VIA EPIA N700-10EW Nano-ITX board scoffs at extreme temperature

VIA's Nano-ITX boards have already acquired something of a following among people building tiny embedded computers, HTPC-style media streamers or other compact gadgets, but what happens if you want to take your media-PC-in-a-toaster to the nearest desert or mountain top?  Step forward the VIA EPIA N700-10EW, an unassuming name for a low-power board capable of running in temperatures from minus 20-degrees centigrade to plus 70-degrees.

VIA envisage the N700 being popular with embedded systems engineers who need to install their computers into extreme conditions, but that doesn't mean the board wouldn't have plenty of uses for a more domestic user.  Power is from the 1GHz VIA Eden ULV processor and the N700 also has the company's VX800 media system processor, so it's no slouch when it comes to performance.  MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9 and VC1 video playback is supported, as is DirectX9.

Ports include VGA, USB 2.0, two SATA, PCIe gigabit ethernet and a Type I CF slot, plus there's an expansion header for plenty more I/O.  No word on pricing as yet.

Press Release:

VIA Tackles Extreme Environments with Wide Temperature Fanless Nano-ITX Board

VIA EPIA N700-10EW brings total stability to industrial PCs and embedded automation devices in extreme environments

Taipei, Taiwan, 6 August 2009 – VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA N700-10EW Nano-ITX board, designed for industrial and embedded applications in environments with extreme temperatures.

Guaranteed to maintain absolute stability at temperatures ranging from -20oc to 70oc, the fanless VIA EPIA N700-10EW can be employed in environments that traditionally inhibit x86 computing. These include specialized industrial applications where machinery can create intense operating temperatures, as well as extreme climate scenarios like desert, mountain and high altitude environments.

"By expanding our range of EPIA products to include extended temperature products, VIA is addressing the broader needs of our extensive customer base," said Daniel Wu, Vice President of VIA Embedded, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Extreme thermal competency usually comes at a premium, the VIA EPIA N700-10EW will help to significantly lower that barrier."

VIA EPIA N700-10EW: Stability in the Extreme

The fanless VIA EPIA N700-10EW is capable of maintaining system stability in extreme conditions because of the high quality components selected for its construction. Powered by a power-efficient 1GHz VIA Eden ULV processor and the latest VIA VX800 media system processor, the EPIA N700-10EW also boasts completely solid state capacitors.

All VIA EPIA N700-10EW boards are rigorously tested for compatibility and reliability prior to shipping and are bundled with special wide temperature-verified system memory modules to ensure complete system stability.

Measuring only 12cm x 12cm, the VIA EPIA N700-10EW Nano-ITX board supports up to 2GB of DDR2 system memory. Two S-ATA connectors, USB 2.0, COM and PCIe-based Gigabit LAN ports are available through onboard I/O while a Type I Compact Flash port is also included. Expansion includes a Mini-PCI slot, an IDE port plus additional COM, USB and PS/2 support through pin-headers.

At the heart of the VIA EPIA N700-10EW the VIA VX800 media system processor offers an integrated DirectX9 graphics core and hardware accelerated video playback for MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9 and VC1 video formats. An on-board VGA port is provided along with a 24-bit, dual channel LVDS transmitter, enabling display connection to embedded panels.