CIRRUS LOGIC SUPPORTS COMPLETE MICROSOFT WINDOWS 95 GAME SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS KIT.

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 1995--Cirrus Logic Inc. (Nasdaq: CRUS) today announced that it is supporting the range of Direct interfaces in Microsoft's Windows 95 Game Software Developers Kit (SDK). The company also announced that Microsoft will be providing three of Cirrus Logic's multimedia products to selected game developers working with the Windows 95 Game SDK.

The first two products are the CS4232, the industry's first plug-and-play audio codec, and the CS9233, an integrated wavetable music synthesizer are both from Cirrus Logic's wholly owned subsidiary, Crystal Semiconductor. The third product is an advanced graphics accelerator that will be announced in conjunction with the Windows 95 launch later this month. According to the company, its unannounced product will include a feature that increases game performance by more than 50 percent.

"Cirrus Logic's support for the breadth of our Direct Technology, including display, audio and video acceleration, will allow many Windows 95 users to benefit from new levels of game-play and multimedia performance," said Brad Silverberg, Senior Vice President, Personal Systems Division, Microsoft Corporation. "We expect Windows 95 to become the premiere personal computer games and multimedia platform, and the support we have received from Cirrus Logic significantly strengthens the platform."

Using the Game SDK, game developers can now write to a standard set of application programming interfaces (APIs), allowing them to create high-performance games for their customers across a broad range of PC hardware platforms. In addition, the release of Windows 95-based games will result in lower support costs because Windows 95 makes installing and configuring games and game peripherals easier.

Audio Capabilities

The CS4232 is a single-chip multimedia audio system controller and codec that provides Sound Blasterd Pro compatibility and Microsoft Windows Sound System(r) register-level compliance. This device integrates an industry-standard delta-sigma codec with extended signal processing in a high-performance mixed-signal design. It also contains extensive mixing capabilities, an MPU-401 UART, joystick logic, and interfaces for a music synthesizer and a CD-ROM. The CS9233 is an integrated wavetable music synthesizer device designed for PC multimedia, Karaoke, arcade game and television set-top applications. In supporting Windows 95 DirectSound, it uses DRAM as a secondary audio overlay buffer, permitting game developers to download custom PCM data to memory located on the sound card. In addition, this device combines a RISC-based digital signal processor (DSP) for music synthesis and a flexible CISC microcontroller for system I/O command interpretation on a single chip.

Headquartered in Fremont, Calif., Cirrus Logic is a leading manufacturer of advanced integrated circuits for the desktop and portable computing, telecommunications, and consumer electronics markets. The company applies its system-level expertise in analog and digital design to innovate highly integrated, software-rich solutions. Cirrus Logic has developed a broad portfolio of products and technologies for applications spanning multimedia, graphics, communications, system logic, mass storage, and data acquisition.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take full advantage of the full power of personal computing everyday.

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Note to Editors: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

CONTACT: Cirrus Logic Inc.

Janet Freeman, 510/226-2227