> Does anyone have any news on VIA C7, or VIA EPIA platform in general? > The current offers are so outdated, they still don't offer gigabit > ethernet in most solutions, and the things that are offered are indeed > overpriced (whereas VIA C3 is supposed to be a really cheap solution, > it looks today that Mac mini still has a much higher value/price > quotient).
Mac Mini has quite different strong and weak points to EPIAs. You must use USB if you want more than a single NIC, for a start, and there's no great abundance of USB ports there... > I need a reasonably priced mini-ITX system with DDR or DDR2 memory > support, preferably with an entry-level Nehemiah or Esther processor, > dual Ethernet (one Fast and one Gigabit), multiple USB 2.0 (for 2.5" > HDDs). http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/c-series/cn700/ You can just plug 2.5 HD through a 40pin+power -> 44pin lead, though in some cases you might find drive access is quicker on USB. istr EPIAs have had problems booting from USB in the past, I don't know if it's working yet. > Integrated non-encumbered wireless is a big plus (yeah, dream > on) Haven't seen any free-software drivers for VIA's wireless lan chip yet, nor much kit using it, even though it has been around a while. > How much am I willing to pay for these boards? Not more than I would > for the same power-wise solution elsewhere. Yes, VIA, this is the > reality. Why would I pay you more than I would pay Apple, AMD or > Intel? Apart from the old 500/800MHz kit, EPIA doesn't seem especially low- cost to me, unless you want crypto. Then you need a fairly high-powered box to beat it in software. Looks like there are one or two laptops using C7-M chips at the moment, presumably mostly as a lower-cost option to Pentium-M. But those Pentium-M boards they sit in are fairly expensive now, and I think that will be the sticking point until CN700. It's meant to be available in volume "Q1 2006".
