Sun Microsystems Ignites Professional Graphics Market With Sun(TM) Expert3D
Board Graphics Accelerator Blazes Past Competition
PALO ALTO, Calif., Apr 18, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Aiming directly at
the professional graphics market, Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) today
surpassed competitive solutions from Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) by announcing
Sun(TM) Expert3D, a high-performance graphics accelerator board with texture
mapping capabilities. Designed for professionals in geotechnical, technical
simulation, visualization environments and medical imaging, Sun Expert3D enables
critical decisions to be made quickly and precisely based on high-resolution
graphical information displayed on-screen.
"The quality, performance and flexibility of graphical representations are
critical in many technical markets," said Tom Copeland, vice president of
Workstations and High Performance Systems at IDC. "Scientists, physicians and
other professionals rely more and more on graphical images to analyze data and
make complex decisions."
Sun's Expert3D tops competitive solutions in the features most demanded by users
of professional graphics: performance, quality and flexibility. Rigorous
application testing of Sun Expert3D on Sun Ultra(TM) workstations show that this
new geometry acceleration solution is up to ten times faster than Sun's previous
offerings for texture applications.
"The requirements of the professional graphics market have been defined by our
most demanding customers," said Ken Okin, vice president and general manager,
Workstation Products at Sun Microsystems. "Sun Expert3D more than satisfies
those requirements and is uniquely designed to deliver the most accurate
graphical representations possible."
Superior graphics viewing quality is achieved by Sun Expert3D's dramatically
higher screen resolution and increased texture mapping memory, which permits up
to 76% more complex data to be viewed. Furthermore, two Sun Expert3D cards can
be installed on one workstation to support dual high-powered graphics heads,
which provides the increased flexibility required by many graphics applications.
"One big strength that the Expert3D board enjoys is that it employs a very high
stereoscopic display rate," said John Stone, research programmer, Theoretical
Biophysics Group at the University of Illinois' Beckman Institute. "The Expert3D
board runs in stereo at 112Hz. The 112Hz rate (56Hz per eye) provides a
significant reduction in the perceived 'flicker' when viewing stereoscopic
images, yielding an immersive experience. The stereo images seem very solid, and
the reduction in perceived flicker is pleasant for long sessions of stereoscopic
viewing."
Sun Expert3D can be easily integrated into existing technical computing
environments that require high-performance graphics viewing capabilities. Oil
and gas industry engineers and scientists put unique demands on their graphics
systems that Sun Expert3D can accommodate.
"The Expert3D card brings high-performance graphics to the desktop without
requiring us to do any modifications to our internal software or to vendor
software," said Rob Leslie, manager, Interpretation Applications of Shell
International, Exploration and Production. "The graphics needs of the seismic
world differ a lot from those of other industries. We don't want to run a batch
job, and then come back and look at a picture. We need to look at large data
volumes in real time. Any latencies -- hesitations with the displays, or with
the rendering -- are distracting to the interpreter. If they have a train of
thought, and they're trying to understand a data set, they want to be able to
manipulate it, and interact with it real time. Expert3D meets those needs."
Pricing and Availability
Available immediately as a stand-alone board for $3495, Sun Expert3D can also be
purchased as an option to Sun's Ultra 60 and Ultra 80 workstations. Sun Expert3D
is available through Sun's direct sales force including Sun telesales, Sun
authorized resellers and in the United States through the SunStore(SM) online
commerce services ( sun.com ). All prices listed are U.S. list price
and subject to change without notice.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The
Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. to its position as a leading
provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and that power of the
Internet and allow companies worldwide to dot-com their businesses. With $13
billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on
the World Wide Web at sun.com .
NOTE: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, SunStore, HotJava, Ultra and "The
Network Is The Computer" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun
Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and in other countries.
Netscape Navigator(TM) is a trademark or registered trademark of Netscape
Communications Corporation.
Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available
on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape Navigator
or Sun's HotJava(TM) browser. Type sun.com at the URL prompt.
CONTACT: Kasey Holman of Sun Microsystems, Inc., 650-786-3411, or
kasey.holman@sun.com; or Jodi Jamiolkowski of Ketchum Thomas, 650-596-2215, or
jodi.jamiolkowski@ketchum.com, for Sun Microsystems, Inc.
SOURCE Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(C) 2000 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
prnewswire.com
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CONTACT: Kasey Holman of Sun Microsystems, Inc., 650-786-3411, or
kasey.holman@sun.com; or Jodi Jamiolkowski of Ketchum Thomas, 650-596-2215, or
jodi.jamiolkowski@ketchum.com, for Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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