SIII...
Amigo Sergio:
Here is another SIII release... Sorry I don't have the link...
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S3 Attacks the High-End PC Market with the Industry's Highest
Performing 3D Graphics Accelerator
Savage3D(TM) Outperforms all Shipping 3D Accelerators in AGP
Performance, Trilinear Mip-mapping, Texture Compression and
DVD/Video Processing
May 4, 1998 09:04 AM
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- At this week's
Computer Games Developer Conference, S3(R) Incorporated SIII
will debut its Savage3D accelerator running the industry's top 3D
games at blazingly fast speeds. Delivering the highest 3D quality
and performance, the 128-bit Savage3D chip achieves an
unprecedented 125 million pixels per second through its single
cycle trilinear architecture; and delivers more than 4X AGP
performance through its newly designed AGP engine and
Microsoft-endorsed texture compression technology.
"Savage3D's technology leadership aggressively positions S3 in
the high- end of the PC market against existing and next
generation 3D controllers from Nvidia, Intel, 3Dfx and ATI," said
Terry Holdt, president and CEO of S3 Incorporated. "This
technology advantage combined with S3's ability to quickly
deliver high-volumes at attractive price points should spearhead
S3 ahead of the competition."
Savage3D produces vivid and realistic images through its true
color rendering, which enables the use of 16 million colors versus
the traditional 64 thousand. The chip also includes an S3
proprietary dithering algorithm that enables games running at
16-bit to run at true color quality. As most 3D accelerated games
today still support 16-bit mode, this exclusive feature sets
Savage3D apart from the competition.
Single-Cycle Trilinear Mip-mapping
Trilinear filtering significantly enhances image quality over
traditional bilinear filtering approaches by removing motion
artifacts for smoother images. S3 believes that Savage3D is the
first accelerator to perform trilinear filtering with no
performance degradation and, as a result, delivers the highest fill
rate of 125 million full-featured trilinear filtered pixels per
second.
According to Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Associates
(Tiburon, CA), "As PC games continue to evolve, software
developers are looking to new 3D technologies such as trilinear
mip-mapping to provide higher levels of realism and interactive
game play. Looking forward to Christmas '98, our belief is that
advancements in 3D controller technology which support
trilinear filtering operations at high-throughput will quickly
replace bilinear filtering as the standard for image quality in the
PC gaming market."
"Trilinear is clearly the standard in 1998 as it removes all the
artifacts associated with bilinear filtering," said John Heap,
technical manager at Rage Software Plc, developer of the popular
game Incoming. "In the past, we've had to rely on bilinear
filtering because when we turned on trilinear, our games would
experience a major performance hit. Now that trilinear actually
works with no performance degradation in Savage3D, we
anticipate the industry moving almost completely to trilinear by
the end of the year."
S3 Texture Compression (S3TC)
Savage3D is the first 3D accelerator to include S3TC(TM), which
was selected by Microsoft as the standard compression technique
in DirectX(R). By compressing data up to 1/6 the normally
required space, S3TC enables Savage3D to deliver 4X AGP
performance and essentially doubles the chip's frame buffer size
by allowing more textures to be stored.
"We chose to incorporate S3's technology into DirectX 6.0
because it delivers the best image quality, provides a
developer-friendly implementation process and can be easily and
cost-effectively implemented in hardware," said Kevin Bachus,
product manager for DirectX at Microsoft. "Incorporating S3's
algorithm into DirectX will empower content developers to better
utilize the bandwidth and storage available on mainstream PCs,
which will allow them to write more complex and visually
compelling 3-D games."
"Using S3's texture compression scheme, we can easily see
Monster Truck Madness 2 operating at 4x AGP," said Mark
Randel, president of Terminal Reality. "Game developers are
going to love this technology!"
Highest AGP Performance
S3 designed Savage3D's architecture from the ground up,
enabling engineers to design it specifically for AGP texturing. This
unique AGP design combined with S3's own S3TC technology
enables Savage3D to deliver the highest AGP performance of any
currently announced product in the industry.
To achieve unprecedented AGP performance levels, Savage3D was
designed specifically for true execute mode, was optimized for
Intel's 440 LX/BX AGP chipset and features a sophisticated
tile-based architecture. In addition, Savage3D's proprietary "AGP
Texture Look Ahead" scheme enables the engine to intelligently
request textures before needed, thereby reducing the number of
engine stalls due to AGP latency.
Best Software DVD/Video Solution
S3's Savage3D features what S3 believes is the best software DVD
solution in the industry. To achieve this, the Savage3D
incorporates sub-picture blending and includes a highly-tuned
motion compensation block that utilizes the lowest CPU power of
any competitive 3D accelerator. In addition, Savage3D features
multi-tap upscaling and downscaling, Macrovision 7.1 and
supports multiple third-party software decoders for maximum
flexibility and performance.
Delivering powerful video capabilities, Savage3D is the only
accelerator to feature a VIP video port, which delivers the
highest data rate transfers at 60 MB/s. The chip also features
support for multiple video windows and integrated TV-out
capabilities.
Rich 3D and 2D Feature Set
Savage3D features a rich 3D feature set for optimal performance.
These features include specular and diffuse shading, alpha
blending, multiple textures, palletized textures, edge anti-aliasing,
vertex and table fog and 16/24 bit Z-buffering. In addition,
Savage3D supports bump mapping, anisotrophic filtering,
reflection mapping, shadows, texture morphing and procedural
textures.
Pricing and Availability
The Savage3D accelerator is manufactured in a .25 micron
design, supports 125MHz SGRAM memory and also supports all
legacy operating systems. The chip is sampling today and is
scheduled to be in volume production in the third quarter of
1998. Pricing for Savage3D starts at $35 in quantities of 10,000
units.
About S3 Incorporated
S3 Incorporated, founded in 1989 with headquarters in Santa
Clara, California, is the world's largest supplier of multimedia
acceleration hardware and its associated software*. S3 is
committed to applying its expertise in 2D graphics, 3D graphics
and video acceleration to create innovative and affordable
products for the home, desktop and mobile markets.
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters
set forth in this press release, such as statements relating to the
company's ability to achieve competitive advantages, and the
timing of scheduled volume production 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
ramp to volume production in a timely manner, market
acceptance of the company's new products, and other risks
detailed from time to time in S3's SEC reports, including its
Annual Report on Form 10K for the year ended December 31,
1997.
S3 is a registered trademark of S3 Incorporated. The S3
corporate logo, Savage3D and S3TC are trademarks of S3
Incorporated. Other marks referenced herein are the property of
their respective owners.
* Sources: Dataquest (San Jose, CA), In-Stat (Scottsdale, AZ), Jon
Peddie Associates (Tiburon, CA) and Mercury Research
(Scottsdale, AZ)
What the Industry is Saying About S3's Savage3D Accelerator:
Software Developers
Argonaut Software
"Not only is S3 the world's largest supplier of graphics chips, but
they also have one of the industry's hottest 3D accelerators," said
Jez San, managing director, Argonaut Software Ltd. "Given this
combination, we have every intention of supporting Savage3D in
our forthcoming titles as S3 look to be the volume & technology
winner in 1998."
Monolith Productions
"As 3D technology continues to evolve, each new title we create
represents an exponential leap in creativity and complexity," said
John L. Jack, producer, Monolith Productions. "Given this, we
depend upon evolving 3D hardware features, such as S3's texture
compression and single-cycle trilinear mip-mapping, to provide
the horsepower needed to keep pace with our next- generation
titles."
Rage Software
"Combining developer support offices in North America and
Europe with industry-leading bundling and marketing programs,
S3 has proven its long-term commitment to the software
development community," said John Heap, studio manager, Rage
Software PLC. "Now, with one of the hottest chips to anchor those
programs, S3 should be on every developer's list of must-support
platforms."
Sven Technologies
"Sven Technologies is tremendously excited to see S3 enter the
high-end 3D chip market with Savage3D. Extremely high
polygon-count games authored using our Multi-Resolution
Geometry continuous level of detail system will benefit
tremendously from Savage3D's blazing speed when played on an
S3-based board," said Saul Kato, CEO and president of Sven
Technologies.
UBI Soft
"Tonic Trouble is the first of our high quality titles to be ported
to S3's Savage3D platform," said Christine Burgess-Quemard,
director, Worldwide Sales & Business Development, UBI Soft
"Matching our intense games to the speed and advanced features
of Savage3D will allow us the strongest showcase to the trade and
public alike."
Add-In Card Manufacturers
Diamond Multimedia Systems
"At Diamond Multimedia, we are continually evaluating new
graphics chipsets to determine if their capabilities match our
stringent requirements for high-quality and high-performance
graphics accelerators," said Scott Vouri, vice president and
general manager of the Core Graphics Business Unit at Diamond
Multimedia Systems, Inc. "By bringing industry-first technologies
such as single-cycle trilinear mip-mapping and texture
compression to market, S3's Savage3D meets our expectations for
next-generation 3D accelerators."
Gainward
"While today's 3D accelerators make tradeoffs between
performance and quality, we are looking for next-generation
solutions that offer full performance without any compromise in
quality," said Thomson Lee, president, Gainward Co., Ltd.
"Through advancements in 3D technology such as single- cycle
trilinear mip-mapping and texture compression, S3's Savage3D
delivers both quality and performance."
Hercules
"Having worked closely with S3 on several generations of its
multimedia accelerators, we've come to expect high-quality,
high-performance products from them," said Peggy Fong, chief
executive officer, Hercules. "Combining high-performance 3D
rendering at full image quality, advanced DVD playback and a
full-range of software support, S3's Savage3D should prove to be
an optimal solution for accelerating next-generation 3D and
multimedia applications."
Hightech Information System
"Looking forward, we're anticipating a huge increase in the
complexity and memory demands of next-generation 3D-based
software applications," said James Chong, managing director,
Hightech Information System Ltd. "As an industry, we need to
move to new 3D architectures and technologies to keep pace. S3's
Savage3D accelerator, with industry-first technologies such as
texture compression and trilinear mip-mapping, is a great
example of what's required to handle next-generation 3D
applications."
Karma
"As demand for 3D-based applications continues to grow, there
needs to better hardware solutions that enable more complex,
more visually compelling 3D realism," said Davey Lam, CEO,
Karma (Asia Pacific) Ltd. "With industry- first technologies such as
single-cycle trilinear mip-mapping and texture compression, S3's
Savage3D continues the evolution of 3D accelerators - delivering
an advanced solution for next-generation 3D applications."
Leadtek Research
"As a leader in PC VGA solutions, Leadtek is focused on delivering
VGA cards that offer a robust set of multimedia features and
performance," said K. S. Lu, president, Leadtek Research
Incorporated. "Combining high-performance 3D rendering with
advanced DVD playback and fast 2D acceleration, S3's Savage3D
delivers the level of features and performance that we require
for our next-generation VGA cards"
Number Nine Visual Technology
"The specifications for the Savage3D processor represent S3's
commitment to the high-performance graphics market. Its robust
feature set should go a long way in addressing the needs of
multiple high-end PC market segments," said Michael Romanies,
vice president of marketing for Number Nine Visual Technology.
Hardware & Software DVD Suppliers
C-Cube Microsystems
"C-Cube continues to work closely with S3 to create optimal
solutions for high-quality DVD playback on the PC," said Chris
Day, director of marketing for PC-DVD, C-Cube Microsystems.
"Combining a powerful mix of features and performance, S3's
Savage3D multimedia accelerator and C-Cube's ZiVA DVD
decoders enable entirely new levels of creativity and interactivity
on the PC."
Cyberlink
"Software DVD playback quality is dependent on many CPU
performance factors and S3's Savage3D optimizes CPU utilization
allowing valuable cycles to be allocated for such things like
picture quality and frame rate," said Alice Chang, president for
CyberLink Corporation. "CyberLink's PowerDVD and S3's
Savage3D combine performance and high-quality for a complete
software DVD solution."
IBM
"The promise of DVD is higher levels of video quality and
viewer-selected presentation choices that are unknown in the
current analog TV world," said Tim Fiedler, MPEG-2 Technical
Marketing, IBM's Digital Video Products Group. "Meeting these
expectations, the combination of S3's Savage3D video and
graphics accelerators with IBM's DVD reference design provides
the level of performance and quality that consumers are
demanding for next-generation digital video playback."
LSI Logic
"The combination of LSI's L64020/1 VIP-enabled DVD Decoder
and S3's VIP- enabled Savage3D graphics accelerator offers
customers a premium DVD solution at a cost-effective price
point," said Christian Joly, director of strategic marketing & PC
DVD Consumer Products marketing at LSI Logic. "With DVD
applications rapidly gaining ground in the marketplace, the
LSI/S3 solution delivers on the promise of the best user
experience for the DVD viewer."
LuxSonor
"Having worked closely with S3 in the past to bring optimal video
solutions to market, we've come to expect graphics accelerators
from S3 that provide excellent support for video such as DVD,"
said Raul Diaz, director of marketing at LuxSonor. "Savage3D
continues S3's leadership in the PC video market, delivering
high-quality video imaging, VIP for lowest cost upgrades and
sub-picture blending. We hope to take advantage of all these
features."
Mediamatics
"As the leader in standardizing software DVD on the PC,
Mediamatics DVDExpress software optimizes motion
compensation-enabled graphics chips, such as S3's Savage3D, to
provide no compromise DVD playback," said Teresa McKinney, PC
business development manager at Mediamatics. "Mediamatics was
one of the first companies to recognize the need to move motion
compensation to graphics hardware in order to deliver consumer
quality video on the PC. By embracing this concept, S3's
Savage3D achieves low CPU utilization and optimizes valuable
system resources, making it an ideal solution for today's DVD
applications."
Xing Technology
"As efficient use of the CPU is critical when optimizing software
DVD playback quality, S3's Savage3D is an ideal enhanced display
solution for the software DVD marketplace," said Tom Adamski,
director of marketing for Xing Technology. "High-quality and
increased processing speed permit optimum software video
performance for applications like the XingDVD Player."
Zoran
"It is now clear that software solutions like our industry-leader
SoftDVD, when mated with robust, DVD-enabled graphics
controllers will deliver high- performance DVD playback for all
segments of the PC market," said Joe Monastiero, director of
software marketing at Zoran Corporation. "S3's Savage3D
accelerator brings the complementary features and performance
that software DVD solutions require to deliver on the promise of
low-cost, high- quality DVD playback." SOURCE S3 Incorporated
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