When it comes to Internet connections, faster is always better. Chipmaker Marvell knows this very well and has developed a new chip called the TopDog 11n-450.

This new device is an 802.11n 3x3 WLAN solution with three spacial streams. It has a maximum bandwidth of 450 Mbps and possesses a greater range than any 802.11n chip on the market today.

Marvell Semiconductor Senior Director of Technology Strategy Sameer Bidichandani said that they are the first company to ever market such product. He added that they added a few "Marvell-Engineered Enhancements" to the chips such as Special Time Block Coding (STBC) which helps maintain a higher throughput over long distances.

More tech-savvy individuals may want to know that the chip is built on a 90-nanometer CMOS process technology making it a low-power, lost cost peripheral. In spite of all its advancements, the product is also backward compatible with other WLAN standards such as 802.11a, b, g, and n.

This item is expected to start shipping by next quarter. We can expect some products which use this new device to follow soon after.