Diamond Multimedia Announces Shipment of Fire GL 2000 and Fire GL 3000 Accelerators For Professional 3D Applications; High-End, Workstation-Class Solutions Granted Certification by Softimage.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 1996--Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: DIMD) announced that this week it will begin shipping into North American distribution channels the Diamond Fire GL 2000 and Fire GL 3000 graphics accelerators designed to optimize the performance of professional 3D animation and CAD/CAM applications under Windows NT.

A single-slot, dual-monitor solution, Diamond's Fire GL 2000 features 3D rendering and geometry acceleration, memory upgradeability to 24MB and customized software designed to increase the productivity of AutoCAD users. In addition to these features, the Diamond Fire GL 3000 offers real-time texture mapping in hardware and upgradeability to 40MB.

Both the Fire GL 2000 and 3000 series of workstation-class solutions, previously shipping only to international markets, have now also been granted certification by Softimage, Inc.

With prices starting at $1,795 manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) and $2,495 MSRP respectively, the Diamond Fire GL 2000 and Fire GL 3000 are available in November to North American VARs and system integrators through selected distributors including ICG (International Computer Graphics, Inc.) and Ingram Micro, Inc.

"We offer a choice of high-end products for today's professionals who require workstation-class solutions that can increase their productivity," said David Watkins, vice president and general manager of Diamond Multimedia's Visual Systems Division. "By providing two-monitor support from a single-slot, Diamond's Fire GL 2000 offers CAD/CAM and 3D animation professionals advanced functionality on the PC. The Fire GL 3000 is ideally suited for animation professionals who need the additional capability of texture mapping in hardware."

"The Softimage certification of the Fire GL 2000 and 3000 series signifies Diamond Multimedia's commitment to designing and delivering accelerated 3D hardware solutions for Softimage users," said Shirish Nadkarni, director of marketing for Softimage. "Both of these graphics accelerators deliver the high-end performance that is needed for animation and game development with Softimage 3D."

Fire GL 2000

Utilizing the 3Dlabs' GLINT 300SX processor, the Diamond Fire GL 2000 is capable of rendering up to 300,000 gouraud-shaded polygons per second.

The product features 8MB DRAM (upgradeable to 16MB DRAM) for up to 32-bit Z-buffer memory. Also included is 4MB (upgradeable to 8MB) of high-speed, dual-ported VRAM display memory. The Fire GL 2000 features the GLINT Delta 3D setup engine, a companion chip to GLINT 3D rasterization chips, which acts as a front-end processor to the GLINT 300SX engine and provides improved overall system performance by freeing the CPU from demanding 3D calculations.

The Fire GL 2000 comes in three configurations: 4MB VRAM/8MB DRAM for $1,795 MSRP; 8MB VRAM/8MB DRAM for $1,995 MSRP; and 8MB VRAM/16MB DRAM for $2,195 MSRP.

Fire GL 3000

Using 3Dlabs' GLINT 500TX processor, the Diamond Fire GL 3000 offers hardware texture mapping in real-time and is capable of rendering up to 500,000 gouraud-shaded polygons per second. The base configuration includes 8MB of high-speed, dual-ported VRAM display memory and 8MB EDO DRAM (upgradeable to 32MB EDO DRAM) for up to 32-bit Z-buffer memory.

Also included is the GLINT Delta 3D setup engine to handle the processing of setup calculations for lines, polygons and other 3D primitives. The Fire GL 3000 comes in three configurations: 8MB VRAM/8MB DRAM for $2,495 MSRP; 8MB VRAM/16MB DRAM for $2,795 MSRP; and 8MB VRAM/32MB DRAM for $3,195 MSRP.

Diamond's Unique Dual-Screen Technology

As single-slot, dual-screen PCI solutions, the Fire GL 2000 and Fire GL 3000 accelerators allow professionals to expand their workspace across two screens. By utilizing two 220 MHz RAMDACs, the Diamond Fire GL 2000 and Fire GL 3000 support up to 1600 x 1200 resolution and refresh rates up to 75Hz simultaneously on both screens. This technology can be used to stretch an image across both screens, or to display a set of applications on one screen and additional palettes, file folders and tools on the second screen.

Specialized Software

Included with the Diamond Fire GL 2000 and Fire GL 3000 are proprietary software tools designed to enhance the productivity of AutoCAD users.

Based on OpenGL, Diamond Multimedia's 3D Win viewer is a value-added software tool that allows professionals to rotate, manipulate, render and customize an AutoCAD 3D image in real-time. Diamond's Big Focus display-list driver, customized for AutoCAD Releases 12 and 13, features an easy-to-use interface with a toolbar menu for quick access to a variety of features.

Additional Features

3D Application Programming        OpenGL, Heidi from Autodesk
Interface (API) support
Accelerated OpenGL software       Windows NT 4.0 and
                                  Windows NT 3.51

Supported software                Advanced Visual Systems'
                                  AVS/Express,
                                  Autodesk's AutoCAD r12/13, Bentley's
                                  Microstation, Kinetix's 3D
                                  Studio Max, Microsoft's
                                  Softimage, NewTek's Lightwave 3D,
                                  Parametric Technology's Pro/ENGINEER,
                                  Sense8's World Up and other leading
                                  applications

Diamond software tools            3D Win viewer software and Big Focus
                                  display list driver technology

Maximum resolution                up to 1600 x 1200

Maximum refresh rate              up to 100Hz

Maximum color depth               up to 24-bit True Color

Maximum True Color resolution     up to 1152 x 870 resolution

Warranty                          three-year parts and labor

Diamond Multimedia

Diamond Multimedia is driving the Internet multimedia market by providing interactivity and connectivity 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. Products include the Stealth and Monster 3D series of media accelerators, the Fire GL series of professional 3D and CAD accelerators, and the Supra series of modems and NetCommander ISDN adapters. Diamond also markets sound cards and multimedia and Internet upgrade kits.

Headquartered in San Jose, CA, Diamond has sales, marketing and technical facilities in Vancouver (Wash.), Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Starnberg (Germany), Clichy (France) and Winnersh (U.K.).

Diamond's products are sold through regional, national and international distributors as well as to major computer retailers, mass merchants and OEMs worldwide. Diamond's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol DIMD.

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 Visual Systems 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 Division (Seoul): [phone]; Fax: [phone]

Japanese Office (Tokyo): [phone]; Fax: [phone]

Asia-Pacific Sales and Support (Singapore): [phone]; Fax: [phone]

Support Information Line for Communications: 1-800-774-4965

Product Support (Voice), Visual Systems: 408-325-7100; Communications: 541-967-2450; Europe (Germany) [phone]; Europe (UK) [phone]; ISDN Support Center 408-325-7110; Fire GL Support Center 408-325-7120

Product Support (Fax), Visual Systems: 408-325-7171; Communications: 541-967-2401; Europe (Germany) [phone]; Europe (UK): [phone]; (France) [phone]

Pre-sales Information, Visual Systems: 1-800-468-5846; Communications: 1-800-727-8772

Investor Relations: 408-325-7476; Fax-On-Demand: 1-800-346-3329; International Fax-On-Demand: 201-433-1778

24-Hour Fax-On-Demand Service, Visual Systems: 1-800-380-0030; Communications: 541-967-0072

FTP sites: ftp.diamondmm.com; or Supra: ftp.supra.com

BBS for Visual Systems 408-325-7080 (to 14.4 Kbps) or 408-325-7175 (to 28.8 Kbps) or 408-383-0551 (ISDN); Communications BBS: 541-967-2444; Europe (Germany) BBS at [phone] (to 28.8 Kbps) or [phone] (ISDN); Europe (UK) at [phone]-

Note to Editors: Monster 3D, NetCommander and Supra are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. Softimage is a registered trademark of Softimage Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. Microsoft, Windows NT and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

All other trademarks referenced are the service mark, trademark or registered trademark of their respective manufacturers. This announcement relates to products whose launch are in the United States of America. The product names, contents, prices and availability may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements.

CONTACT: Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc.

Joan Huang, 408/325-7236

Email: [e-mail]