Symmetric Announces Breakthrough Pricing on Workstation-Performance 3D Graphics Board; GLyder-MP Features Twin 500TX GLINT Chips, Delta Geometry Processor, 40 MB of Onboard Memory and Built-in AVGA for $2395; Promotional Price Lasts Through Feb. 28.

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 1997--Symmetric, Inc., one of the industry's leading vendors of professional-class 3D graphics board solutions, today announced unprecedented pricing for its new, single-slot Glyder(TM)/MP 3D accelerator.

Through Feb. 28, 1997, the GLyder/MP will be available for a quantity-1 retail cost of $2395 -- pricing up to $1500 less than competing, equivalent solutions from other manufacturers. After Feb. 28, single board pricing is $3495 (still substantively below competitors).

Designed for 32-bit Microsoft(R) Windows(R) environments on Pentium(R) Pro and Alpha(TM) workstations, the GLyder/MP enables a sustained 3D benchmark of 750,000 polygons-per-second through a combination of two GLINT(R) 500TX 3D accelerator chips from 3Dlabs, Inc. (San Jose, CA), a GLINT Delta geometry processor and 40 MB of onboard memory (8 MB for VRAM frame buffering, 32 MB fast DRAM for Z-Buffers and texture memory).

Built-in Advanced VGA (AVGA) at resolutions up to 1600x1200 enables the GLyder/MP to serve as a single professional graphics solution for professional 3D authoring, CAD/CAE and visualization systems.

The GLyder/MP is the latest addition to the award-winning GLyder family from Symmetric, which has received a number of industry accolades, including PC Magazine Editors Choice, New Media Magazine's "Awesome" award and 3D Design Magazine's coveted "Wired for 3D" selection in 1997.

Symmetric's other graphics board solutions include the GLyder/TX, based on a single GLINT 500TX + GLINT Delta and up to 40 MB of VRAM/DRAM (single unit pricing: $1995) and the GLyder MAX, based on the 3Dlabs PERMEDIA(TM) + GLINT Delta and 8MB of SGRAM (Synchronous Graphics RAM) at a single unit cost of $579.

The GLyder/MP also includes a number of other features designed specifically to enhance the board's use in professional 3D applications, including:

-- 40,000,000 pixels-per-second graphics rendering (sustained benchmark on RISC-based CPUs)

-- 32-bit color (24-bit, true-color + 8-bit alpha channel) at graphics resolutions up to 1152x870

-- 16-bit color support at the board's maximum resolution -- 1600x1200 resolution (75 Hz), non-interlaced

-- 96 bit-planes per pixel, including double-buffered R, G, B, A (alpha channel), plus planes for stencil, fast clear, Z and overlay

-- Support and/or certification for a wide range of professional 3D applications, including:

-- 3D Studio(TM) MAX

-- MicroStation(TM)

-- Pro/ENGINEER(TM) (Parametric-Certified)

-- Open Inventor(TM)

-- Lighscape(TM)

-- Lightwave(TM) 3D

-- I-DEAS(TM)

-- Softimage(TM)

-- The industry's leading OpenGL(R) drivers, optimized and enhanced for maximum performance

-- The widest range of alternative 3D API support, including HEIDI for 3D Studio(TM) MAX, QuickDraw(TM) 3D for Microsoft Windows 

-- 3D rendering acceleration features built into hardware, including:

-- Gouraud shading 

-- Anti-aliasing

-- Alpha blending 

-- Stenciling

-- Fog/depth cueing

-- Texture Mapping 

Quotes:

"Symmetric has a consistent track record of being the first to bring 3Dlabs' latest technology to market in high-quality 3D accelerators, and now we are excited by the introduction of the GLyder/MP to extend the high-end of GLINT-based solutions," said Neil Trevett, vice president of marketing for 3Dlabs, Inc.

"Symmetric continues to be a close partner of 3Dlabs and the number of industry awards that their 3Dlabs-based products have won has placed them in the top-tier of 3D board vendors. Their complete family of PERMEDIA and GLINT-based GLyder accelerators now addresses all the sweet-spots of the professional and pervasive 3D markets."

"As one of the largest CAD and animation-specific resellers in the US, MicroCAD Solutions has been exceptionally impressed by Symmetric's pricing, technology and commitment to customer service," said Nader Khoshniyati, CEO of MicroCAD Solutions (Santa Ana, CA).

"MicroCAD plans to aggressively promote the GLyder/MP to our customers across North America, as we believe Symmetric offers one of the highest-performance solutions in 3D -- the promotional pricing for the GLyder/MP makes it the undisputed choice for any user serious about 3D authoring or CAD."

"Symmetric's introductory pricing on the GLyder/MP is indicative of our philosophy that building a better product goes beyond technical superiority -- it must be customer-friendly as well," noted Perry Copus, president of Symmetric, Inc.

"The GLyder/MP is a great product at a great price -- even after our initial promotion ends. We have always given our customers the best 3D graphics solutions with pricing that ranks among the best in the industry. Our awards from PC Magazine, New Media and 3D Design have given OEMs and end-users notice that Symmetric-based graphics solutions are the best in the industry and we intend to maintain our lead through the best technology and attractive pricing."

3Dlabs Products: GLINT 500TX and GLINT Delta

GLINT is a market-leading family of productivity-class 3D processor chips, and integrates high-performance, professional graphics sub-systems onto silicon devices that radically lower the cost of OpenGL-based 3D acceleration.

The GLINT 500TX (the second generation of GLINT silicon) supports high-resolution displays and deep 32 bit color and Z buffers, and accelerates 100% of OpenGL rendering operations in silicon -- including advanced texture-mapping, anti-aliasing and alpha-blending. The GLINT 500TX provides scaleable acceleration, utilizing its built-in scanline interleaving functionality, enabling utilization of one to eight GLINT 500TX devices in parallel.

The GLINT chip family ships with an OpenGL Installable Client Driver, providing highly-optimized performance and full OpenGL compliance, integrated seamlessly with Microsoft Windows. OpenGL is fully-supported and endorsed by Microsoft as the high-end 3D API for CAD, imaging and multimedia authoring. The GLINT 500TX can be gluelessly used in conjuction with the GLINT Delta geometry pipeline processor chip.

The GLINT 500TX is software-compatible with the GLINT 300SX (the first generation GLINT silicon) and PERMEDIA families, and 3Dlabs' extensive range of software drivers is already available for GLINT 500TX-based boards.

These drivers include: Windows NT, Windows 95, OpenGL on Windows NT, OpenGL on Windows 95, Heidi from Autodesk, Direct3D(TM) from Microsoft and QuickDraw 3D and QuickDraw 3D RAVE from Apple. The drivers for Windows NT and OpenGL are available on Intel, Alpha and PowerPC(TM) processors. All 3Dlabs' drivers automatically detect and take full advantage of GLINT 300SX, GLINT 500TX and the GLINT Delta.

3Dlabs' silicon provides integrated 2D/3D acceleration, enabling the use of 2D and 3D acceleration simultaneously within a single window. Neither a companion 2D accelerator board or a 2D coprocessor on-board is required for 2D acceleration.

Applications supported by the GLINT 500TX include Pro/ENGINEER from Parametric Technology, WorldToolKit from Sense8, SolidWorks 96 from SolidWorks, MicroStation by Bentley Systems, I-DEAS from SDRC, Softimage 3D from Microsoft, 3D Studio MAX from Kinetix, Lightwave from Newtek, Lightscape Visualization System from Lightscape Inc., AVS/Express from Advanced Visual Systems, Open Inventor from Template, OpenGVS from Gemini and GameGen II from Multigen, Inc.

GLINT 500TX is compatible with the Apple(R) Power Macintosh(R), with full byte-swapping implemented in silicon. The GLINT 500TX's texture-mapping performance is well-suited to the many multimedia authoring titles on the Macintosh, including products from Electric Image, Fractal Design, Macromedia, NewTek, Strata and Vertigo. GLINT 500TX includes 100% silicon acceleration for QuickDraw 3D -- including advanced lighting modes not found in OpenGL.

Implemented as a PCI bridge with full PCI master capability, GLINT Delta acts as a front-end processor to GLINT or PERMEDIA and processes the setup calculations for 3D primitives such as lines and polygons. GLINT Delta's advanced design includes support for texture-mapping, anti-aliasing and 16, 24 or 32 bit Z buffering -- all with high-precision, sub-pixel accuracy. GLINT Delta's processing throughput is up to 1 million texture-mapped, Z-buffered polygons per second. GLINT Delta supports full byte-swapping and is compatible with PC or Macintosh(R) systems.

GLINT Delta provides a glueless, single-chip geometry solution for GLINT or PERMEDIA. GLINT Delta also supports multiple GLINT rendering processors -- also without glue logic -- for high-end desktop, arcade and VR applications seeking unmatched rendering performance. The combination of GLINT Delta and two GLINT rendering processors enables board vendors to provide dual-GLINT 3D acceleration on a single PCI board, seamlessly combined with full Windows performance and functionality.

Company Information:

Symmetric, Inc. Is a leading vendor of professional-class 3D graphics solutions based on the 3Dlabs GLINT, GLINT Delta and PERMEDIA product lines. Based in the high-tech corridor of Dallas, Symmetric has received a number of industry awards for its GLyder product line, including Editors Choice awards from PC Magazine, New Media and 3D Design. Symmetric sells boards through resellers and OEMs as well as direct channels and currently supports Intel and Alpha platforms, with others to follow shortly. -0-

Note to Editors: All trademarks and registered trademarks previously cited herein are hereby acknowledged.

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CONTACT: Symmetric, Inc.

Perry Copus, 972/931-5999

[e-mail]

http://www.symmetric.com

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Horizon Communications

Jonathan Hirshon, 408/982-2555

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