Via does chipset dance

SPECULATION MOUNTS over the future of Via's chipset division, as the company refuses to comment on the 'rumours' being perpetrated by Far Eastern news publications.

Via has produced chipsets for Intel processors for many, many years, but the production has always been somewhat complicated, marked by disputes with Chipzilla over rights, patents, licences and agreements. Via's chipset licence expired on April 6, and there are conflicting reports as to what happens now.

Some say that Via's venerable leader, Wen-Chi Chen, has signed a new chipset licence from Intel. Others say that the licence has not been renewed and that Via has slashed prices to clear out inventory before shutting down its Intel business.

The company has had a tough time. In the early part of the decade it was a silicon powerhouse, providing chipsets to a vast number of motherboard companies, with chips like the KT100 becoming legendary in the hardware overclocking community. But the firm has suffered from increased competition, as Nvidia and ATI have thrown their hats into the ring and produced chipsets that have found favour with the high-end clientele that once sought out Via products.

Last year, Via restructured itself in to three business units, for chipsets, processors and media/consumer products. It has had recent success with its low-power processors, which have fond their way into various UMPC designs.

Will Via continue to manufacture Intel chipsets? The magic 8-ball suggests the answer is unclear. µ