Diamond Multimedia's New Fire GL 5000 Accelerator Brings Hardware Geometry Acceleration and AGP Performance to Workstation Graphics; Combines Mitsubishi Electric's IMPAC-GE Geometry Engine with Diamond Multimedia's Expertise in 3D Graphics.

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 1998--Today at Siggraph 98 (Booth No. 371), Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: DIMD), a leader in interactive multimedia acceleration, announced a high-end addition to its award-winning Fire GL professional graphics accelerator line - the Diamond Fire GL 5000.

Diamond Multimedia's new Fire GL 5000 accelerator is a uniquely designed AGP solution that combines a powerful hardware geometry engine with a next- generation rendering controller and advanced memory architecture to fully balance the 3D graphics pipeline and provide optimum performance on Intel-based workstations.

The Diamond Fire GL 5000 combines a single chip, micro-programmable IMPAC-GE geometry engine from Mitsubishi Electric Corporation with software drivers and optimized microcode developed by Diamond's professional graphics business unit to deliver robust 3D performance that scales with the power of the host CPU. Featuring support for the OpenGL and Direct3D APIs, the Diamond Fire GL 5000 provides workstation-class performance for professional graphics, animation, simulation, visualization, industrial design and CAD/CAM/CAE applications.

"As applications become more demanding, the need for a balanced flow of information between the geometry engine, the rendering controller and the host CPU is essential to fully utilize AGP and Pentium II platforms," said Ian Cartwright, vice president and general manager of Diamond Multimedia's Professional Graphics Division. "By integrating an advanced programmable geometry engine, we are also able to take advantage of the processing power of the host and scale with future generations of product. Featuring a state-of-the-art rendering controller and innovative memory technologies, the Fire GL 5000 is positioned to raise the graphics price/performance bar for professional workstations."

Balancing the 3D Graphics Pipeline

The 3D graphics pipeline is comprised of scene generation, geometry and rendering functions. With Intel-based platforms, the host CPU has typically handled scene generation, lighting and transformation while the graphics accelerator has performed the setup and rendering of an image. In order to provide a more "balanced" solution, Diamond Multimedia teamed with Mitsubishi Electric to implement a micro-programmable geometry engine which has parallel floating point processing capabilities and assists the lighting and transformation tasks of the host CPU to deliver faster performance.

The Diamond Fire GL 5000 delivers a Viewperf CDRS-03 score of over 110 on a 400MHz Intel Pentium II Xeon processor-based workstation and this score increases with higher processor speeds. Additionally, the Diamond Fire GL 5000 features AGP technology to handle new applications that are graphics-rich and computationally intensive.

State-of-the-Art Rendering and Specialized Memory Technologies

The Diamond Fire GL 5000 features the latest rendering technology from Evans and Sutherland (E&S), the REALimage 2100 chipset. This second generation chipset delivers up to four million polygons per second, renders filtered MIP-mapped bilinear textured polygons at rates up to 90 million pixels per second and processes filtered MIP-mapped trilinear textured polygons at rates up to 45 million pixels per second.

E&S' REALimage 2100 chipset also includes 3D-RAM frame buffer and cached DRAM (CDRAM) intelligent memory technologies from Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc. to help eliminate common bottlenecks found in the 3D pipeline. The Diamond Fire GL 5000 supports key 3D graphics features, including lighting, Z-buffering and alpha blending, without compromising performance or image quality and is scaleable as CPU performance increases.

Fast Graphics Performance

Featuring a 250MHz RAMDAC, the Diamond Fire GL 5000 supports resolutions up to 1920x1200 and up to 1600x1280 with double buffering. In addition to its outstanding 3D rendering, the Diamond Fire GL 5000 features high-performance 2D graphics acceleration and smooth video playback. Optimized drivers are available for the Windows NT and Windows 98 operating systems. Support for Windows NT 5.X is planned.

Valuable Software Tools

Included with the Diamond Fire GL 5000 are customized software tools designed to enhance the productivity of AutoCAD professionals using Windows NT. Based on OpenGL, Diamond's 3D Win viewer software provides for the rotation, manipulation, rendering and customization of an AutoCAD 3D image in real-time. Diamond's Big Focus display-list driver, customized for AutoCAD provides easy access to commands, close-up views and birds-eye window viewing. Additionally, double-byte font support is provided under both Windows NT and Windows 98.

Pricing and Availability

The Diamond Fire GL 5000 is available in two configurations: 20MB 3D-RAM/16MB CDRAM and 20MB 3D-RAM/32MB CDRAM. Pricing is expected to start under $3,300 and product shipments are expected to begin in August 1998. For demonstrations of the Fire GL 5000, visit the Diamond Multimedia booth No. 371 at the Siggraph trade show in Orlando, Florida from July 21-23, 1998. The Diamond Fire GL 5000 will also be showcased in Intel's new Pentium II Xeon processor-based workstations, booth No. 979.

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 hard drive 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 and SCSI accelerators, the Micronics series of system boards, and the Supra(R) series of modems. 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:

Internet Web Site: http://www.diamondmm.com Diamond Multimedia's Headquarters and Multimedia Division: 408-325-7000; Fax: [phone] System 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 Investor Relations: 408-325-7476; 1-888-474-3463 (U.S. and Canada) 24-Hour Fax-On-Demand Service: 1-800-380-0030 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)

Monster 3D and Supra are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. Monster is a registered trademark of Monster Cable. Viper is a registered trademark of Directed Electronics, Inc., Used under License. IMPAC and IMPAC-GE are trademarks of Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc. 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.

CONTACT: Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.

Joan Huang, 925/461-0394

Email: [e-mail]