VIA Rolls Out Fanless, Ruggedized PC Powered By Quad-Core x86 Eden CPU

[phoronix]

Phoronix: VIA Embedded Rolls Out Fanless, Ruggedized PC Powered By Quad-Core Eden CPU

VIA Embedded has rolled out a new ruggedized PC for in-vehicle computing and other applications. This rugged PC is powered by a long forgot about VIA Eden quad-core processor...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=VIA-Embedded-New-PC

[whitecat]

With Realtek NIC !!
lol

[uid313]

Sounds expensive.

Is this any good?
Does it have anything to offer?
Or is this just slow, overpriced, legacy technology?

Now there are Intel Atom, AMD Puma and lots of ARM SoC and SBC.

[torsionbar28]

Sounds expensive.

Is this any good?
Does it have anything to offer?
Or is this just slow, overpriced, legacy technology?

Now there are Intel Atom, AMD Puma and lots of ARM SoC and SBC.

This part alone makes it worth it for in-car or fixed outdoor usage:

operating temperature ranges from -10?C to 60?C as well as a flexible input voltage range of 9V-36V

Compare that operating temperature range with commodity consumer hardware and you'll find it's pretty darn impressive. Try running a consumer PC or laptop at 60 C ambient and you'll end up with a cooked heap of junk in no time. You'd need a Panasonic Toughbook or something similar to get specs like this. Compare the price of a Toughbook with a typical consumer laptop, and you'll find that toughness does indeed carry a premium price, and for a reason.

Remember that most folks will employ a machine like this to run low-intensity tasks, think of an in-car nav/infotainment system, or an outdoor kiosk. Even an ARM/android phone is plenty powerful enough for OpenGL 3D and GPS nav at 1080p. This VIA machine is even more powerful, so for these use cases, so your word "slow" is a relative term.

[schmidtbag]

Sounds expensive.

It is

Is this any good?

No

Does it have anything to offer?

No

Or is this just slow, overpriced, legacy technology?

Yes, yes, and yes

Now there are Intel Atom, AMD Puma and lots of ARM SoC and SBC.

All of which are better options.

VIA had their chance to really shine in the early 2000s and they blew it. I used to be a fan of them, since they offered a lot of nice features for a low price with low power consumption. But today, the way I'd put it is "VIA is to AMD as AMD is to Intel". I really wish VIA managed to make something of themselves though, because it'd have been nice to have a 3rd worthy competitor in the x86 CPU market.

[duby229]

So, Via got their x86 license from the Cyrix buyout, does it have the same terms as AMD's license? I'm just wondering if another company could buyout VIA to obtain their license?

[kaidenshi]

Does it have anything to offer?
No

You're falling victim to the logical fallacy that because YOU can't think of a use for something, it's entirely useless for EVERYONE. And that's simply not true. This product would be on my short list of ruggedized computers for a custom MDT for law enforcement or other mobile professionals who need something dependable in all conditions. There are always tradeoffs; this is an industrial machine meant for vertical markets, and there's a premium attached to any niche.

[log0]

Sounds expensive.

Is this any good?
Does it have anything to offer?
Or is this just slow, overpriced, legacy technology?

Now there are Intel Atom, AMD Puma and lots of ARM SoC and SBC.

Depends on your requirements I guess. But yes they (VIA) also offer ARM Cortex-A9 variants.

[schmidtbag]

You're falling victim to the logical fallacy that because YOU can't think of a use for something, it's entirely useless for EVERYONE. And that's simply not true. This product would be on my short list of ruggedized computers for a custom MDT for law enforcement or other mobile professionals who need something dependable in all conditions. There are always tradeoffs; this is an industrial machine meant for vertical markets, and there's a premium attached to any niche.

Not true at all. This legitimately has nothing to offer. There are a dozen other products that can do what this does for either a lower price, lower power consumption, more performance, physically smaller, has a modern GPU, support for more OSes than just Windows, or any combination of those things.

[torsionbar28]

Not true at all. The thing is, this legitimately has nothing to offer. There are a dozen other products that can do what this does for either a lower price, lower power consumption, more performance, physically smaller, has a modern GPU, or any combination of those things.

Your claim is totally false, it shows a lack of understanding and/or experience with the ruggedized market segment. You are not familiar with the ruggedized market, or you would not be making this claim. Sorry you don't "get it", but badmouthing products you aren't familiar with, you've never touched before, only makes you come across as a troll. Are you a troll?