Taiwan-based PC chip set and processor vendor Via Technologies Inc. is using its inaugural Via Technology Forum, which kicks off here Wednesday, to launch its first chip sets supporting the emerging DDR266 high-speed memory standard.

The Apollo Pro266 and KT266 chip sets are designed for use in PCs powered by processors from Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), respectively. Several motherboard vendors will showcase new boards based on Apollo Pro266 chip set, Via said in a statement.

The DDR (double data rate) SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random access memory) standard, also known as DDR266, offers peak memory bandwidth of 2.1G bytes per second -- roughly twice the bandwidth of the PC133 SDRAMs common in today's PCs.

It is viewed by its backers, which in addition to Via also include several of the world's largest memory makers, as a more cost-efficient way to increase memory performance than a competing Intel-backed standard based on Rambus Inc.'s high-speed memory interface technology. [See "COMPUTEX - Industry Rallies Around Double Data Rate SDRAM," June 6.]Representatives from South Korea's Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd. and Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc., two companies that are involved in legal battles with Rambus, are among the speakers at the two-day forum hosted by Via. [See "Rambus Asks ITC to Investigate Hyundai Imports," Sept. 12.]Via said it is targeting the chip sets for use in high-performance desktop PCs as well as servers and workstations. In addition to DDR266, the chips sets also feature support for PC133 and NEC Corp.'s VCM (virtual channel memory) SDRAM technology.

The Apollo Pro266 is designed for PCs built around Intel's Socket 370 architecture, which the chip giant uses for both Celeron and Pentium III processors. Other features include a 133MHz front-side bus, as well as support for 4x AGP (accelerated graphics port) technology and the ATA-100 hard drive interface standard.

Consisting of two separate chips, the Apollo Pro266 also integrates a host of other features including audio, a modem and a 10/100 BaseT Ethernet controller, Via said. In addition to the Intel processors, the Apollo Pro266 also supports Via's own Cyrix III processors.

Targeted at AMD's Socket A architecture, which houses the company's Athlon and Duron processors, the Apollo KT266 chip set has a similar feature set.

Both chip sets are priced at US$40 each in volume quantities. They are produced by contract chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. using .22 micron process technology, Via said.

The Via chip sets will not be the only offerings on the market supporting DDR266. Another Taiwan-based chip set vendor, Acer Laboratories Inc., announced in July that it expects to start shipping similar offerings in this year's fourth quarter. [See "Acer Labs Intros DDR Chip Sets for AMD, Intel," July 2.]Via Technologies, in Taipei, can be reached at +886-2-2218-5452, or via the Web at http://www.via.com.tw/.