Creative's New 32MB 3D Blaster Savage4
Unleashes Fierce Graphics at a Breakthrough Price
32MB Card Offers Stunning Visual Quality at
Spectacular Price of $129.99
MILPITAS, Calif. - March 1, 1999 - Creative
Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CREAF), the leading
provider of multimedia hardware for the PC, further
penetrates the graphics card market with the
introduction of its 3D Blaster™ Savage4, the latest
addition to Creative's award-winning 3D Blaster family.
Designed with the budget-conscious PC gamer in mind,
the 3D Blaster Savage4 is available at retail for the
breakthrough price of US$129.99.
Based on S3's Savage4 PRO™ graphics controller,
Creative's new 3D Blaster Savage4 delivers spectacular
performance and stunning visual quality using S3's
patented S3TC texture compression. The 3D Blaster
Savage4 offers support for PCI, AGP2X and AGP4X bus
architectures, true 32-bit 3D rendering, a full 128-bit 3D
graphics engine and dual texture 3D rendering pipeline
to enhance gameplay. In addition, 3D Blaster Savage4
features 32MB of SDRAM, a 300MHz RAMDAC, and
hardware-assisted DVD, all supported by Creative's own
drivers and utilities.
"We have come to a turning point in the graphics
industry where gamers and developers are now directing
their attention to image quality," said Steve Mosher,
vice president, graphics business for Creative. "The
introduction of the 3D Blaster Savage4 marks the
beginning of a distinct transition for the 3D graphics
business as we move beyond raw speed to satisfy the
eyes' need for better image quality."
The 3D Blaster Savage4 is a dual texture engine
capable of simultaneously processing and combining
two textures, allowing software developers the ability to
create realistic, real-time visual effects including bump
mapping, environmental mapping and dual texturing. In
addition to gaming, the 3D Blaster Savage4 is a great
choice for general-purpose graphics applications such
as word processing, Web navigation, digital imaging
and games.
"By combining our new Savage4 technology with
Creative's exceptional products and customer support,
the 3D Blaster Savage4 is sure to be the 2D/3D card of
choice for PC consumers," said Ken Potashner,
president and chief executive officer for S3, Inc. "By
partnering with Creative, one of the largest graphics
card manufacturers in the industry, we are sending the
clear message to PC consumers that they are assured
of getting leading-edge technology at an extraordinary
price."
Additional Features and Benefits
Support for PCI, AGP2X and AGP4X
Single pass multiple textures enable spectacular
visual effects such as bump maps, environmental
maps, light maps, detail textures, and reflection
maps
125 million pixels/second, trilinear filtered for
fantastic frame rates
Supports DirectX 6 texture compression
Point, bilinear, trilinear, and anisotropic filtering,
with support for MIPmapping for increased image
quality
Full-scene anti-aliasing to enhance image quality
Motion compensation that assists software DVD
playback
Includes Colorific® and 3Deep™, from
Sonnetech, Ltd., two key software packages
designed to ensure that every game and critical
desktop application runs with perfect color
calibration
Pricing and Availability
Creative's 3D Blaster Savage4 will be available in AGP
and PCI configurations in May through its extensive
distribution and retail network at an estimated street
price of $129.99.
About S3 Incorporated
One of the largest suppliers of graphics and video
accelerators in the world, 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, Computing
Integration and Consumer Appliance Markets.
About Creative Technology
Creative Technology Ltd. develops, manufactures and
markets a wide array of advanced multimedia solutions
for the PC, entertainment, education, music and
productivity tools markets. Creative's products are
marketed through the OEM, systems integrator and
retail channels under a variety of trademarks, including
the "Blaster" family name. With the new Sound
Blaster® PCI standard, Creative has produced a
solution that utilizes a combination of hardware and
software for near-perfect compatibility with existing DOS
and Windows titles. Creative's corporate headquarters
and primary manufacturing are based in Singapore, with
sales, distribution and research and development being
carried out through an extensive, global network of
subsidiaries located in North America, Europe, Asia
and Africa. |
