Intel will sell "at least" 10 million I740s in 1998, and will get 20% of the market for 3D graphics chips.........
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Story posted at 3 p.m. EST/noon PST, 2/12/98
Intel740 graphics chip not fastest
but it still looks good, says analyst
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Intel Corp.'s new graphics chip, the Intel740, is not
getting perfect marks from at least one research firm, which says benchmark
tests show the device is no faster that today's best 3-D accelerators. But
still, MicroDesign Resources said 3D WinBench tests show the Intel740 has
superior visual quality and it expects Intel to do extremely well with the
accelerator architecture.
"The 740 will face stiff competition from even more advanced 3D engines
this spring, with higher performance and better visual quality. But the 740
will have at least one advantage over other chips. It's backed by Intel's
powerful marketing machine," concluded analyst Peter N. Glaskowsky, who
is based in Sunnyvale with MicroDesign Resources. The analysis and data
from the 3D WinBench tests will be released in Feb. 16 issue of the
>I>Microprocessor Report, published by MicroDesign Resources of
Sebastopol, Calif.
Intel today rolled out its news accelerator chip, which is optimized for the
Pentium II processor and intended to give PCs life-like graphics (see story
on the introduction).
Based on the MicroDesign Resources tests, Glaskowsky said the Intel740
sets a new record for a single-chip 2D/3D accelerator on 3D WinBench,
scoring a 691 at 640x480 resolution on a 333-MHz Pentium II processor.
The previous high score was 576 by Nvidia Corp.'s Riva 128. He said the
higher score is due solely to Intel740's support for a single 3D quality feature
(MIP-map blending) that is not implemented on the Riva 128. Excluding that
portion of 3D WinBench, the Riva 128 was 2% faster, he added.
Glaskowsky said the basic design of the Intel740 is relatively sophisticated
and provides a basis for faster graphics chips, which are expected to be
introduced by Intel in the first half of 1999.
"We believe demand for the Intel740 will be very strong," he said. "Intel will
ship at least 10 million units in 1998, giving Intel about 20% of the market
for 3D chips for personal computers." |
