When you think "new CPU," names like AMD and Intel pop to mind. But VIA is a huge player in the processor game, particularly on smaller, lower-cost devices where power draw is a major concern. The company's newest chip is radically different than past chips, though, and the words "quad-core" should tell you a lot. The newest chip is the world's lowest power quad-core x86 processor, and the name should be easy enough to remember: QuadCore.

It's hitting the market this month, feature a highly optimized, energy-efficient multi-core architecture that's said to provide multi-threaded performance across the board for multi-tasking, multimedia playback, productivity and internet browsing in a low power envelope. With a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of only 27.5 watts, the 1.2+ GHz VIA QuadCore processor is 21% more energy efficient than the nearest competitor and ideal for a wide range of desktop PC, notebook, small form factor PC, all-in-one PC, and mini-server system design applications.


This chip is also natively 64-bit compatible and comes with a host of additional performance features including Adaptive Overclocking, 4MB L2 cache, and the 1333MHz V4 Bus. TDP is 27.5 watts. Other advanced features include VIA VT virtualization, a technology that allows legacy software and applications to be used in virtual scenarios without impacting on performance, and VIA PadLock with the Advanced Cryptography Engine which delivers the world’s fastest AES encryption. This hardware-based security feature offers data encryption on the fly, an essential tool in content protection and system security. VIA QuadCore processors are manufactured using the latest 40nm process, and feature a VIA NanoBGA2 package of 21mm x 21mm with a die size of 11mm x 6mm, but there's no immediate word on pricing, nor what machines will start shipping with this in the near term. Either way, netbooks just got a boost of excitement provided someone picks this up.