Building a Viiv PC

By Marc Spiwak

October 2, 2006

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Intel's latest advertising campaign ensures that consumers will want to see the Viiv logo on every new computer they buy. It's therefore import for system builders and solution providers to know what Viiv is all about. But what does it take to build Viiv-compliant systems, and what can home integrators deliver to their customers using Viiv technology?

Viiv, which rhymes with "hive," sounds like new technology, but it doesn't really bring anything new to PCs that hasn't already been available. However, new functionality will soon be available. Like the Centrino branding campaign, Viiv really just specifies the ingredients that make an Intel-based computer suitable for home entertainment use. Products bearing the Viiv logo will properly integrate with other equipment in a digital home entertainment network.

Viiv specifications ensure that computers will have enough horsepower to perform multiple tasks at once. This lets users play games while downloading movies, watch one TV show while recording another, edit photos while someone else watches streamed video in another room and so on, all from the same PC.

It doesn't take much to support Viiv as long as a motherboard contains the latest parts; of course the system must also run the Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005 operating system. Hardware-wise, Viiv specifies a chipset that is from one of the Intel 945/955/975 Express chipset families. Viiv also specifies an Intel dual-core processor, including the Pentium D, Core Duo and Pentium Extreme Edition.

Another important Viiv ingredient is an NCQ SATA Hard Drive. NCQ stands for Native Command Queuing, which increases a SATA drive's performance by letting it receive more than one I/O request at a time and letting the drive itself determine the order in which to carry out the requests. A remote control is not required for Viiv compliance, but Windows MCE does require a Phillips Key Code MCE-Type remote for full functionality.

A Viiv-compliant motherboard featuring a 945, 955 or 975 chipset must also include an Intel ICH7-DH chip (the DH stands for Digital Home).

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