For Immediate Release

VIA Counters Allegations by Intel

Announces New Initiatives for Chipset Distribution

Taipei, Taiwan, 23rd August 2001 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of core logic chipsets, microprocessors, and multimedia and communications chips, today reiterated that there is no claim of infringement against the VIA Apollo P4X266 and announced that it has begun outreach to existing and potential customers to expand upon the already widespread distribution of this revolutionary chipset.

"Intel has made repeated claims both in the media and in discussions with customers that we are not licensed to sell products that are compatible with the IntelÒ PentiumÒ 4. We disagree with these and other scare tactics that Intel is employing in the PC industry for marketing purposes. Intel should deal with facts openly and communicate through official press releases rather than threatening customers and sowing seeds of doubt in the marketplace," commented Richard Brown, Director of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc.

Customers worldwide are adopting the VIA Apollo P4X266 because it boosts performance of Intel’s Pentium 4 processor by as much as 15 percent by allowing the Intel Pentium 4 to take advantage of new low-cost memory chips that are dramatically faster than conventional components. The VIA Apollo chipset is leading a new wave in low-cost, high-speed memory chips based on double data rate (DDR) technology.

"Cost and speed are two of the biggest factors that will influence the success of upcoming systems based on the new Pentium 4," said Richard Brown, VIA’s Director of Marketing. "VIA has created a solution that addresses these points head on and in a way that Intel has not been able to. Because the VIA Apollo P4X266 is an ideal complement to the Pentium 4, it is drawing significant attention and praise from our customers and the global IT media. Intel should recognize the fact that the P4X266 will provide Intel’s Pentium® 4 processor with a significant boost in the marketplace."

VIA Apollo P4X266 Chipset

The VIA Apollo P4X266 combines a high-speed 400MHz Front Side Bus with support for up to 4GB of high-speed DDR266 SDRAM to fully exploit the high bandwidth of the Intel Pentium 4 processor, yielding performance gains of up to 15% on industry standard benchmarks such as Winstone® and Quake 3 demo when compared with equivalently configured systems featuring alternative core logic chipset and memory solutions.

With its support for DDR266 SDRAM, the VIA Apollo P4X266 optimizes system performance by doubling the memory data throughput to a peak bandwidth of 2.1GB per second while maintaining the same cost structure as PC133 SDRAM. It also enables OEMs and SIs to achieve significant savings in overall platform costs compared to Intel Pentium 4 processor based systems featuring RDRAM technology. Based on current pricing, RDRAM modules are more than twice as expensive as DDR or PC133 SDRAM modules with the same capacity.

About VIA Technologies, Inc.

VIA Technologies, Inc. is a fabless supplier of PC core logic chipsets, microprocessors, and multimedia and communications chips. VIA delivers value to the PC industry by designing, marketing, and selling high-performance VIA Apollo core logic chipsets for the full range of PC platforms, as well as cost-effective VIA C3™ processors for Value PCs and Internet Appliances. Its customers include the world's top OEMs, mainboard manufacturers, and system integrators. VIA is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, at the center of the Greater China high-tech manufacturing engine, and has branch offices in the US, China and Europe. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE2388), and achieved annual revenues of nearly US$1 billion in 2000. Additional information can be found at www.via.com.tw.

About S3 Graphics, Inc.

S3 Graphics, Inc. specializes in providing the complete graphics solution for PCs, with a range of multimedia chipsets and chipsets with graphics, and peripheral functions for the mobile and desktop markets. S3 Graphics has already shipped a number of joint venture products including ProSavage™ PM133 and ProSavage™ KM133 for the integrated desktop market and ProSavage™ PN133 (known informally as Twister) and ProSavage™ KN133, for the mobile market. With a firm focus on R&D, S3 Graphics is working towards an exciting and aggressive roadmap of future product releases. Further information can be found at www.s3graphics.com