VIA is following NVIDIA's lead and announcing its own netbook-based chipset solution for enhanced graphics performance, dubbed Trinity. Like NVIDIA, VIA's platform ties one of the company's graphics processors to an existing netbook CPU. Unlike NVIDIA, VIA makes its own CPUs, so of course it's going with its Nano chip instead of Intel's Atom. For the graphics work, Trinity incorporates a PCI Express GPU made by S3, a subsidiary of VIA's. Controlling the whole system, VIA's VX800 chip handles memory access, peripherals, and networking. With all three pieces working together — hence the Trinity moniker — VIA hopes to deliver notebook-level graphics performance while meeting the compact board layout and low power requirements of a netbook.

Thanks to the S3 graphics processor, Trinity systems will support DirectX 10.1 instructions, speeding up Vista performance, and support HDMI outputs if manufacturers choose to build them into their systems. Hardware acceleration for the latest high definition video codecs should allow for smooth video playback — if only netbook screens were large enough to let you appreciate it.

Although this all sounds promising, VIA has a tough road ahead of it in getting the Trinity platform widely adopted. NVIDIA has a leg up on the company with its Ion platform, both as a leading name in graphics acceleration, and because its platform is based on the popular Atom chip; VIA's Nano has nowhere near the market share of Intel's CPU. We'll have to wait and see to what extent VIA can convince manufacturers to take a chance on building systems based around Trinity.

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