Oxygen GVX420 Extends Performance and High-End Functionality of Oxygen Family;
Oxygen GVX1 Pro Boosts Geometry Performance and Memory capaCity of Mid-Range
Products
SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- 3Dlabs(R), Inc. (Nasdaq: TDDD)
today announced two additions to its Oxygen(R) family; further strengthening
the widest range of professional graphics accelerators in the history of the
industry. Both boards use 3Dlabs' new generation GLINT(R) R4 rasterization
processor to deliver outstanding performance and functionality for 3D
workstation applications. With 128MB of memory and dual display capability,
the Oxygen GVX420 is the most capable high-end Oxygen workstation graphics
accelerator ever available for demanding CAD and DCC professionals that
require effortless interaction with very complex designs in order to maximize
their productivity. The new Oxygen GVX1 Pro complements the existing mid-range
Oxygen GVX1 by enhancing geometry performance, increasing memory capacity to
64MB and adding a DVI-I connector for directly driving digital displays.
Oxygen GVX420 has an MSRP of $2,499 and is expected to ship in August 2000.
Oxygen GVX1 Pro has an MSRP of $1,199 and is expected to ship in late
September 2000.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990623/TDDDLOGO )
Consistent with 3Dlabs' sole focus on delivering optimized real-world
performance, quality and rich feature sets, the Oxygen GVX420 has already been
certified for key professional applications including SOFTIMAGE|XSI,
LightWave [6] and 3D Studio Max.
At the SIGGRAPH exposition in New Orleans, 3Dlabs is collaborating with
Alias|Wavefront, Discreet, Newtek and Softimage, who will be demonstrating the
advanced capabilities of their applications running on the Oxygen GVX1 Pro and
Oxygen GVX420 on 3Dlabs' booth #3029.
"The new Oxygen GVX420 is a superb vehicle for our most demanding
LightWave users," said Brad Peebler, vice president of 3D graphics tools at
NewTek. "All the Oxygen quality we've come to expect is here -- combined with
next-generation stunning performance and awesome texture handling. This is the
Oxygen board to own."
"3Dlabs' broad lineup of products is being further strengthened by the
Oxygen GVX1 Pro and Oxygen GVX420 -- which is going to challenge the
competition," said Jon Peddie, President and founder of Jon Peddie Associates,
the leading market research firm in graphics and multimedia. "The company has
nicely positioned itself for growth, collected an impressive array of
ISV certifications and has a strong reputation for its high display quality
essential to professional graphics designers."
"Unlike graphics cards based on gaming technology, these new Oxygen
accelerators are true professional graphics solutions based on 3Dlabs'
renowned OpenGL quality and intensive application optimization focus for
trouble-free performance," said Neil Trevett, vice president of marketing at
3Dlabs. "These new accelerators complement the existing boards in the Oxygen
and Wildcat families, enabling 3Dlabs to offer more real-world productivity
solutions to graphics professionals than any company in the industry."
Both new boards use 3Dlabs' new generation GLINT(R) R4 128-bit
rasterization processor, specifically optimized to deliver enhanced
workstation application performance with double the small primitive throughput
of the previous generation GLINT R3. GLINT R4 also doubles physical memory
capacity to 64MB per processor and implements 3Dlabs' unique Virtual Texturing
technology that enables any GLINT R4-based card to act as a 256MB graphics
board. GLINT R4 is OpenGL(R) 1.2 ready, accelerates advanced rasterization
functions including 3D Volumetric textures and drives a 128-bit
inter-rasterizer bus, enabling flexible, multi-processor rendering
architectures.
GLINT Gamma G2 is 3Dlabs' second generation geometry and lighting
processor that implements the complete OpenGL transform and lighting processor
in silicon, including full acceleration for up to 16 lights with full support
for directional, positional and spot lights with quadratic attenuation and
local viewing.
Oxygen GVX420
The Oxygen GVX420 deploys two GLINT R4 processors and the GLINT Gamma G2
geometry processor in a high-performance, 256-bit graphics accelerator. The
Oxygen GVX420's flexible dual-processor architecture and 128MB of on-board
memory allows the board to be used in two modes. In single screen mode both
processors are efficiently focused into one framebuffer for maximum
rasterization performance. In dual screen mode, the Oxygen GVX420 can directly
drive two independent displays each with a dedicated rasterizer, effectively
acting as two 64MB graphics boards.
When driving two screens, 3Dlabs' advanced PowerThreads(TM) OpenGL
seamlessly drives both displays as a large 3D accelerated virtual desktop for
unlimited, flexible and productive layout of 2D and 3D applications. 3Dlabs'
multi-screen window manager allows flexible control over the placement of
windows and dialog boxes on the multi-screen desktop.
Unlike other high-end graphics solutions, Oxygen GVX420 can be installed
in a standard AGP system, without the need for an AGP Pro slot, enabling
almost any existing workstation to be upgraded with high-end graphics
capabilities. Oxygen GVX420 carries a DVI display daughterboard in the
adjacent PCI slot to drive two DVI connectors that complement the dual analog
connectors on the main board. With a total of four connectors, the Oxygen
GVX420 can directly drive two analog or high-quality digital displays,
preserving graphics accelerator investment as monitors and panels are
upgraded.
Oxygen GVX1 Pro
The Oxygen GVX1 Pro uses the GLINT R4 processor and a GLINT Gamma G2
geometry processor to bring a new level of performance and functionality to
the mid-range of the Oxygen family. A full 64MB of physical memory is
effectively harnessed by 3Dlabs' Virtual Texturing technology -- enabling the
Oxygen GVX1 Pro to act as a full 256MB graphics card while caching large
amount of textures on-board for smooth interaction with complex scenes, even
with high-resolution screens and multiple stereo buffers. Oxygen GVX1 Pro also
provides flexible analog and digital display connectivity with both VGA and
DVI-I connectors on-board. Oxygen GVX1 Pro can be installed in any AGP or AGP
Pro system.
Both Oxygen GVX1 Pro and Oxygen GVX420 ship with 3Dlabs' PowerThreads
OpenGL drivers for Windows NT and Windows 2000 that dynamically balance the
transform and lighting load between the on-board geometry accelerator and the
host CPU for maximum system performance. The Windows 2000 driver includes
support for accelerated DX7, allowing designers to view DX7 content without
needing to reboot to another operating system. 3Dlabs' advanced control panel
and task-bar applet enables point-and-click optimization of graphics and
system configurations for optimal performance of key professional
applications. Both boards support true quad-buffered stereo up to
1280x1024 true-color resolution with independent Z buffers for left and right
eye -- providing full compatibility with almost every stereo application in
the industry.
Benchmark Performance
Like all Oxygen boards, Oxygen GVX1 Pro and Oxygen GVX420 provide
outstanding real-world application performance. For example, when running the
Maya x1000 textured spheres benchmark on a 733MHz CPU, Oxygen GVX1 Pro scored
91.7 and Oxygen GVX420 scored 99.9 outperforming a score of 64.0 for the ELSA
GLoria II and 55.3 for the S3/Diamond Fire GL1. In the AutoCAD 2000 gsTest
benchmark #5, Oxygen GVX1 Pro scored 27 and Oxygen GVX420 scored 29.5, beating
a score of 24.1 and 24.5 for the GLoria II and the Fire GL1, respectively.
About 3Dlabs
Founded in 1994, 3Dlabs is a leading supplier of integrated hardware and
software graphics accelerator solutions for workstations and design
professionals. 3Dlabs develops silicon, boards and software drivers to create
products that effectively meet the performance and quality needs of users who
rely on graphics for their productivity. 3Dlabs sells its award-winning
Wildcat and Oxygen products to leading system OEMs including Compaq, Dell,
Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intergraph Computer
Systems, Hitachi, NEC and Sun Microsystems; through an international
distributor and reseller network and directly to end-users at 3Dlabs' online
store. The performance-leading Wildcat and high volume Oxygen accelerator
families target complementary segments of the Computer Aided Design (CAD),
Digital Content Creation (DCC), geophysical, medical and visual simulation
markets, resulting in the broadest range of professional graphics products in
the industry today. 3Dlabs has operations in Alabama, California, Colorado,
Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. For
more information, please visit http://www.3dlabs.com.
Forward Looking Statement
Various matters set forth in this press release, such as statements
relating to the expected performance characteristics, specifications, market
position, availability, market acceptance and expected shipment date of Oxygen
GVX420 and Oxygen GVX1 Pro are forward-looking statements. These statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, 3Dlabs'
ability to manufacture, produce and deliver Oxygen GVX420 and Oxygen GVX1 Pro
in a timely, cost-effective and commercially-viable manner; the ability of
3Dlabs to obtain and keep design wins for this product; the ability of Oxygen
GVX420 and Oxygen GVX1 Pro to adequately meet the price/performance
requirements of its customers; the impact and pricing of competitive products;
the introduction of alternative technological advances and other risks
detailed from time-to-time in 3Dlabs' SEC reports.
NOTE: 3Dlabs, Wildcat, Oxygen, Permedia, SuperScene, ParaScale,
DirectBurst and PowerThreads are registered trademarks or trademarks of 3Dlabs
Ltd., 3Dlabs Inc. Ltd., or 3Dlabs Inc. in the United States and/or other
countries. OpenGL is a trademark of SGI Inc. All other product names,
trademarks, and/or company names are used solely for identification and belong
to their respective owners.
SOURCE 3Dlabs, Ltd.
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Related links:
http://www.3dlabs.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990623/TDDDLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 201-369-3467
CONTACT:
press, Elizabeth Riegel, Director, Marketing
Communications, 408-530-4766, or elizabeth.riegel@3dlabs.com, or
product, Neil Trevett, Vice President, Marketing, 408-530-4750,
or neil.trevett@3dlabs.com, both of 3Dlabs Ltd.
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