After having had some problems with two NEC 1760NX screens, which both exhibits an horizontal moving waves problem, I would like to have feedback from anyone having such a screen.
Please go in our forum and answer the few questions I need an answer to, in order to find the source of the problem.
NEC is investigating the case, and they fail to reproduce the problem on the screen I returned them, so I need as much feedback as possible to find out what's wrong by myself.
Thank you.
UPDATE2
Looks like they weren't talking about that problem, but rather the reduce color range in the dark grey/black colors.
Still investigating the problem.
New drivers have finally hit us and we're proud to present you the PowerVR reference drivers Build 2.00.20.0516 for WinXP, Win2k, Win9x each file about 6MB in size. Kudos to James for keeping our hopes up (in the forums)! ;)
Or directly from PVRDev, here. (They've got the new driver as Linux RPM and TGZ too BTW)
Fixes include (AFAIK):
Batman: Vengeance
Casanova - The Duel of the Black Rose
Combat Flight Simulator 3
Command & Conquer: Generals
G.I. Combat
Highland Warriors
Impossible Creatures
Knight Rider
Messiah
NHL 2001
Odium
Pool of Radiance 2
Silent Hill 2
Sim City 4
Soul Reaver
Star Trek Dominion Wars
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer
ToCA Race Driver
and many more!
In case of feedback or comments please do not hesitate to contact us. And now enjoy those drivers! ;)
Or get the drivers from:
the deferred Power mirror
WinXP
Win2K
Win9x
the Kyroworld.de mirror
WinXP
Win2K
Win9x
Planet3DNow.de mention the release of a new version of Prime95... good for stability and stress testing... version 23.4 can be obtained here.
Sorry for the delay of this but I just recently found time to post it... KyroWorld.de mentioned a thread on Beyond3D.com which aims at solving the Series 5 "high end" mystery... here's the link.
Here you can read more about what FutureMark discovered latest nVidia Drivers did behind the scene to get boosted scores in 3DMark03...
Score was enhanced by 24.1% thanks to the new cheating drivers.
Epic have released a zip file "containing the integration of RAD's Pixomatic software renderer into UT2003". You can grab it here.
"Unzipping it into the UT2003/System directory and adding the following section to your UT2003.ini file
[PixoDrv.PixoRenderDevice]
FogEnabled=True
Zoom2X=True
LimitTextureSize=True
LowQualityTerrain=True
TerrainLOD=10
SkyboxHack=True
FilterQuality3D=1
FilterQualityHUD=1
HighDetailActors=False
SuperHighDetailActors=False
ReduceMouseLag=False
DesiredRefreshRate=0
DetailTexMipBias=0.000000
Use16bitTextures=False
Use16bit=True
UseStencil=False
UseCompressedLightmaps=False
DetailTextures=False
UsePrecaching=True
should then allow you to select it by modifying your UT2003.ini file as follows.
RenderDevice=PixoDrv.PixoRenderDevice
;RenderDevice=D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice
;RenderDevice=Engine.NullRenderDevice
;RenderDevice=OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice
Keep in mind to lower your resolution to maybe 320x240 or 512x384 in case you have a slow CPU. You can do this from the console by typing "setres 320x240" or "setres 512x384" respectively."
deferred Power have found a new driver (here) @ Imagine Graphics which is v. 4.20.30.7121-1.01.00.1022. According to deferred Power it is not suggested to try it because it does not come with the reg file for game support but it's good news as it might be an indicator for a new reference driver release in near future. :) Now let's see...
A new board for professionals doing 3D and CAD PNY have released a new graphics board based on the Quadro FX series from nVidia.
Here's the link.
"PNY TECHNOLOGIES DELIVERS THE FULL POWER OF NVIDIA QUADRO FX
PROFESSIONAL GRAPHICS SOLUTIONS AT ENTRY-LEVEL PRICE
PARSIPPANY,N.J. (May 21, 2003) – PNY Technologies® today introduced the latest addition to its family of graphics solutions for workstation professionals.Powered by NVIDIA Corporation’s newest graphics processing unit, the new NVIDIA Quadro® FX 500 by PNY delivers superior application performance, programmability and high-quality workstation graphics at entry-level pricing. ..."
"...
The NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 by PNY is the third in a series of professional workstation graphics boards that make real-time 3D rendering for leading computer aided design (CAD) and digital content creation (DCC) applications an integral part of the design workflow.The Quadro FX 500 joins the Quadro FX 2000 and Quadro FX 1000 introduced earlier this year and is now available exclusively from PNY to system integrators, distributors and value-added resellers throughout North America and Europe .
“Through our partnership with technology innovator NVIDIA, the addition of Quadro FX 500 gives us a full range of professional graphics boards that can shorten the production process and accelerate time to market,” said Richard Martens, workstation products manager for PNY.“By offering the high end functionality of the NVIDIA Quadro FX series at such an attractive price point, we are well positioned to meet the needs of virtually all CAD and DCC workstation applications.”
The NVIDIA Quadro FX by PNY series delivers unmatched speed and efficiency, and it includes an architecture that is 20 percent higher than the previous generation of entry-level Quadro4 workstation products.The boards now feature full 128-bit IEEE floating-point precision that allows for a higher level of accuracy and the ultimate visual quality.Advanced Cg programmability empowers a new class of special effects for OpenGL® and DirectX® applications for real-time rendering.Also, the new line is certified and supported by the most popular CAD and DCC applications.
Shipped with high-speed 128MB DDR memory, the NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 by PNY includes a standard VGA adapter as well as a DVI-I connector to support the latest digital flat panels.It also includes dual 350MHz digital-to-analog converters (RAMDACs).MSRP $ 449
All products in the PNY NVIDIA Quadro family come with a three-year warranty (one year standard plus two additional years upon completion of a registration form on PNY’s Website).For additional information, visit PNY’s website at www.pny.com/quadro.
1 As measured by NVIDIA testing.
About PNY Technologies, Inc.
Established in 1985, PNY Technologies, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and supplier of computer graphics accelerator cards, memory upgrade modules, digital storage media, CD Media, Flash Memory and Flash peripherals. Its memory products currently account for a majority share of all retail sales in the U.S. PNY introduced its Verto™-brand consumer graphics card product line in June 2001 and is now offering PNY-brand Quadro™ graphics cards for workstation professional applications. PNY products are currently available at major retail outlets, mail order outlets, online retailers, value-added resellers and distribution channels throughout the U.S. and Europe.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation is a market leader in visual computing technology dedicated to creating products that enhance the interactive experience on consumer and professional computing platforms. Its graphics and communications processors have broad market reach and are incorporated into a wide variety of computing platforms, including consumer digital-media PCs, enterprise PCs, professional workstations, digital content creation systems, notebook PCs, military navigation systems, and video game consoles. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and employs more than 1,500 people worldwide. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.nvidia.com.
Copyright © 2003 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice."
As you may have noticed the Articles section is rather empty, since we changed server, PKY did not found the time to put them back online, however I'm working on two reviews of 17" LCD screens: NEC 1760NX and IIYAMA AS4315UT; and also a shootout.
Don't expect anything before 3 weeks however, since I've much work on OctoPort 3D engine at the moment.
On ImgTec website (Imagination Technologies) there's a bunch of news, and in the investor section, a 'Preliminary Result 2003' link which have this slide of interest:
This Slide
Can we hope to see a PowerVRS5 before the end of the year ?
icrontic.com have released their Matrox Millennium P650 & P750 review here.
A snippet from their conclusion:
"As a 3D workstation product the Millennium P650/P750 will miss the mark for impatient, power hungry designers who require fast redraw rates for programs like Softimage, Autocad and 3D Studio Max. The P750 does not have the GPU power to manipulate complex scenes quickly in real time. Matrox has positioned Parhelia for this job but don't confuse applications like Adobe After Effects with 3D programs. The Millennium P750 on the ASUS A7N8X did score the quickest time beating the ATI 9700 PRO.
You must keep in mind what the Matrox Millennium P650/P750 series is designed for; multi-monitor support and 2D image perfection. The P750 brings added value of maintaining dual head plus TV. Photoshop and After Effects, which are very powerful programs, rely mainly on CPU power for rendering effects. The Millennium P650/P750 series allow users to shift hardware overlay to either window or split it between."
... by SharkyExtreme. To get a good overview of what the expect in near future concerning games shown on e§ surf over to SharkyExtreme and take a look @ their E3 coverage day 1 and day 2.
HardOCP have taken a look @ the newest AMD CPU, and the latest chipsets supporting it, Via's brand new KT600 and nVidia's NV Ultra 400. Here's the link.
From their conclusion... KT600 part:
"There is no doubt that the VIA KT600 stepped up and surprised us as it did best the nForce2 Ultra 400 across the board in our gaming benchmark suite. While I would like to award that somewhat incredible single channel achievement with a big gold star, one thing I have learned in this business is to hold onto the "attaboys" till you see the silicon hit production and the production silicon hit those PCBs."
Just saw on 3dcenter.de that some interesting press release is online over @ Synopsys.com for it includes some information about ATI and a "Next-Generation Graphics Chip":
"ATI Adopts Synopsys DFT Compiler SoCBIST for Its Ultra-High Performance Visual Processor
SoCBIST Reduces Cost of Test While Improving Product Quality for Next-Generation Graphics Chip
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 14, 2003 - Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), the world leader in integrated circuit (IC) design software, today announced that ATI Research, a subsidiary of ATI Technologies, Inc., has adopted Synopsys' DFT Compiler™ SoCBIST to implement the design-for-test architecture for its upcoming next-generation visual processor. SoCBIST is an extension to DFT Compiler, a key component of Synopsys' Galaxy™ Design Platform. By using SoCBIST, ATI is able to improve test quality and reduce test cost for one of their most important designs."
"ATI's visual processing unit (VPU) has more than 200 million transistors of digital logic. A design of this size and complexity requires not only extremely high stuck-at fault coverage, but also thorough testing for delay-related defects, the preponderant defect type in 0.13 micron process geometries and below. Using basic scan methods, excellent delay test requires up to 6X more tester time than required for stuck-at faults, which already is at an unacceptable cost of test.
"Synopsys SoCBIST's deterministic logic BIST capability allows us to reach a quality/cost tradeoff that we could not attain with any other alternative," said Robert Feldstein, vice president of engineering, ATI Research. "We required an entirely new test approach to achieve our strict quality objectives for our new VPUs at an acceptable cost of test. In addition, because of our aggressive time-to-market goals, we needed a test solution that would not jeopardize our design schedule. Synopsys SoCBIST gave us at least an order-of-magnitude leeway to implement the increased testing we desired, and any schedule risk is minimized because SoCBIST is a straightforward extension to familiar Synopsys design flows."
"Faced with the unprecedented test challenges of this huge design, ATI selected Synopsys SoCBIST to improve test quality and reduce test cost for its next-generation visual processors," said Antun Domic, senior vice president and general manager of Synopsys' Nanometer Analysis and Test business unit. "SoCBIST is focused on enabling our customers to meet the toughest quality and cost objectives, and working with ATI provides further validation of our solution and commitment in this critical area."
Synopsys Versatile Test Solutions
Synopsys offers a complete line of integrated products and services to meet demanding manufacturing test requirements. The company's award-winning design-for-test offering includes the advanced DFT Compiler and TetraMAX(R) ATPG tools. An integral part of the Synopsys Galaxy Design Platform, DFT Compiler incorporates the latest generation of Synopsys' patented 1-pass test synthesis technology and enables design teams to more efficiently meet their DFT closure goals. TetraMAX complements scan-based test methodologies by providing industry-leading ATPG performance, capacity and ease of use. DFT Compiler SoCBIST provides deterministic logic BIST capabilities and enables designers to significantly lower test costs with substantial test time and data volume reduction, while retaining scan's very high fault coverage. Complementing its test products, Synopsys offers comprehensive test services delivered by its world-class team of DFT experts.
About Synopsys
Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) is the world leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software for integrated circuit (IC) design. The company delivers technology-leading IC design and verification platforms to the global electronics market, enabling the development of complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). Synopsys also provides intellectual property and design services to simplify the design process and accelerate time-to-market for its customers. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California and has offices in more than 60 locations throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Asia. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/. "
"NVIDIA has a BIOS that cleans up a lot of the "noise" and would allow some older boards to hit 400FSB. However, it is still up to the board maker if they are going to use that BIOS and validate their board for official 400FSB support. NVIDIA feels that the board makers will vary on their response to this. Aggressive companies such as ABIT will release the BIOS and state you can overclock on most of them and support it on others. More conservative companies - like Asus - will probably use the BIOS for stability, but will only certify the newest boards to support 400FSB officially or unofficially."
The above info comes from nForcersHQ's interview with nVidia.
Several board manufacturers now offer support for 400MHz FSB so in case you wonder check your motherboard manufacturers sites for further information. :)
You can find a nice high res movie of Half Life 2 on fileplanet. Here's the link but make sure you've got a fast connection as you're about to download 500MB!
"The demonstration of Half-Life 2 was unquestionably one of the hits of this year's E3. FilePlanet Subscribers now have an opportunity to experience this demo thanks to a +500 MB, 25 minute, insanely hi-res QuickTime video."
Well since the update to the new server we've lost some of the "extras" like the small graphics demo section. It might come back but until then... have some of these:
0010 1010 by Federation against nature (grayscale) 3D accelerated and cool.
fr-025: the.popular.demo by farb-rausch (sweet colors) 3D accelerated BTW
Pornonoise by Lunix & mfx (curious name I must admit) Software only AFAIK.
PROTOZOA by kewlers (did not try that one yet ;) seems to be good though, enjoy!)
Kudos to Matthias for letting me know of RenderPal a rather handy tool to manage ones Maya render jobs. Just feed RenderPal with scene files and he'll do the job. Here's more.
"Also, if you see the movie, stay through the extremely long credits and you'll be rewarded with a preview of the third movie: Matrix: Revolutions. It looks like they have even more special effects and action waiting for us."
A short "how it was" is online here.
"It turns out, though, that the disparate 3DMark03 scores may have a different root cause: our test results seem to indicate that Nvidia is boosting its 3DMark game test scores by cutting corners in the 44.03 Detonator FX driver we used for testing.
We discussed our findings with Nvidia before we published this article, and the company's Direct3D driver team is currently investigating the problem. At press time, the company's engineers believe that the anomalies we're seeing are the result of a driver bug."
Just found the following on Warp2Search who've seen this on Extremetech.com... interesting isn't it?! =)
A review of the Samsung Syncmaster 172W wide-screen TFT monitor can be found on TweakNews. Click right here for the quite long article with lots of nice pictures.
ATI have released their Catalyst driver set v3.4, here's the control panel as well as the drivers for Win9x/ME and Win2k/XP.
Just a snip from the driver's release notes:
"Performance Improvements in OpenGL Games
- Anti-Aliasing performance for Quake Engine games is improved by approximately 5%. Serious Sam shows a 14% improvement on the RADEON™ 9700 PRO and a remarkable 53% performance gain on the RADEON™ 9600 PRO.
- Anisotropic Filtering performance for OpenGL games is also improved. The RADEON™ 9700 PRO gains 10% in Quake III. Jedi Knight II runs 11% faster on the RADEON™ 9600 PRO. Serious Sam framerates are up as much as 30% on the RADEON™ 9600 PRO."
Here's more information on what has changed.
HardOCP have an interesting article up about a benchmarking session with a yet unseen Doom III "demo" to see how nVidia's 5900 Ultra and ATI's 9800 Pro would compete with eachother.
"The other thing that is surprising about our frame rates is the obvious gap between the 5900 Ultra and the 9800 Pro-256. You have to wonder if this is due to a simple driver issue at this point in the game. It is very possible that ATI simply did not have their public Catalyst 3.2 tweaked to deliver for DOOM 3. On the other hand, the folks at NVIDIA will tell you flat out, "The NV35 was built to play DOOM." From the looks of things, that is something that we can point to as fact.
DOOM 3 is likely to have more impact on the gaming and hardware industries overall than any other game to come in the next decade, as it is surely one of those quantum leaps in technology that are becoming so rare. NVIDIA is obviously aware of this and doing everything they can to be the DOOM 3 video card. It is far too early to count ATI out of the race, and I would not consider the comparison shown here to be final or anything close to it.
An interesting tidbit of information to throw into the mix here is the fact that there is another R3XX card from ATI waiting in the wings. We are told that this VPU will show a significant performance increase over any chipsets on the market including NV35 as well as R350. Expect to see this new ATI card somewhere between mid to late summer if it stays on schedule."
Here's more.
The Detonators recently mentioned as beta have now been released @ nvidia.com (here) as finals and we're told they include fancy named stuff like nView 2.0, NVKeystone, NVRotate and Digital Vibrance Control 3.0. A must get right? =)
Here's some fun stuff, enjoy:
"PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- Position Available: Interpreter, must be fluent in Klingon.
The language created for the "Star Trek" TV series and movies is one of about 55 needed by the office that treats mental health patients in metropolitan Multnomah County. "
... while you work or play and close your eyes with the shake of waves, it's possible with the Pyramat 300 Interactive. Be it playing console or working with the PC or just relaxing with a Hifi attached to this mat , this is what you were surely looking for for a long time (kidding in a way but the mat is interesting ;).
Tweaktown have a review up here which will list some more benefits speaking for the mat with sound on board.
HardwareZone have a guide up explaining how to get a Barton XP to work as an MP CPU to be used in a multi CPU setup. Here's the link.
The new version of this classic supports:
ATI news/ rumors from the Inquirer:
"ATI WILL DISTRIBUTE its next generation GPUs, namely R360 for the high-end market and RV360 for the mainstream market, to its partners beginning in July, it has emerged."
There's more, head over >click< ! ;)
Via have just posted a press release concerning their KT600 & KM400A chipset(s)... here's it.
"The advanced 400 Front Side Bus at 3.2GB/s will match the data transfer capacity of the VIA Apollo KT600 FastStream64™ Memory Controller using DDR400 (PC3200) memory. This balanced configuration can minimize memory latency and enable the full performance potential of the AMD Athlon XP processor 3200+ to be realized."
Jup, sounds nice! ;)
"VIA Announces Chipset Support For AMD Athlon XP Processor 3200+ with Advanced 400 Front Side Bus
Forthcoming VIA Apollo KT600 Chipset features ultra fast 400 Front Side Bus enabling gamers and enthusiasts to extract searing performance from AMD Athlon XP processor 3200+ platforms
Taipei, Taiwan, 13 May 2003 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced that the forthcoming VIA Apollo KT600 and VIA UniChrome™ KM400A chipsets will support the new AMD Athlon™ XP 3200+ processors with 400 FSB.
The advanced 400 Front Side Bus at 3.2GB/s will match the data transfer capacity of the VIA Apollo KT600 FastStream64™ Memory Controller using DDR400 (PC3200) memory. This balanced configuration can minimize memory latency and enable the full performance potential of the AMD Athlon XP processor 3200+ to be realized.
"For the past decade, VIA has consistently supported the latest processor technologies from AMD and we are pleased to continue that proud tradition with the 400 Front Side Bus AMD Athlon XP processor 3200+ and the VIA Apollo KT600 Chipset," said Chewei Lin, Vice President of Product Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Paired with the new VIA VT8237 South Bridge featuring the world's first integrated SATA/RAID controller, the KT600 is set to rule the performance oriented market for AMD Athlon XP processor 3200+ based systems in the second half of 2003."
"VIA's complementary chipset offerings can offer our shared customers increased performance to realize the full potential of the AMD Athlon XP processor 3200+ with 400 FSB," said Tim Wright, director of desktop marketing, AMD's Microprocessor Business Unit. "By focusing on innovations that truly benefit PC users, AMD's newest desktop PC processor enables the highest level of performance possible on content creation, office productivity and gaming applications."
About the VIA Apollo KT600
Supporting DDR266/333/400 SDRAM memory and a full range of 266/333/400MHz Processor Bus AMD Athlon™ XP processors, the VIA Apollo KT600 provides lightning fast access to system memory and delivers exceptional performance across the application spectrum. DDR400 offers 3.2GB/s of memory bandwidth through VIA's low latency, FastStream64 memory controller, while AGP 8X delivers 2.1GB/s of bandwidth to the graphics engine, improving image quality and 3D performance in the highest resolution conditions.
The VIA Apollo KT600 North Bridge is connected to the new VIA VT8237 South Bridge through a fast 8X V-Link 533MB/s connection. With support for Serial ATA in the VT8237, supplying 150MB/s of bandwidth to your hard drive, as well as support for up to eight USB 2.0 ports, the VT8237 offers the highest possible peripheral performance for professional and home users. In SATA mode, the VIA VT8237 also provides multi level RAID support including RAID level 0 for maximum performance, RAID Level 1 for maximum security, RAID level 0+1 and JBOD. The VIA VT8237 also features support for up to two Parallel ATA-133 devices, extending flexibility to the system integrator by allowing for mainstream or value configurations leveraging the existing technology standard. Additional features include a VIA MAC for 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet connectivity, integrated PCI support, VIA Vinyl Six-channel Audio and an MC'97 modem. The KT600 also benefits from the advanced unified VIA Hyperion 4-in-1 driver set, delivering seamless compatibility with the latest software and hardware.
For more information, please see the KT600 product page:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/apollo/kt600.jsp
VIA UniChrome KM400A
The VIA UniChrome KM400A chipset features the S3 Graphics integrated UniChrome 2D/3D graphics core with DuoView™ technology for excellent multimedia performance and complete flexibility on the desktop. The chipset North Bridge exchanges data with the processor through an ultra fast 400MHz FSB and features an AGP 8X controller for graphics upgrades. The KM400A also supports a complete range of DDR memory speeds, including DDR266/333/400, enabling OEMs and system integrators the opportunity to attack different price points based on the same mainboard platform.
The VIA UniChrome KM400A North Bridge is connected to the VIA VT8235CE South Bridge or the new pin compatible VIA VT8237 South Bridge through a fast 8X V-Link 533MB/s connection. With support for Serial ATA in the VT8237, supplying 150MB/s of bandwidth to your hard drive, as well as support for up to eight USB 2.0 ports, the VT8237 offers the highest possible peripheral performance for professional and home users. In SATA mode, the VIA VT8237 also provides multi level RAID support including RAID level 0 for maximum performance, RAID Level 1 for maximum security, RAID level 0+1 and JBOD. The VIA VT8237 also features support for up to two Parallel ATA-133 devices, extending flexibility to the system integrator by allowing for mainstream or value configurations leveraging the existing technology standard. Additional features include a VIA MAC for 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet connectivity, integrated PCI support, VIA Vinyl Six-channel Audio and an MC'97 modem. The KM400A also benefits from the advanced unified VIA Hyperion 4-in-1 driver set, delivering seamless compatibility with the latest software and hardware.
About VIA Technologies, Inc.
VIA Technologies, Inc. is the foremost fabless supplier of market-leading core logic chipsets, low power x86 processors, advanced connectivity, multimedia, networking and storage silicon, and complete platform solutions that are driving system innovation in the PC and embedded markets. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, VIA's global network links the high tech centers of the US, Europe and Asia, and its customer base includes the world's top OEMs, motherboard vendors and system integrators. VIA is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE2388) and achieved annual revenues of over US$720 million in 2002.
www.via.com.tw"
"Intel disclosed an electrical problem Monday that can cause computers using its flagship Itanium 2 processor to behave erratically or crash."
The above is an update to an article online here @ cnet.com which discusses a recently found problem with Itanium 2s. Head over for more. :)
Looks like nVidia is happy with NV35... are we? Head over here for Anand's words. They've put a rather long article online with lot's of benchmarks, enjoy! ;)
ATI have press released their ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB... Here's the juicy thing.
Added to that HotHardware have released their review of this accelerator. Here's it.
"ATI ships RADEON™ 9800 PRO 256MB, world’s most powerful graphics card
DDR-2 memory and 256-bit memory interface delivers image quality and frame rates that hardcore gamers want
Monday May 12, 2003
MARKHAM, Ontario – ATI Technologies Inc. (TSX: ATY, NASDAQ: ATYT) is now shipping its RADEON™ 9800 PRO visual processing unit (VPU) with 256MB of fast DDR-2 (double data rate-2) memory. The RADEON™ 9800 PRO 256MB –available in limited quantities to OEM, retail and online customers – is the most advanced 3D performer available, delivering to hardcore gamers the immersive and cinematic experience they crave.
The RADEON™ 9800 PRO 256MB delivers full quality at full speed all the time. Built on the highly successful RADEON 9800 PRO architecture, the chip features eight full precision pipelines that provide the brute force and agility needed to render real-time, Hollywood-caliber graphics. The additional memory provided in this new board significantly increases performance at the highest resolution and quality settings. The RADEON™ 9800 PRO 256MB sets a new standard in 3D entertainment, allowing users to experience cinematic rendering on their PCs.
“ATI continues to blaze the trail in the graphics industry,” says Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President, Marketing and General Manager, Desktop, ATI Technologies Inc. “We were the first to support full Direct® X 9.0 and OpenGL™ 2.0, the first and still the only VPU provider to offer eight dedicated pipelines of rendering power and, with the RADEON™ 9800 series, we became the first to bring second-generation VPUs to consumers. ATI keeps offering consumers greater power and features.”
The RADEON 9800 PRO’s 256-bit memory interface provides the bandwidth for real-time 3D graphics and ensures that high-resolution textures and characters are rendered precisely. Exquisite image quality is not at the expense of performance.
The RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB graphics powerhouse is available for $499 USD. For more information on ATI’s partners or products, please visit www.ati.com.
Copyright 2003 ATI Technologies Inc. or Valve, LLC. All rights reserved. ATI and ATI product and product feature names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. Valve, Valve Source, Half-Life, Counter-Strike and Team Fortress are trademarks or registered trademarks of Valve, LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Company Background
ATI Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions. An industry pioneer since 1985, ATI is the world's foremost visual processor unit (VPU) provider and is dedicated to deliver leading-edge performance solutions for the full range of PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstation, set-top and digital television, game console and handheld markets. With 2002 revenues in excess of US $1 billion, ATI has more than 1,900 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).
Contact Information
For media or industry analyst support, visit our Web site at http://www.ati.com
For Information:
Patricia Mikula, Public Relations Manager, Desktop and Workstation Products, at (905) 882-2600, Ext. 8809 or pmikula@ati.com
Other ATI Contacts:
Tenille Cuthbertson, Consultant, BenchMark Porter Novelli, at (416) 422-7163 or tcuthbertson@bmporternovelli.com
For investor relations support, please contact:
Janet Craig, Director, Investor Relations, ATI Technologies Inc., at (905) 882-2600, Ext. 2631 or janet@ati.com"
NVmax.com do have a new beta Detonator online. v44.03 is only for Win2k/XP and features NV35 support... here's the link.
Hardwareaccelerated.com have written a nice introduction to current generation 3D graphics hardware. It can be found here and includes a short look @ the "... harder question to answer is whether a 4x2 architecture is better then a 8x1 architecture." Enjoy! ;)
Microsoft have released a fix for WinXP adressing a problem with multiple Serial ATA drives:
"Windows XP Patch: Problems May Occur When Your Computer with Multiple ATA Drives Enters the S1 Power State"
Here's the place to download the patch.
AIDA32 v3.50 and AIDA16 v2.05 are available now here on the creator's site.
AIDA is a tool to get some information about your system and benchmarking parts of it.
Snippet from nvnews.net:
"HP released a new Detonator version 50.06. This is the first release of the new 50.xx series but unfortunately this is a 64-bit OS driver only. It supports WinXP 64-bit and WinServer 2003. ..."
Sounds interesting and there is some more here, no files yet though.
... from the featured maps section on cncden.com:
Ice Age: [by Blkwaltz3] A detailed 4-player Snow map. Features a river with realistic flowing water that adds lots of eye appeal and sets the mood for this icy cold map. Plenty of money and oil derricks. This map was primarily designed for team play, but you can still use it for skirmish mode as well. Can't go wrong downloading this one!
Infinite Justice: [by Silent_Banshee] A highly detailed 4-player Temperate/Urban map. Complete with all the eye candy to make this a beautiful map that's a must see and play. Mountainous terrain and hills surrounding a city. Adequate money supply along with oil derricks. There's a train that makes two stops and drops off supplies. This is a large map, so some of you may need to turn down the graphics.
Feuerthalen vs Schaffhausen: [by SwissPatriot] This 4-player temperate/urban map features a detailed city and surrounding countryside. A river with realistic flowing water divides the map. Several bridges provide crossover points. Plenty of money along with a few oil derricks and refineries. Lots of eye candy to check out! A MUST see map...
ThudAI skirmish scripts v0.2 has been released, an AI script which enhances the AI by removing the out of the box AI limits making it a bit harder to play against the CPU.
Some changes:
"* AI's placement of buildings are now closer together so as to optimize his effectiveness.
* AI now sets up static base defences in a concentric fashion around main base so ALL SIDES ARE COVERED!
* Second Airfields are now used more effectively.
* CHINA AI will now effectively garrison all 8 Bunker positions surrounding his base with Rocket Soldiers thus making him a fortress of death to assault.
* CHINA AI now builds two Speaker Towers on opposite sides of Command Centre thus allowing units to heal in a much larger radius around centre of base.
* Chinese Hackers appear out of two separate Barracks now making killing them slightly more challenging. Further, they are surrounded by excellent defenses to protect against surprise attacks.
* GLA AI now uses both High Explosive and BioBomb Upgrades on his Bomb Trucks and sends more of them out wreaking havoc on the enemy!
* USA AI now sets the "Search and Destroy BattlePlan" at the Strategy Centre. Since the best USA players use this plan (as it gives a significant range bonus to all ground units) I felt the AI should find it more useful now that all USA bases are well defended.
* AI now builds up to 4 income-gathering buildings and the CHINA AI will have up to 24 Hackers."
Click here to download it.
There is a new DirectX 9.0a multilingual release available here on Microsoft.com.
Go and get it! ;)
Just found it on Warp2Search.net, this is one funny looking case we have here... Enjoy!
Seems like there is going to be a nice tool from nVidia soon which allows nForce tuning... here's some info from AMDZone.com -> [Here]
Found the following on Rage3D... might be interesting for ATI graphics card owners:
"CATALYST 3.3 has been cancelled and will not be posted. We will jump over to CATALYST 3.4 this time and the time frame we are looking at right now is May 12th-15th (now do NOT hold me to that) Its not a promise just that is what the schedules are looking like at the current time. These drivers are currently in the hands of our beta testers and going through the final run through. If all goes well you guys will get them in the time frame I mentioned above and you will be very happy with them. They will have performance boosts across the boards, some bug fixes, some new features, and of course the best image quality in the business!"
The UT2003 mod UnWheel was released as first alpha version just recently. Grab your copy here.
"UnWheel is a driving modification for Unreal Tournament 2003. The idea behind UnWheel is not to create the ultimate racing game, or the 4x4 simulation with the best physics, or to specialise in any one area as other modifications and games do, but to simply create an assortment of gametypes and vehicles with the focus on fun driving, whether it be racing, rallying, or simply freestyle driving around."
New screenshots of FullThrottle: Hell on Wheels can be checked out on the official site here.
"SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - April 23, 2003 - One of LucasArts' most loved original titles roars back with a vengeance this winter in the fuel-injected Full Throttle: Hell On Wheels. Featuring the sarcastic, bad-ass outlaw biker named Ben, this all-new adventure-action careens through a unique 3D landscape of seedy bars, greasy truck stops and desert highways on a quest for cold beer, cheap motorcycle parts and the honest truth. Full Throttle: Hell On Wheels will release this winter for Sony PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft and PC."
Just for fun, here's a picture of Athens and it's daddy... enjoy! :)
Creative Labs are to release an USB Sound Blaster sound system. There's a picture and some (german) info here and a press release is online @ 3DSoundSurge here.
"MILPITAS, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Creative Technology Ltd. (Nasdaq: CREAF), a worldwide leader in digital entertainment solutions for PC users, today announced the Sound Blaster® MP3+ and Sound Blaster Go! portable USB Sound Blaster sound systems. Now it's as simple as connecting to a USB port for any PC user to upgrade from motherboard audio to premium-quality audio for listening to MP3 music or creating MP3 or WMA music from compact discs. The compact, portable Sound Blaster MP3+, slated for availability this month, is priced at only US$59.99 and the Sound Blaster Go! is priced at US$79.99 and is slated for availability in July. "
The guys behind DivX have released the Doctor for media conversion into DivX. Here's more information, files are there too, however:
"NOTE: This software is available for a 15-day trial which also includes DivX Pro 5.0.5"