VIA Launches New PT800 Chipset for the Pentium 4

By Steve Malone

Posted on 8 Jul 2003 at 12:58

Taiwanese manufacturer VIA has launched a new chipset for the Pentium 4 which supports 800MHz FSB and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology and a range of high performance connectivity options.

Built around on VIA's V-MAP (VIA Modular Architecture Platform) Architecture, the VIA PT800 chipset features VIA's advanced FastStream64 DDR400 Memory Controller and an AGP8X graphics port in a synchronised North Bridge design. Paired with the VIA's South Bridge architecture, the VT8237, and the VIA DriveStation Controller Suite, the PT800 is said to offer support for a range of high performance storage options. These include native Serial ATA/RAID controllers that support high-speed 150MB/s dual channel Serial ATA with RAID Level 0, RAID Level 1, and RAID Level 0+1. At the same time the chipset can support up to four additional Parallel ATA-133 devices.

The VIA Vinyl Multichannel Audio Suite provides offers onboard 5.1 and 7.1 surround. The 8X V-Link throughput bus connects the North and South Bridges managing connectivity options including eight high-speed USB 2.0 ports and 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet.

More details can be found on the the VIA website.