Diamond Multimedia Announces Fire GL1 Accelerator Optimizations for AVID's Softimage Marquee 2.0 Animated 3D Titling System.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 1999--

Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:DIMD), a leader in PC multimedia and Internet connectivity, today announced that the Fire GL1 graphics accelerator now includes optimizations for AVID's Softimage Marquee(R) 2.0 animated 3D titling system.

AVID's Softimage Marquee 2.0 software, also announced today, is a resolution independent 3D titling animation system that combines true 3D animation capabilities with real-time interactivity and an intuitive AVID style timeline. Demonstrations of Diamond's Fire GL1 professional graphics accelerator and AVID's new Softimage Marquee 2.0 software will be available at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam from September 10 - 14, 1999 at AVID's booths 112 and 212.

"We recognized a market requirement for bridging together 3D and video performance on the NT platform," said Ian Cartwright, president of Diamond Multimedia's Professional Graphics Division. "By combining the Fire GL1 with AVID's Marquee 2.0 titling system, we can provide accelerated character generation and provide a total hardware/software solution to the growing number of professional videographers."

"The 3D animation titling process is often very graphics-intensive," said Maggie Smith, Softimage Marquee Product Manager at AVID. "We believe that the Diamond Fire GL1 accelerator delivers an outstanding combination of price/performance graphics to NT workstations and provides professional videographers with cost-effective hardware acceleration for combining video with 3D titles and effects."

The Diamond Fire GL1 graphics accelerator features IBM's first graphics chipset for the Windows NT platform and the first 256-bit engine to provide advanced performance in 2D and 3D NT workstation graphics. The Fire GL1 accelerator delivers up to 15 million anti-aliased vectors per second sustained and processes 200 million pixels per second fill rate. With an integrated 250MHz RAMDAC, the Fire GL1 supports True Color workstation-class screen resolutions up to 1920x1200 with double buffering and a 24-bit Z-buffer.

Diamond's Fire GL1 accelerator provides multi-threading capabilities by offloading geometry functions onto the second processor of a dual processor workstation. In addition, the Fire GL1 is fully optimized for Intel's Streaming SIMD Extensions to boost the performance of Pentium III and Xeon processors in the 3D geometry pipeline.

The new Diamond Fire GL1 accelerator outperforms the competition in both 2D and 3D testing. In 3D testing, the Fire GL1 posted an impressive ProCDRS-02 score of 22.3. Under the High-End Graphics segment of WinBench 99, the Fire GL1 yielded a 2D score of 414. For a full range of benchmark test results, visit <http://firegl.diamondmm.com>. The new Fire GL1 accelerator, available in both PCI and AGP configurations, comes with 32MB of 100MHz SGRAM memory and carries an estimated retail price of $995.

About Diamond Multimedia

Diamond Multimedia is a leader in PC multimedia and Internet connectivity, providing advanced products that enable desktop computer users to create, access and experience compelling new media content from their PC's and through the Internet. Products include the Rio series of Internet audio appliances, the Stealth and Viper(R) series of video accelerators, the Monster series of 3D gaming accelerators, the Fire series of professional graphics accelerators, the Supra(R) series of modems, and the HomeFree line of home networking products. Diamond's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol DIMD, and its web site address is www.diamondmm.com. The Company's Internet music portal site is at www.RioPort.com and its e-commerce sites at www.estore.diamondmm.com and eAuction.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 Sites: www.diamondmm.com and www.RioPort.com Diamond e-commerce Sites: www.estore.diamondmm.com and eAuction.diamondmm.com Diamond Multimedia's Headquarters and Multimedia Division: 408-325-7000; Fax: [phone] 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] Latin America Office (Miami): 305-593-8777; 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: Europe (Germany) BBS at [phone] (to 28.8 Kbps) or [phone] (ISDN); Europe (UK) at [phone] (to 33.6 Kbps)

HomeFree, Monster 3D, Rio, Shotgun, SpeedStar and SupraSonic 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.