Diamond Multimedia's Viper V550 and Monster Fusion are the Two Fastest Boards in PC Magazine's Graphics Accelerator Roundup-"Who's the Fastest?".

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 1998--Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:DIMD), a leader in interactive multimedia and PC entertainment, today announced that its Viper V550 and Monster Fusion graphics accelerators achieved the highest performance scores in four test benchmarks highlighted in PC Magazine's December 1, 1998 graphics accelerator roundup.

"Diamond Multimedia has done it again: The Diamond Monster Fusion and Viper V550 were among the fastest cards we examined in this roundup, and should satisfy any users who want the best 2-D and 3-D performance," reported PC Magazine.

Most notably, the Viper V550 AGP version, based on NVIDIA's RIVA TNT(tm) controller, ranked as the fastest graphics accelerator among all 29 boards tested in the 1280x1024 resolution test for both the ZD 3D WinMark 99 and ZD Business Winstone 99 benchmark tests.

According to PC Magazine's review, "In our labs, the Viper performed at the top of the heap, outclassing almost every other board in terms of raw speed. In 3-D testing, the AGP version topped the charts with a 3D WinMark score of 493...."

The Monster Fusion graphics accelerator, based on 3Dfx Interactive's(R) Voodoo Banshee(tm) chip, posted the highest score -- 497 -- in the 16-bit ZD 3D WinMark 99 test at 1024x768 resolution.

Additionally, the Monster Fusion, at the same resolution, scored the highest 2D performance test, at 22.8 in ZD Business Winstone 99. The review also added, "note that the chip and memory clocks on the Monster Fusion are faster than any other Banshee-based card, giving it an edge in benchmark testing."

"The results are in and PC Magazine's scores clearly show that Diamond Multimedia's Viper V550 and Monster Fusion topped all competitors in terms of immense 3D performance and fast 2D speed," said Scott Vouri, general manager of Diamond's core graphics business unit. "These findings are on par with Diamond's continued commitment to deliver the most advanced PC solutions to our customers."

PC Magazine's review also stated that "Diamond covers all the bases, bundling its products with a robust array of software extras and offering both AGP and PCI versions of the hottest chips around." And, Diamond's graphics accelerators come with a "generous five-year warranty" and that "installation and utilities for all Diamond cards are the best in the industry."

Diamond's Viper V550

Designed for business and power PC users, Diamond's award-winning Viper V550 graphics accelerator, featuring NVIDIA's RIVA TNT controller, is available in both AGP 2x and PCI versions and employs the latest advancements in PC graphics technology necessary for handling today's power-hungry business applications, 3D games and enriched Internet environments.

Diamond's Viper V550, including a generous software bundle, is available for a U.S. estimated retail price (ERP) of $199.95.

Diamond Multimedia's new Viper V550 features 16MB of onboard memory and is the first single-chip, 128-bit 3D processor able to handle two pixels per clock cycle for true, single-pass multi-texturing. The result is unprecedented 2D/3D acceleration, digital video playback and TV output in one solution.

The Viper V550 also delivers scaleable, true-color resolutions up to 1920x1200, ultra-fast fill rates up to 180 million pixels-per-second and an enhanced dual 32-bit color pipeline for phenomenal visual quality output.

In addition, Diamond's new graphics accelerator employs a full hardware triangle setup engine, full scene anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, 24-bit Z-buffer, 8-bit stencil, bump mapping, MPEG playback, TV-output and more. The Viper V550 AGP version also ships with Zoran's SoftDVD(tm) software.

Diamond's Monster Fusion

For PC users and gamers who want fast desktop productivity and great 3D game acceleration, Diamond Multimedia's new Monster Fusion combines exceptional 2D/3D performance on a single graphics board solution. Powered by 3Dfx Interactive's Voodoo Banshee graphics engine, Monster Fusion delivers 128-bit processing power and 16MB synchronous memory for state-of-the-art 2D acceleration.

Coupled with a 250 MHz RAMDAC, Diamond's new graphics accelerator produces fast refresh rates and ultra-high resolutions up to 1920x1440 with razor sharp detail.

Monster Fusion also accelerates games developed to the most popular PC gaming APIs, including Glide(R), MiniGL and Direct3D(R) under DirectX 6.0, supports full GDI hardware acceleration (Microsoft's graphics device interface) and also is compatible with video playback for AVI and MPEG-1 files. The Monster Fusion AGP configuration ships with Zoran's SoftDVD(tm) software.

Available in 16MB PCI and AGP versions, Diamond's Monster Fusion, including a full version of Microsoft's Motocross Madness(tm) and an 11-level version of Unreal(tm), is currently available for $149.95 ERP and includes a $30 mail-in rebate offer, for an effective price of $119.95.

About Diamond Multimedia

Diamond Multimedia is driving the interactive multimedia market by providing advanced solutions for home, business and professional desktop computer users, enabling them to create, access and experience compelling new media content from their desktops and through the Internet.

Diamond accelerates multimedia from the Internet to the user with products that include the Stealth and Viper(R) series of media accelerators, the Monster series of entertainment 3D and sound accelerators, the Fire series of professional 3D accelerators, the Micronics series of system boards, the Supra(R) series of modems, and the HomeFree line of home networking products.

Diamond's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol DIMD, and its web site address is www.diamondmm.com.

How to Contact Diamond Multimedia

There are many ways to reach Diamond for sales support, technical assistance, driver updates and general information: -0-

Internet Web Site:  http://www.diamondmm.com
Diamond Multimedia's Headquarters and Multimedia Division:
408-325-7000; Fax:  [phone]
Systems Business Unit (Micronics brand system boards)
Main Phone Number:
510-651-2300
Communications Division (Supra brand modems) Main Phone Number:
360-604-1400; Fax: [phone]
European Division (Germany):  [phone]; (UK):  [phone];
(France) [phone]
Korean Office (Seoul):  [phone];  Fax:  [phone]
Japanese Office (Tokyo):  [phone];  Fax:  [phone]
ASEAN Office (Singapore):  [phone];  Fax:  [phone]
Hong Kong Office:  [phone]; Fax:  [phone]
Australian Office (Sydney): [phone]; Fax [phone]
Swedish Office:  [phone]; Fax [phone]
Product Support (Voice), United States:  541-967-2450;
Europe (Germany)
[phone];
                  Europe (UK) [phone]; Europe (France)
[phone]; TDD/TTY Support 541-967-2451
Product Support (Fax), United States: 541-967-2401; Europe (Germany)
[phone];
                  Europe (UK):  [phone];
 (France) [phone]
Pre-sales Information:  1-800-468-5846

24-Hour Fax-On-Demand Service:  1-800-380-0030
Investor Relations:  408-325-7476; 1-888-474-3463 (U.S. and Canada)
FTP site: ftp.diamondmm.com
BBS:  541-967-2444 (to 33.6 Kbps);  Europe (Germany) BBS at
[phone]
                  (to 28.8 Kbps) or [phone] (ISDN);
Europe (UK) at
[phone] (to 33.6 Kbps)

-0-

Note to Editors: Monster 3D, Supra and HomeFree are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. Monster(R) is a registered trademark of Monster Cable. Viper(R) is a registered trademark of Directed Electronics, Inc., Used under License. All other trademarks referenced are the service mark, trademark or registered trademark of their respective manufacturers. This announcement relates to products whose introductions are in North America. The product name, contents, prices and availability may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements.

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, such as statements relating to the Company's ability to successfully exploit technological and market developments, the timing and success of new product introductions by the Company and its competitors, and the Company's ability to invest in new technologies and to enhance its existing systems are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the impact of competitive products and pricing and alternative technological advances, the timely and successful development and market acceptance of new products and upgrades to existing products, and other risks as detailed from time to time in Diamond Multimedia's SEC filings, including its most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q.