X-bit labs

Barebone Maker Touts NVIDIA’s New Chipset.

Category: Mobile

by Anton Shilov

[ 07/24/2005 | 10:33 AM ]

Bioastar, a maker of barebones, mainboards and other computer components, recently disclosed some information about its Biostar iDEQ 330N small form-factor system that is based on NVIDIA’s core-logic which was not yet officially launched. The data may indicate that NVIDIA’s new chipsets for value and computers may be announced and become available shortly.

Biostar’s iDEQ 330N is a typical small form-factor cube-like PC barebone, which is designed for 939-pin AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Sempron processors. It sports two DIMM slots for dual-channel PC3200 memory, two Serial ATA ports with RAID support, one Parallel ATA connector, a PCI Express x16 slot, a PCI slot, a mini-PCI slot, integrated 8.2-channel audio chip as well as network controller. The iDEQ 330N has numerous I/O ports, including USB 2.0, FireWire, Serial, infrared and so on.

While NVIDIA is tight-lipped over the core-logic code-named C51, some details about the chipset have been available for some time and Biostar has disclosed some additional information on the matter in its release. The C51G is a two-chip value solution for AMD Athlon 64 and Sempron processors in PGA754 and PGA939 form-factors, which provides GeForce 6-series integrated graphics core, PCI Express x16 slot for add-in graphics cards and can connect to the company’s forthcoming media and communication processors that feature Serial ATA-II, Gigabit Ethernet, PCI Express x1, FireWire, USB 2.0 as well as other I/O features.

NVIDIA did not reveal any possible launch dates for its code-named C51-series of chipsets, but in May it said that the chipsets were “sampling”.

Mainboard maker FIC showcased prototypes of its products featuring NVIDIA code-named C51 chipset at the CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany this March, which was the first time when NVIDIA’s plans to create the company’s first chipset with integrated graphics in a few years were uncovered.

“Designed to enhance AMD Athlon 64 and Sempron-based system with integrated powerful 3D graphic engine and Socket 939 package, brings you a powerful multimedia solution,” a description of iDEQ 330N over Biostar’s web-site reads.