The Intel 740 will support hardware DVD..........
Intel To Join Graphics Accelerator Fray
Joseph F. Kovar
02/11/98
CMP TechWeb
Copyright 1998 CMP Media Inc.
Intel will formally debut its first graphics accelerator chip set Thursday, joining an already crowded market.
The chip giant is expected to get immediate support as several graphics cards vendors, who asked not to be named, said they are set to release boards based on the Intel740 chip.
The Intel740 was jointly developed with Chips and Technologies, in San Jose, Calif., and Real 3D, in Orlando, Fla.
Although the Intel740 uses the AGP architecture developed by Intel , other graphics chip makers have been shipping 3-D graphics accelerators boards supporting AGP for almost a year now.
ATI Technologies and Nvidia introduced 2X AGP accelerators last March. San Jose, Calif.-based 3D Labs introduced its version last May.
Most of these companies are now preparing new generations of accelerators. Toronto's ATI, for example, announced last week enhanced driver support for the Rage Pro, which the company said increases performance by 40 percent. The revised unit, the Rage Pro Turbo, is scheduled for shipment next month.
Lew Paceley, vice president of corporate marketing at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Nvidia, said the Intel740's performance is only slightly slower than Nvidia's Riva 128. "But keep in mind the time frame," he said. "The Riva 128 was out last April. In this industry, performance increases by a factor of four every 12 to 18 months. You can expect a fourfold performance increase from the Riva 128 soon."
Mike Feibus, principal at Scottsdale, Ariz.-based analyst company Mercury Research, said he expects the Intel740 to compete with such high-end accelerators as Nvidia's Riva 128, 3Dlabs' Permedia 2, and the ATI Rage Pro Turbo. "From what we've seen, the Intel740 is in that class," he said.
Intel 's graphics chip has received quite a lot of hype because of the Intel name, Feibus said. "If you take Intel 's name off it, it's just another chip worth mentioning. But put the ' Intel ' in front, and it gets more attention than normal."
For VARs, the entry of Intel into the graphics market may be no big deal. "What we sell depends on what the customers ask for," said Ray Profet, president of San Diego-based VAR Revenue Service Consultants.
"Obviously, when Intel introduces something, you have to know about it -- have to figure it in your plans," Profet said. " Intel will dictate what you buy anyway."
According to the Intel740 specifications sheet, which was reviewed by CRN, the accelerator offers 3-D graphics acceleration at resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200 with 256 colors at 70 Hz to 75 Hz, or at 1,024 x 768 with 16 million colors at 70 Hz to 85 Hz.
It supports DirectX 5.0, OpenGL, and GDI in Windows 95, 98, and NT 4.0 and 5.0.
For multimedia purposes, the Intel740 supports software DVD at 24 frames per second, as well as hardware DVD, TV out and in, video capture, and videoconferencing.
Feibus is not sure about Intel 's future plans for the Intel740. "Next year, we expect Intel to work with Chips and Technologies in the low end to do something -- not sure what. It could be integration in the mainboard chip set. I'm not sure Intel even knows."
According to a spokesman from Real 3D, Intel purchased a 20 percent stake in Real 3D from Lockheed Martin on Jan. 14. Part of that agreement, he said, is a contract "for ongoing collaboration and co-development on future graphics products."
Intel and Real 3D, the spokesman said, know graphics controller manufacturers "need new products every nine months or so, and new drivers more often. ... Intel is not sitting on the sidelines." |
