VIA Nano

Last updated
VIA Nano
VIA Nano Chip Image (top).jpg
General information
Marketed by VIA Technologies
Designed by Centaur Technology
Common manufacturer(s)
Performance
FSB speeds533 MHz to 1066 MHz
Cache
L1 cache 64 KiB instruction + 64 KiB data per core
L2 cache1 MiB per core
Architecture and classification
Technology node 40 nm to 65 nm
Microarchitecture VIA Isaiah
Instruction set IA-32, x86-64
Physical specifications
Cores
  • 1, 2, 4
Package(s)
Products, models, variants
Core name(s)
  • Isaiah (CN)
History
Predecessor(s) VIA C7
VIA Nano 2 Logo VIA Nano X2 Processor - Logo (5306143882).jpg
VIA Nano 2 Logo

The VIA Nano (formerly code-named VIA Isaiah) is a 64-bit CPU for personal computers. The VIA Nano was released by VIA Technologies in 2008 after five years of development [1] by its CPU division, Centaur Technology. This new Isaiah 64-bit architecture was designed from scratch, unveiled on 24 January 2008, [2] [3] [4] [5] and launched on 29 May, including low-voltage variants and the Nano brand name. [6] The processor supports a number of VIA-specific x86 extensions designed to boost efficiency in low-power appliances.

Contents

History

Unlike Intel and AMD, VIA uses two distinct development code names for each of its CPU cores. In this case, the codename 'CN' was used in the United States by Centaur Technology. Biblical names are used as codes by VIA in Taiwan, and Isaiah was the choice for this particular processor and architecture. It is expected that the VIA Isaiah will be twice as fast in integer performance and four times as fast in floating-point performance as the previous-generation VIA Esther at an equivalent clock speed. Power consumption is also expected to be on par with the previous-generation VIA CPUs, with thermal design power ranging from 5 W to 25 W. [7] Being a completely new design, the Isaiah architecture was built with support for features like the x86-64 instruction set and x86 virtualization which were unavailable on its predecessors, the VIA C7 line, while retaining their encryption extensions. Several independent tests showed that the VIA Nano performs better than the single-core Intel Atom across a variety of workloads. [8] [9] [10] In a 2008 Ars Technica test, a VIA Nano gained significant performance in memory subsystem after its CPUID changed to Intel, hinting at the possibility that the benchmark software only checks the CPUID instead of the actual features supported by the CPU to choose a code path. The benchmark software used had been released before the release of VIA Nano. [11]

On November 3, 2009, VIA launched the Nano 3000 series. VIA claims that these models can offer a 20% performance boost and 20% more energy efficiency than the Nano 1000 and 2000 series. [12] Benchmarks run by VIA claim that a 1.6 GHz 3000-series Nano can outperform the ageing Intel Atom N270 by about 40–54%. [13] The 3000 series adds the SSE4 SIMD instruction set extensions, which were first introduced with 45 nm revisions of the Intel Core 2 architecture.

On November 11, 2011, VIA released the VIA Nano X2 Dual-Core Processor with their first ever dual core pico-itx mainboard. The VIA Nano X2 is built on a 40 nm process and supports the SSE4 SIMD instruction set extensions, critical to modern floating point dependent applications. [14] Via claims 30% higher performance in comparison to Intel's Atom with a 50% higher clock. [15]

The Zhaoxin joint venture processors, released from 2014, are based on the VIA Nano series.

Features

VIA Isaiah floorplan VIA Isaiah Architecture block diagram.jpg
VIA Isaiah floorplan

Architecture overview

VIA Isaiah Architecture die floor-plan VIA Isaiah Architecture die plot.jpg
VIA Isaiah Architecture die floor-plan
Nano X2 microarchitecture. VIA Nano X2 Processor - Architecture.jpg
Nano X2 microarchitecture.

Around 2014/8/31 rumors appeared about a potential Isaiah II refresh. [17]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "VIA to launch new processor architecture in 1Q08" . DigiTimes. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  2. ↑ Stokes, Jon (23 January 2008). "Isaiah revealed: VIA's new low-power architecture". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  3. ↑ Bennett, Kyle (24 January 2008). "VIA's New Centaur Designed Isaiah CPU Architecture". [H]ard|OCP. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  4. ↑ "Via launches 64-bit architecture". LinuxDevices.com. 23 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  5. ↑ Wasson, Scott (24 January 2008). "A look at VIA's next-gen Isaiah x86 CPU architecture". The Tech Report. Archived from the original on 26 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  6. ↑ "VIA Launches VIA Nano Processor Family" (Press release). VIA. 29 May 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  7. ↑ "VIA Isaiah Architecture Introduction" (PDF). VIA. 23 January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  8. ↑ Bennett, Kyle (29 July 2008). "Intel Atom vs. VIA Nano". [H]ard|OCP. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012.
  9. ↑ Chiappetta, Marco (29 July 2008). "VIA Nano L2100 vs. Intel Atom 230: Head to Head". HotHardware. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  10. ↑ Shrout, Ryan (29 July 2008). "VIA Nano and Intel Atom Review – Battle of the Tiny CPUs". PC Perspective. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  11. ↑ Hruska, Joel (29 July 2008). "Low-end grudge match: Nano vs. Atom". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "VIA Introduces New VIA Nano 3000 Series Processors" (Press release). VIA. 3 November 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "VIA Nano Processor". VIA. Archived from the original on 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  14. ↑ "VIA Releases New Nano X2 Dual-Core Processor". Tom's Hardware. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  15. ↑ "VIA Nano x2 Processor SPECfp2000 Benchmarks". VIA. Archived from the original on 2014-02-07.
  16. ↑ "The VIA Isaiah Architecture - VIA Technologies, Inc". 2013-05-29. Archived from the original on 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  17. ↑ "VIA's new Isaiah x86/ARM hybrid CPU outperforms Intel in benchmarks". ExtremeTech. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.

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