Via Technologies announced a Pico-ITX board featuring PCI Express expansion and an embedded-oriented Nano E-series CPU. The Epia-P830 offers gigabit Ethernet, two SATA ports, and support for HDMI, VGA, and LVDS displays, the company says.

Employing Via's 3.9 x 2.8 inch (10 x 7.2cm) Pico-ITX standard, the evolutionary Epia-P830 has a layout that's almost identical to the Epia-P820 introduced last January and the Epia-P720 introduced in September 2009. However, the device (pictured below) features upgrades to its processor and supporting chipset, as well as a new PCI Express expansion option.


Via's Epia-P830
(Click to enlarge)

Regarding the CPU side of things, the board gets the 1.2GHz U3300 member of the Nano E-series processor family Via announced earlier this year. Said to have idle power consumption of just 100mW, this 64-bit CPU provides virtualization capabilities and support for Intel's SSE4 instruction set extensions, according to Via.

The Epia-P830 also moves from the earlier VX855 core-logic chip to the VX900 Via announced in March. Touted for its ability to provide 1080p video playback "without incurring a heavy CPU load," the 31 x 31mm chip accelerates H.264, MPEG-4/AVC, MPEG-2, VC-1, WMV-HD, AVS, Blu-ray, and "advanced browser streamed video technologies," Via says.

According to Via, the VX900's ChromotionHD 2.0 video engine is also said to provide motion compensation, transform, de-blocking, and AVS support. Integrated display capabilities include a dedicated CRT interface, an LVVDS transmitter, a multiplexed display interface for DisplayPort and HDMI, and a 12-bit digital video output port (DVP) for an external HMDI/LVDS/DVI transmitter.

Headers on Via's Epia-P830
(Click to enlarge)

Via leverages these capabilities on the Epia-P830 by providing an HDMI port on the board's coastline, along with pin headers for both VGA and LVDS. As shown above, there are other headers carrying USB, serial, PS/2, and audio signals, and the board also includes two SATA ports (the Epia-P820's IDE connector appears to have been dropped, however).

The Epia-P830 ships with a separate carrier board (the P830-A) that snaps firmly onto its headers, preserving access to the resident HDMI port. As pictured below, this device adds real-world VGA and gigabit Ethernet ports, along with two Type A USB 2.0 connectors, according to Via.

Epia-P830 with I/O carrier board attached

Optionally, Via provides a second carrier board that snaps onto the side of the Epia-P830, taking advantage of the device's available PCI Express expansion (2 x 1-lane). At the cost of increasing overall footprint by an unspecified amount, this add-on (below) delivers two Mini PCI Express expansion slots, "for a wealth of 3G and wireless connectivity options.)

Epia-P830 with I/O and Mini PCI Express boards
(Click to enlarge)

Though Via didn't mention the fact, we'd guess the Epia-P830 is -- without the Mini PCI Express expansion, at least -- physically compatible with an enclosure that was touted as turning the earlier Epia-P820 into a complete, compact "industrial-class" PC. One side of the Amos-3001, pictured below left, provides access to the Pico-ITX board's coastline, 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-P830 by Via include:

• Processor -- 1.2GHz Nano E-series U3300
• Chipset -- VX900
• Memory -- 1 x DDR2 socket for up to 4GB memory
• Display/video -- HDMI, VGA, or LVDS support with MPEG-2/4, WMV9, and H.264 video acceleration up to 1080p
• Storage -- 2 x SATA connectors
• Expansion -- PCI Express (2 x 1-lane)
• Networking -- 1 x Via VT6130 gigabit Ethernet controller
• Onboard I/O pin connectors:
  • 1 x USB, supporting 5 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
  • 2 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

Further information

According to Via, the Epia-P830 runs Linux, Windows 7, Windows CE, Windows XP Embedded, and Windows XP. Pricing and availability were not cited, but further information and a datasheet are accessible from the Epia P-830 product page.

Information on the enclosure mentioned in this story may be found on the Amos-3001 product page.

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Related stories:

• Pico-ITX board includes Nano, HDMI output
• Via aims 64-bit CPUs at embedded market
• Via chip targets HD video playback
• Pico-ITX board boasts 1080p video
• Motherboards sport Via's Nano CPUs
• Box computer uses pico-ITX main board

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