VIA EPIA-M850 Mini-ITX motherboard uses the VX900 chipset

VIA presents the EPIA-M850, a new Mini-ITX motherboard that is the first to feature VIA's VX900 chipset. This tiny mainboard measures just 170mm x 170mm, it's equipped with either a 1.6GHz or 1.2GHz (fanless) VIA Nano E-series processor and features VIA Chrome9 HCM 3D integrated graphics with hardware acceleration support for VC1, H.264 and WMV9 HD video.

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.

"The VIA EPIA-M850 will enable the creation of a wealth of next generation, HD-ready commercial devices," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The VIA VX900 MSP offers comprehensive support of today's multimedia technologies, bringing vivid HD content to life without incurring heavy power usage or resorting to dedicated decoding hardware."

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