biz.yahoo.com
Wednesday August 4, 7:12 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
S3 Ships Fastest 3D Accelerator for Value PC Graphics
Market
Xtreme 166 Delivers Significant Performance Increases for S3's
Widely-Adopted Savage4 Family
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 4, 1999--Raising the performance level of its popular Savage4 family of
products, S3 Incorporated (Nasdaq:SIII - news) today announced its Savage4 Xtreme(TM) accelerator.
Featuring significantly increased 166MHz memory and engine clock speeds, as well as higher performing OpenGL software
drivers, S3's Savage4 Xtreme 166 is the fastest 3D accelerator available for the $99-129 retail PC graphics market.
''Initial testing of a sample Xtreme 166 accelerator shows at least a 21% performance increase over existing Savage4
accelerators in every D3D and OpenGL-based benchmark we've tested,'' said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury
Research and an editor of www.themeter.com.
Importantly, S3 adds this solid performance boost without increasing cost, delivering the best value segment graphics solution
for this year's holiday buying season.
S3 also announced today that Diamond Multimedia (Nasdaq:DIMD - news) will be the first company to bring Savage4
Xtreme-based products to market with its Stealth III S540 Xtreme graphics accelerator. Featuring 32MB of memory, complete
S3 texture compression support, advanced AGP technology and Diamond's exclusive InControl Tools 99, the Diamond Stealth
III S540 Xtreme is an optimal solution for both home and business users seeking a high-performance, cost-effective 3D/2D
graphics and DVD accelerator.
''Simply put, S3's Savage4 Xtreme allows us to deliver higher 3D gaming performance and increased 2D productivity
acceleration in a cost-effective package,'' said Scott Vouri, vice president of Multimedia Products for Diamond Multimedia.
''As evidenced by PC Gamer Magazine's recent Editors' Choice Award for the Stealth III S540, we are already making quite
an impact with our Savage4-based product family and we expect Xtreme to further improve this competitive advantage.''
In addition to Diamond Multimedia, S3 is also working closely with numerous other worldwide add-in card, motherboard and
systems manufacturers, such as Number Nine and ELSA, to bring additional Savage4 Xtreme-based products to market.
About Savage4 Xtreme
Combining advanced 166MHz memory and engine clock speeds with a faster OpenGL ICD, S3TC technology, 32MB
memory support, digital flat panel support and unmatched DVD quality, S3's Savage4 Xtreme 166 delivers ultimate
price/performance for the $99-129 retail graphics market. For OEM and system integrators, S3 also offers the Savage4
Xtreme 143. Featuring a 166MHz memory clock and a 143MHz engine clock, the Savage4 Xtreme 143 is an optimal solution
for lower cost designs.
''We've had phenomenal success with our Savage4 product family and we expect Xtreme to extend this success,'' said Dan
Karr, vice president of Worldwide Sales for S3 Incorporated.
Already shipping to add-in card, motherboard and PC manufacturers, Savage4 Xtreme-based products are expected to be on
retail shelves in early September.
About S3 Incorporated
With the worlds' largest installed base of graphics and video accelerators, S3 Incorporated has established itself as a market
leader in technology excellence, core business strengths, strategic partnerships and worldwide reach. Building on these
strengths, S3 is committed to delivering targeted products for the Personal Computer, Internet Appliance and Communications
Technology Markets.
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, such as statements as to the
availability of products including Savage4 Xtreme and Savage4 Xtreme's competitive advantages, are forward-looking
statements that are subject to risk and uncertainties, including the impact of competitive products and pricing and of alternative
technological advances, the ability of the company's foundries to manufacture Savage4 Xtreme products in a timely manner,
market acceptance of the company's and its customers' new products, customers' product marketing timelines, design,
competitive product and other factors that may affect current and potential customers' decisions to use Savage4 Xtreme
products, and other risks detailed from time to time in S3's SEC reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 1999. S3 is a registered trademark of S3 Incorporated. The S3 corporate logo S3TC and Savage4
Xtreme are trademarks of S3 Incorporated. Other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. |
