDS
* Support for up to 8GB of DDR3

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Seagate today announced channel and OEM shipments of the Momentus XT drive, the world’s fastest 2.5-inch laptop PC hard drive, combining SSD-like performance with the massive capacity and much lower cost of HDDs.

The Momentus XT drive also features Adaptive Memory – a groundbreaking new technology from Seagate that learns and optimizes the drive’s performance to each user by moving frequently used information into the flash memory for faster access. The Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive boots up to 100 percent faster than traditional 5400RPM drives, the mainstream spin speed for laptop PCs, and sets new benchmarks for real-world system performance for laptops and gaming systems.

Today’s high-performance SSDs for mobile computing cost as much as 10 times more than hard disk drives of the same capacity, with the price of a 250GB SSD outstripping even the cost of many laptop PCs. As a result, most consumers and system builders are unwilling or unable to pay the high price for the greater speed and quiet operations of SSDs. Additionally, SSDs offer fewer capacity options than hard disk drives.

The Momentus XT drive is a best-of-both-worlds solution that combines a 7200RPM spin speed, 4GB of solid state memory and Seagate’s Adaptive Memory technology to deliver unprecedented hard drive performance. The unique Adaptive Memory technology works by identifying patterns in how often certain digital data is used, and then moving the most frequently used information to the embedded solid state memory for faster access – effectively tailoring hard drive performance to each user and their applications.

Momentus XT Drive Brings Unprecedented Speed to New ASUS Gaming Laptop PC
ASUS has also announced that it will offer the Momentus XT drive as an upgrade option for its new Republic of Gamers (ROG) G73Jh notebook. The system is powered by an Intel i7 720Qm quad-core processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and DX11 capable ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870.

Woaah — behold the future. LSI has been working on a PCI Express interface SSD. This device has a bandwidth of 1,500MB/s sustained sequential I/O and 1,200MB/s sustained random I/O, regardless of the read/write mix. The company apparently is sampling this unit to OEMs as we speak.

The product will be tagged under SKU LSISSS6200 PCIe SSS (solid state storage) solution and is meant for enterprise servers, where fast data access is crucial. It has a low latency and uses few CPU resources, even while delivering up to 200,000 4K sequential I/Os per second (IOPS), as well as 150,000 4K random IOPS.

“Future customer requirements related to price, performance, power consumption and reliability align well with the benefits of solid-state storage,” Jeff Janukowicz, research manager, Hard Disk Drive Components and Solid State Drives at IDC, said. “PCIe-based SSS solutions, such as the LSISSS6200, can reliably meet next-generation data center needs with an improved price-to-performance ratio compared to traditional storage solutions.”

“The new LSISSS6200 card utilizes the industry’s most widely deployed software stack to deliver an enterprise-capable, drop-in storage solution,” Steve Fingerhut, senior director of marketing, Storage Components Division, LSI, explained. “Providing customers with a new tier of storage between system memory and low-cost disk drives, without sacrificing reliability or simplicity, PCIe-based SSS solutions represent the next evolution in storage architectures for market segments requiring extreme performance.”

There is no word on when the device will actually be released on the market and what it’s horrendous price will be. None the less this is killer stuff, great to see it developed.

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OCZ Technology Group today announced its collaboration with SandForce on OCZ’s next generation of mainstream and enterprise solid state drives (SSDs). Based on the highly-anticipated SandForce SSD Processor family, OCZ’s new line of SSDs will be the pinnacle of storage options.

To accommodate a wide range of consumer and enterprise storage applications, OCZ’s impending solutions will feature various configurations of SandForce’s innovative SF-1500 and SF-1200 SSD Processors and multi-level cell (MLC) and single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory.

The SandForce-based SSD line will be available in multiple interfaces including 3Gb/s SATA and 6Gb/s SAS in capacities ranging from 50GB to 400GB, addressing an assortment of storage and infrastructure requirements.

“OCZ is committed to delivering SSD solutions to our enterprise clients and also has a strong following for our consumer solid state products; partnering with SandForce enables us to offer an even more robust offering to both these markets,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group. “Together with SandForce we are focused on making enterprise-class MLC-based SSDs which offer excellent reliability and performance coupled with superior total cost of ownership for all our customers.”

The OCZ Technology Group aims to take storage to the next level with SandForce SSD Processors, further increasing the advantages of SSDs over traditional hard disc drives for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), enterprise clients, and enthusiast consumers who place a premium on performance, total cost of ownership (TCO), and efficiency.

The first product announcements will be made in the next few weeks leading up to the 2010 International CES show.

Following up on its impressive debut earlier this month, HABEY’s unveiled the BIS-6540HD mini HTPC that, like its 6550 counterpart, is capable of running an impressive 1080p signal with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor — special thanks go to its HD hardware decoder for that feat.

The fanless unit also features up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, eight USB ports, a built-in CF socket, two SATA II ports with SSD support, DVI and VGA outputs, ethernet, and options for wireless and HD TV tuner. No word on pricing or availability, but it looks like it’s being marketed as an OEM product and we suspect it’ll cost more than a pretty penny. Check out the video after the break to see it rocking Planet Earth on Blu-ray.

Click here to view the embedded video.