Employing Via's 3.9 x 2.8 inch (10 x 7.2cm) Pico-ITX standard, the Epia-P820 has a layout that's almost identical to the company's Epia-P720, introduced last September. Where the Epia-P720 used the 1GHz Via Eden ULV CPU, however, the new Epia-P820 steps up to the 1.2GHz Nano U2500. As a consequence, the board is now compatible with the 64-bit architectures used by Intel and AMD, with SSE3 media processing instructions, and with Intel's VTX architecture for VMs (virtual machines), according to Via.

Via's Epia-P820
(Click to enlarge)

Like the Epia-P720 before it, the Epia-P820 also employs Via's VX855 core-logic chip, which combines northbridge and southbridge functionality, uses just 2.3 Watts, and measures only 27 x 27mm. According to Via, the DirectX 9.0-compatible chip permits decoding of H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9, and VC-1 video, while using only 40 percent of a host CPU's resources.

Via VX-855 block diagram
(Click to enlarge)

The Via Epia-P820 supports up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, and provides a 44-pin IDE connector and a SATA port for connecting storage devices. An HDMI port is already on board, while pin headers provide a wide variety of interfaces, such as LVDS, four USB ports, one PS/2 port, two UARTs, audio, four digital I/Os, two serial ports, plus LPC and SMbus expansion.

Via also supplies an optional carrier board (pictured below) that snaps firmly onto many of the Epia-P820's headers. Preserving access to the resident HDMI port, the board adds real-world VGA and gigabit Ethernet ports, as well as two Type A USB 2.0 ports, according to the company.

Epia-P820 with I/O carrier board attached

An additional option is available in the form of the Amos-3001 enclosure, which turns the Epia-P820 into a complete, compact "industrial-class" PC, according to Via. One side of the enclosure, pictured below left, provides access to the Epia-P820's I/O carrier board and HDMI port, while the other side (below right) adds two more USB 2.0 ports, audio I/O, a GPIO port, and dual serial ports.

Via's Amos-3001 (optional expansion chassis shown on right)
(Click either to enlarge)

According to Via, the Amos-3001 has room internally for an IDE-interfaced flash drive. Alternatively, an add-on expansion chassis (pictured above right) provides room for a 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive. Without the expansion chassis, the Amos-3001 measures just 5.9 x 4.25 x 1.81 inches (15 x 10.8 x 4.6cm), making it 20 percent more compact than the previously released Amos-3000, the company says.

Specifications listed for the Epia-P820 by Via include:

• Processor -- 1.2GHz Nano U2500
• Chipset -- VX855
• Memory -- 1 x DDR2 socket for up to 2GB memory
• Display/video -- HDMI, VGA, or LVDS support with MPEG-2/4, WMV9, and H.264 video acceleration up to 1080p
• Storage -- 1 x IDE 44-pin header; 1 x SATA connector
• Networking -- 1 x Via VT6122 gigabit Ethernet controller
• Onboard I/O pin connectors:
  • 1 x USB, supporting 4 USB 2.0 ports
  • 1 x LPC
  • 1 x SMBus
  • 1 x front panel
  • 1 x PS/2
  • 1 x single-channel LVDS
  • 1 x audio for line-in, line-out, and mic-in
  • 1 x DIO (4GPI+4GPO)
  • 2 x UART
  • 1 x SATA
  • DC power input
• Back-panel I/O (via carrier board):
  • 1 x HDMI port
  • 1 x VGA port
  • 1 x gigabit Ethernet jack
  • 2 x USB 2.0 ports
• System monitoring -- Wake-on LAN, keyboard power-on, timer power-on, system power management, AC power failure recovery, watchdog timer
• Operating temperature -- 32 to 140 deg. F (0 to 60 deg. C)
• Dimensions -- 3.9 x 2.8 inches (10 x 7.2cm); Pico-ITX format

Availability

Via Technologies did not offer pricing, availability, or operating system (OS) support information for the Via Epia-P820, although the board likely supports all the usual x86 OSes, including Linux.

At the time of writing, Via's product pages for the Epia-P820 and Amos-3000 were incomplete, but in due course more information may appear here and here, respectively.

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