Mercury Research First to Release Comprehensive Tests of Leading 3D Graphics Accelerators; Second Quarter Edition of Accelerating PC Graphics '97 Market Study Puts 3Dfx on Top in 3D Benchmarks; S3's ViRGE Accelerators Claim 2D Title.SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 1997--A graphics card built around 3Dfx Interactive's VooDoo 3D graphics accelerator A display adapter that performs a specialized set of graphics functions to render an image on screen. Today, all display adapters provide basic rendering functions in hardware, but many have graphics processing units (GPUs) that are sophisticated computers. consistently scored highest on the latest 3D gaming benchmarks available for Windows 95, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. results published in the latest edition of Accelerating PC Graphics '97, a quarterly Market Strategy and Forecast report from Mercury Research, Inc. The report is available today. In the report, Mercury Research pits against each other graphics add-in cards built around 14 popular 3D accelerators and 22 2D accelerators. For 3D benchmarking, Mercury Research used several test suites, including 3D WinBench 97 version 1.0 from Ziff-Davis Benchmarking Operation, or ZDBOp, and version 1.1 of the Direct3D Benchmark from PC Player magazine in Germany. "Our customers demand timely research data," said Dean McCarron, a principal at Mercury Research. "Given that ZDBOp released 3D WinBench 97 just two weeks ago, and PC Player also updated its 3D benchmark in April, I'd have to say that our benchmarking results are quite timely. In fact, it is a safe bet that the latest edition of Accelerating PC Graphics '97 provides the most complete and up-to-date performance coverage available on most major PC graphics chips." Benchmark Results The 10 highest-scoring 3D graphics accelerators on Ziff-Davis' 3D WinBench 97 are, by ranking: VooDoo, 3Dfx Interactive; VooDoo Rush, 3Dfx; Permedia/Delta, 3Dlabs; 3DImage975, Trident Microsystems Trident Microsystems is a supplier of display-processors for flat panel displays (plasma, LCD, etc.). At one time, Trident was also a supplier of PC graphics chipsets and sound controllers. ; Verite vé·ri·té n. Cinéma vérité. V1000E, Rendition; MGA (1) (Monochrome Graphics Adapter) A display adapter that employs Hercules Graphics, combining graphics and text on a monochrome monitor. (2) (Matrox Graphics Accelerator) A trade name used by Matrox Graphics Inc. Mystique, Matrox Graphics; PowerVR, NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. Electronics; Rage 2, ATI Technologies “ATI” redirects here. For other uses, see Ati. ATI Technologies U.L.C. ATI is a major Canadian designer and supplier of graphics processing units, motherboard chipsets, and video display cards. ; ViRGE/GX, S3; Laguna3D, Cirrus Logic (company) Cirrus Logic - A manufacturer of integrated circuits including the Advanced RISC Machine and display interface processors and cards for use as Windows accelerators (requiring dedicated driver software). http://cirrus.com/. . The 10 highest-scoring accelerators for 2D performance, based on Ziff-Davis' Business Graphics WinMark 97, are, by ranking: ViRGE/VX, S3; ViRGE/DX, S3; 5480, Cirrus Logic; MGA Millenium, Matrox Graphics; MGA Mystique, Matrox Graphics; 3DImage975, Trident Microsystems; AT3D, Alliance Semiconductor; 9685, Trident Microsystems; ViRGE, S3; Rage 2, ATI Technologies; ET6000, Tseng Labs (Tseng Labs, Inc., Newtown, PA) A company that manufactured chipsets and display adapters for PCs. Founded in 1983, it provided products that enhanced PC display standards, and its ET3000 and ET4000 chips have been used in millions of display adapters. . Mercury Research conducts performance testing Performance Testing covers a broad range of engineering or functional evaluations where a material, product, or system is not specified by detailed material or component specifications: Rather, emphasis is on the final measurable performance characteristics. each quarter based on the latest hardware, drivers and benchmark suites available at the time. For the second quarter, all cards were tested on an ASUS ASUS Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (Queen's University) ASUS Air Support Squadron (USAF) ASUS Annual Support & Update Service ASUS Administrative Support/Utilization TX97-X motherboard with a 200-MHz Pentium processor with MMX technology MMX technology - Matrix Math eXtensions , 512 Kbytes of secondary cache and 64 Mbytes of synchronous DRAM. Complete disclosure of the results and testing methodology is available in the second quarter edition of Accelerating PC Graphics '97. Comprehensive Coverage In addition to performance testing and analysis of what it costs to build graphics cards around the leading 2D and 3D accelerators, Accelerating PC Graphics '97 provides estimates and forecasts of the PC graphics chip market, quarterly and annual market share estimates for the major suppliers and comprehensive analysis of technology trends. With the latest edition of the report, which stands at more than 600 pages, Mercury Research added quarterly market forecasts and enhanced coverage of 3D markets as well as the expanded 3D benchmarking. "Customers are forever demanding more features and performance out of PC hardware vendors -- all for the same price," said Mike Feibus, a principal at Mercury Research. "So why should hardware vendors expect any less out of their research providers?" Pricing and Availability The second quarter edition of Accelerating PC Graphics '97 is available now. A single copy costs $1,995. An annual subscription is $3,995. For additional information on Accelerating PC Graphics '97 or any Mercury Research reports, please visit our World Wide Web home page: www.mercury.org, call (602) 998-9225 or e-mail service@mercury.org . Mercury Research Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., is a research and consulting firm that is dedicated to providing unparalleled depth and insight into the markets for PC components and related hardware. Founded by experts in the field, Mercury Research publishes reports on a variety of critical technologies, including graphics components, processors and chip sets, and sound and data communications chips. -0- Note to Editors: Mercury Research is a trademark of Mercury Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Mercury Research Inc. Dean McCarron or Mike Feibus, 602/998-9225 dean@mercury.org mike@mercury.org or Matthew Quint PR Matthew Quint, 510/548-8985 mqpr@aol.com |
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