From news@cs.columbia.edu Sat Jun 10 09:08:56 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx4.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA00745; Sat, 10 Jun 95 09:08:56 -0700 Received: from hitl-new.hitl.washington.edu by mx4.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA23884; Sat, 10 Jun 95 09:08:56 -0700 Received: from relay2.UU.NET (relay2.UU.NET [192.48.96.7]) by hitl.hitl.washington.edu (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id JAA28436 for ; Sat, 10 Jun 1995 09:08:53 -0700 Received: from cs.columbia.edu by relay2.UU.NET with SMTP id QQytns24326; Sat, 10 Jun 1995 12:08:50 -0400 Received: from lol.cs.columbia.edu (lol.cs.columbia.edu [128.59.10.14]) by cs.columbia.edu (8.6.12/8.6.6) with ESMTP id MAA03645 for ; Sat, 10 Jun 1995 12:08:49 -0400 Received: (from news@localhost) by lol.cs.columbia.edu (8.6.12/8.6.6) id MAA26175; Sat, 10 Jun 1995 12:08:48 -0400 To: sci-virtual-worlds@uunet.uu.net Path: news!bm From: bm@cs.columbia.edu (Blair MacIntyre) Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Subject: Re: MISC: VR software and hardware Date: 10 Jun 1995 16:08:44 GMT Organization: Columbia University Lines: 1285 Distribution: world Message-Id: References: <3r4qgq$rbq@nntp5.u.washington.edu> Nntp-Posting-Host: shadow.cs.columbia.edu In-Reply-To: mbernat@gel.ulaval.ca's message of 7 Jun 1995 18:18:02 GMT Status: OR >>>>> On 7 Jun 1995 18:18:02 GMT, mbernat@gel.ulaval.ca (Marc >>>>> Bernatchez) said: Marc> I'm currently seeking some good PC 3D accelerator cards which Marc> are OpenGL compliant. I also need a good C or C++ library to do Marc> some low and high level software development of VR worlds. Marc> What I have right now is: Marc> 3D PC accelerator cards Marc> ----------------------- I'm appending my current list of 3D accelerators for PCs. Since I'm personally interested in "the best I can get for a PCI bus", I may have skipped some cheap cards, but that's life. If anyone knows of any other cards, please send me mail. In particular, I'm still waiting for some detailed info on the Fujitsu Sapphire 2SX, which I'm hoping will arrive any day now. Marc> Software Marc> -------- I'm not up on Software (I'm writing my own) so I can't help here. Marc> I would like to put two of these cards in the host PC to generate Marc> stereo left/right pairs. I also need to use OpenGL to be the most Marc> multiplatform I can. Check out the Fujitsu card (one of the few things I know about it is that you can put two in a machine) and the Media Labs cards (I think you can put in two, but more importantly it supports stereo with one card). Here's my current information compilation about 3D Cards for the PC. _______________________________________________________ Originally from: Chris Hinch Management Information Systems Dunedin City Council PO Box 5045, Dunedin, New Zealand Internet : chris@dcc.govt.nz Information added by Blair MacIntyre Computer Science Dept, Columbia University 500 W 120th St, Room 450 New York, NY, 10027 bm@cs.columbia.edu ================================================================== Chris' original introduction: There seems to be a lot of interest in 3D acceleration hardware for PC's at the moment *grin*. I've put together a completely unofficial, non-commercial, non-exhaustive list of all the info I have been able the glean from various sources - press releases, this newsgroup, glossy brochures etc. etc. Some info has come from my own email correspondence with the manufacturers, but quoted content is, I believe, of public record. DISCLAIMER: I haven't seen or used any of these cards, and all figures are the manufacturers own. I am not promoting any one card or company over any other. I do not speak for anyone other than myself, and even then I don't agree with my own opinion! I'm not a great typist either, so there are probably transcription errors to take into consideration too!! No representation is made as to the accuracy of these figures/technical specs etc. If you are going to buy/bet the farm/otherwise invest in one of these products, CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER first and make sure that what you want is what you'll get!!! CAVEAT EMPTOR!!! All trademarks etc are copyright of their respective owners etc. etc. I'd like to add that many of these boards are not yet available, so you should find out delivery dates before getting your heart set on any given one. The cards Chris covered are (* means I added stuff): Matrox Impression Plus SMOS SCP1500 Omnicomp 3DEMON ISC PowerGL Evans & Sutherland Freedom Fujitsu Sapphire 2SX* Lockheed Martin R3D/100 I added: General comment about the GLINT 300SX ELSA GLoria AccelGraphics AG300 Media Labs 3DMedia SPEA FireGL Force Inc. Densan ==================================================================== A general comment about the GLINT chips. They mention texture mapping acceleration, but on the 300SX (the current chip used in all GLINT-based boards) texture maps are held in host memory and per pixel information is sent to the chip which performs the necessary interpolations and applications. For the upcoming 300TX, the texture maps are held in local memory on the graphics card (the "localbuffer") and the host just sends per vertex information to the chip which performs all the texture mapping calculations. Of course, none of the other currently shipping graphics boards accelerate textures, so this isn't a big deal. But it is worth keeping in mind when you see GLINT based boards claiming texture mapping acceleration. ==================================================================== ELSA GLoria =========== FROM THE SPEC SHEET: Based on the S3-Vision968 and 3Dlabs' GLINT 300SX. Has a 250Mhz RAMDAC with built-in digital video acceleration provided by the S3 chip. Includes a DCI driver. Comes with optimized Windows 3.X/NT/'95, OpenGL and OS/2 drivers and utilities. Includes drivers for multi-screen support as well as Display List Drivers for MicroStation and AutoCAD DOS/Windows for R12/R13/LT. The GLINT chips accelerates all rendering operations of OpenGL, including Gouraud shading, depth buffering, fogging, anti-aliasing, alpha blending, scissor and stipple mask, dithering, and logical operations. 3D features are similar to all GLINT 300SX cards: * 3-D Rendering at up to 300K shaded, Z-buffered, anti-aliased, translucent polygons per second * 64-bit GUI acceleration up to 1M 10 pixel vectors/sec., 500K 10x10 rectangles/sec with 24-bit pixels * Texture mapping acceleration * Z-buffer for hidden line/hidden surface removal * 100% OpenGL compliant Frame buffer: * 4 or 8 Mbyte high speed VRAM * 8 to 32 bits per pixel Local buffer: * 8 Mbyte DRAM GLoria-8 * 8 MByte frame buffer, 8 MByte local buffer, 250Mhz pixel clock * Double Buffered Resolutions up to 1600x1200 at 32-bit per pixel 1920x1080 at 16-bit GLoria-4 * 4 MByte frame buffer, 8 MByte local buffer, 220Mhz pixel clock * Double Buffered Resolutions up to 1024x768 at 32-bit per pixel 1280x1024 at 24 bpp 1600x1200 at 16 bpp 1920x1080 at 8 bpp CONTACT INFORMATION: Joy Li ELSA Inc. Graphics Corp. 2041 Mission College Blvd. Suite 165 Santa Clara, CA 95054 Phone: 800-272-3572 Phone: 408-565-9669 Fax: 408-565-9650 email: joyl@elsa-usa.mhs.compuserve.com COMMENT: Looks pretty good. I'd choose this over a GLINT based board that doesn't have the S3 chip on it. It will be out in late June, early July: they are redesigning it to increase the performance (both they and someone at 3DLabs said they are hoping to increase performance by 30%). ==================================================================== ACCELGRAPHICS AG300 =================== Accelgraphics is a spinoff of Kubota Pacific, who made graphics workstation based on the DEC Alpha chips. The AG300 is also sold OEM by ISC as the "PowerGL" card, described below. Since the AG300 and the PowerGL are the exact same card, I won't repeat the specs here. Talk to both companies, see which one better suits your needs. Contact Information: Corporate Headquarters: AccelGraphics, Inc. 1942 Zanker Road San Jose, CA 95112 408-441-1556 408-441-1599 fax Western Region: Kim Rawlings 714-589-2453 714-589-2483 fax Kim_Rawlings@ag3d.com Central Region: Dan Vitale 513-858-1400 513-858-2905 fax Dan_Vitale@ag3d.com Southern Region: John Caravello 407-834-7275 407-834-9052 fax John_Caravello@ag3d.com Europe: David Holman 011-44-1635-40122 011-44-1635-551-147 fax davidh@perform.hiway.co.uk ==================================================================== Media Labs 3DMedia ================== The 3DMedia SR is a true high performance 3D accelerator based on the 3DLabs GLINT 300SX chip. It delivers RGBA with 24 bit Z-buffer support and performance of 300K Gouraud shaded, Z-buffered, window clipped, alpha tested 32 bit triangles per second. The SR supports various APIs includeing OpenGL, 3D DDI, 3DR, Reality Lab, Renderware, BRender, etc. Accelerates packets such as Pro/Engineer and Microstation. The 3DMedia SX provides the same features as the SR, plus additional features such as genlocking to eliminate annoying scrolling bars due to magnetic interference between two monitors in a dual-headed configuration. Furthermore, in provides an on-board studio quality encoder which outputs video in NTSC, PAL or S-Video formats. 3DMedia SX ---------- 3D Acceleration: Similar to other GLINT 300SX boards Flexible output: Software selectable standard as well as custom display formats, interlaced and non-interlaced, are available with a maximum resolution of two million pixels. Optimized Bandwidth PCI local bus, rev 2.0. Target and Read Master interface achieves 20M pixel/second sustained image download rate. Refresh rates in excess of 200Hz. Product Specification: PCI Rev 2.0 Target and Read Master interface 4M Byte framebuffer 4 MByte localbuffer. Extra 4M available as an option. Supports 64-bit/pixel, 8/8/8/8 for RGBA, 24-bit depth, 4-bit stencil, 4-bit fast clear Double buffering at all resolutions and depths. ISO and VESA Display refresh rates. Standard and custom resolutions up to 1280x1024. Pseudo color, true color and direct color output. Color depths of 4/8/12/15/24 bits with alpha channel for RGB color formats. VGA PAss-through at any VGA resolution and color depth. RS-343A Graphics output level. Sync-on-green and external TTL sync support. FCC Class B certification. 3D Gouraud shaded, depth buffered, window clipped, stippled, dithered, and alpha tested rendering performance with 24-bit RGB color depth is the following: 300K 25 pixel triangles/sec 500K 10 pixel vectors/sec 8M independent points/second 500K 9x13 pixels characters/second 2D Graphics performance 1M 10 pixel vectors/sec 500K 10x10 pixel, flat shaded rectangles/sec 500K 9x13 pixels characters/second Scroll Rate 48M pixels/second - 8 bits/pixel Output Support: RDB Resolution NI Colors supported Max Refresh in pixels 256 65K 16.7M Rates 1280x1024 yes yes yes 76 1152x900 yes yes yes yes 100 1024x768 yes yes yes yes 125 800x600 yes yes yes yes 175 640x480 yes yes yes yes 250 3DMedia SX ---------- All of the features described above, plus: More flexible output: Support for stereoscopic, field sequential RGB and VR displays is implemented in hardware reducing host overhead. Television and video tape recorders are driven by the studio quality encoder. Square pixel, CCIR and 4x video resolutions can be selected in NTSC, PAL or S-Video format. Phase locking: Line-lock to external sync signals, such as VGA or other sources, enables windowing and external video multiplexing. An independent 3D window can be opened within the GUI display, such as VGA, by activating the line-locking feature. Independent color depth between the GUI and 3D graphics is now possible, depending on the operating system used. Product Specification additions: Max 135MHz video clock. Standard and custom resolutions up to 1600x1200 Supports standard, stereoscopic, field sequential RGB, VR Glasses and other display devices. Programmable video clock. Line-lock to external sync signals. Studio quality encoder with support for different NTSC, PAL, and S-Video resolutions. Output Support in addition to those above: RDB Resolution NI Colors supported Max Refresh in pixels 256 65K 16.7M Rates 1920x1080 yes yes 45 1600x1280 yes yes 50 Contact Information: Media Labs, Inc. 806 Winbern Ste 1 Houston, TX 77002 Tel: (703) 942-0670 Fax: (703) 784-5144 COMMENT: ======= The SX is available now, the SR is not. The pricing is as follows (as of Feb 1, 95): 3DMedia SX: Quantity Price 4M VRAM, 4M DRAM, Encoder, Linelock 1-99 $1895 100-999 $1795 1000+ CALL 3DMedia SX8: 4M VRAM, 8M DRAM, Encoder, Linelock 1-99 $2295 100-999 $2195 1000+ CALL 3DMedia SR: Quantity Price 4M VRAM, 4M DRAM 1-99 $1595 100-999 $1495 1000+ CALL 3DMedia SR8: 4M VRAM, 8M DRAM 1-99 $1995 100-999 $1895 1000+ CALL One year warranty. ==================================================================== FIRE GL Preliminary Product Information Feb. 95 ==================================================== High-End 3D-CAD and Graphics Subsystem -- The complete Solution for CAD, Virtual Reality, Visualization and Simulation -- o Leading Edge PC Technology o Dual processor 2D and 3D Graphics System o PCI bus Support o High performance o State-of-the-art GUI Accelerator o 3D Rendering Coprocessor Hardware - 3D Acceleration o 3Dlabs GLINT 300SX Rendering Processor o 64-bit hyper-pipelined architecture o 300K Gouraud shaded, depth buffered triangles/s o Fast frame buffer and Z-buffer clear o Anti-aliasing o Supports advanced modes : double-buffering, stereo and overlays o Accelerates OpenGL, HOOPS, SP3D and other 3D API4s o 8 Mbyte local Memory - expandable to 12 Mbyte o Point, line, rectangle and polygon primitives in Hardware o Vertex level interface Hardware - 2D Acceleration o 64-bit S3 Vision968 GUI Accelerator o 175 MHz Pixelclock o 8 Mbyte high speed Video memory (VRAM) o Multimedia ready through S3 Multimedia extensions o Integrated Video Acceleration Software & Miscelleanous o 100 % OpenGL compatible o SPEA 3D Software drivers for AutoCAD and MicroStation o Third party applications based on SP3D, Criterion Renderware, RenderMorphics RL, Intel 3DR o GUI Support : Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows NT o Multi-lingual documentation o Software Updates via SPEA BBS or CompuServe o 3 years warranty Video Modes Resolution Color depth (bit/pixel) Line Frequency (KHz) Refresh Rate (Hz) ---------- ----------------------- -------------------- ----------------- 640 x 480 8, 16, 32 31,5 - 52,5 60 - 100 800 x 600 8, 16, 32 37,9 - 64,0 60 - 100 1024 x 768 8, 16, 32 48,4- 80,9 60 - 100 1280 x 1024 8, 16, (32) 64,0 - 100,0 60 - 95 (75) 1600 x 1200 8, 16 74,5 - 84,6 60 - 68 Availability : Q2/1995 Technical specifications subject to change The board will cost approximately DM 5000 in Germany (as of early April). CONTACT: David_Fink@spea.ccmail.compuserve.com ==================================================================== Force Inc. ========== The 3DE-300SX from Force Inc. combines the GLINT 300SX with 4 Mbytes of VRAM and up to 8 Mbytes of DRAM. Both IBM PC-AT Japanese DOS/V and NEC PC98 are supported plus Windows NT 3.5, OpenGL and RenderWare 1.4. For more detailed information, please contact: Kenyu Uema, Manabu Igarashi or Tatsuya Takagi Tel: +81 3 3490 1172 Fax: +81 3 3490 2277 6-15-9-2F, NishiGotanda Shinagawa-ku,Tokyo 141, Japan ==================================================================== Densan ====== The PCI-300SX is a GLINT based PCI card including 4 Mbytes of VRAM framebuffer, 8 Mbytes of DRAM localbuffer, 64-bit IBM RGB525 RAMDAC and VGA pass thru implementation. Optimized drivers are provided for Windows NT 3.5 and OpenGL. For more detailed information, please contact: Tetsuya Kawamoto or Zhang Yuanli Tel: +81 3 3329 3871 Fax: +81 3 3329 9266 5-42-1, Kamikitazawa Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo, Japan ==================================================================== MATROX IMPRESSION PLUS ====================== FROM THE SPEC SHEET: Windows Features: - 40 million Winmarks - 175 MHz DAC or optional 220 MHz DAC - 1600 x 1200 in 256 and 65K colors - 1280 x 1024 in 16.7m colors - 110 Hz refresh at 1280 x 1024 resolution - 120 Hz refresh at 1024 x 768 resolution Windows resolution and colours: (* requires 4Mb VRAM) - 1600 x 1200 256, 65k* - 1280 x 1024 256, 65k*, 16.7m* - 1152 x 882 256, 65k, 16.7m* - 1024 x 768 256, 65k, 16.7m* - 800 x 600 256, 65k, 16.7m - 640 x 480 256, 65k, 16.7m Multimedia Features: - Microsoft DCI software video acceleration (Indeo, Cinepak, Video for Windows) - 24 frames per second playback MGA Video XL Upgrade Module: (Q1 95) - Support for VESA Media Channel (VM Channel) video expansion standard and PowerPlay64 - 32 bit connector for increased video datapath (100 Mb/second) - Accepts up to 15 video peripherals - Support for multiple live video windows - VideoLogic PowerPlay64 add-on module for smooth, video playback at 1280 x 1024 at 30 frames/second - resolution scaling using Pixel Interpolation - color space conversion from YUV to RGB Real-Time 2D and 3D Features: - Accelerated 3D Gouraud shaed displays at 1152 x 882 in 65K colors, and 800x600 in 16.7 m colors - 150,000 Gouraud shaded polygons per second - Accelerated double buffering and z-buffering - Support for industry standard 3D API's : 3DR, OpenGL, HOOP's and VAGI - DynaView 2D and 3D Drivers for AutoCAD and Microstation under Windows and DOS Realtime 3D Wireframe Resolutions and Color Depths: (*requires 4Mb VRAM) - 1600 x 1200 256* - 1280 x 1024 256* - 1152 x 882 256, 65k* - 1024 x 768 256, 65k* - 800 x 600 256, 65k, 16.7m* - 640 x 480 256, 65k, 16.7m* Realtime 3D Gouraud Shaded Resolutions and Color Depths: (*requires 4Mb VRAM) - 1600 x 1200 - 1280 x 1024 - 1152 x 882 256* - 1024 x 768 256* - 800 x 600 256, 65k* - 640 x 480 256, 65k* Models Available: MGA-IMP+/P: PCI Bus 2 Mb VRAM upgradable to 4 Mb 1600 x 1200 in 256 colors 800 x 600 in 16.7m colors VM Channel upgradable MGA-IMP+/V: VL Bus 2 Mb VRAM upgradable to 4 Mb 1600 x 1200 in 256 colors 800 x 600 in 16.7m colors VM Channel upgradable MGA-IMP+/A: AT Bus 2 Mb VRAM upgradable to 4 Mb 1600 x 1200 in 256 colors 800 x 600 in 16.7m colors VM Channel upgradable MGA-IMP+/P/220: PCI Bus 2 Mb VRAM upgradable to 4 Mb 220 MHz DAC for 85Hz @1600x1200 Other specifications same as MGA-IMP+/P MGA-IMP+/V/220: VL Bus 2 Mb VRAM upgradable to 4 Mb 220 MHz DAC for 85Hz @1600x1200 Other specifications same as MGA-IMP+/V MGA-IMP+/A/220: AT Bus 2 Mb VRAM upgradable to 4 Mb 220 MHz DAC for 85Hz @1600x1200 Other specifications same as MGA-IMP+/A MGA-MOD/2Mb/1 2Mb upgrade for MGA Impression Plus 1600x1200 in 256 and 65K colors 1280x1024 in 16.7m colors MGA-MOD/VMC VideoLogic PowerPlay64 video accelerator chip 1280 x 1024 at 30 frames per second MGA-MOD/VMC/2MB 2 Mb upgrade for MGA Impression Plus and VideoLogic PowerPlay64 video accelerator chip for 1280 x 1024 at 30 frames per second. CONTACT INFORMATION: Telephone 1-800-361-1408 Matrox Graphics Inc. 1055 St Regis Blvd Dorval Quebec Canada H9P 2T4 Telephone: 514.685.2630 Facsimile: 514.685.2853 COMMENT: I heard comments on comp.sys.opengl that, at the moment, the Impression Plus doesn't have "true" OpenGL support under Windows NT. I don't know if this is correct or not. ==================================================================== SMOS SCP1500 ============ FROM COMP.SYS.OPENGL "S-MOS Systems has introduced the SCP 1500 geometry processor for Windows NT OpenGL acceleration. It is capable of 300K transformed, lighted triangles per second. It will support the full OpenGL library suite: - world coordinate transformations - 3D point, lines, triangles, bitmaps - texture coordinate transformation - fog calculations - 3D clipping - viewport transformation and perspective divide - picking - 2D window offsets - infinite, local, and spot lighting calculation We will be demonstrating the product running on a standalone PCI card later this year. The demonstration will include full OpenGL driver support and will provide acceleration to any card (3D based or otherwise) that supports 3D-DDi. S-MOS systems is also willing to discuss single board design issues with Glint and other 3D chips. Please email me or Giri Venkat (giri@smos.max.com) for further details." CONTACT INFORMATION: Joe Del Rio Executive Director, Graphics and Standards Products S-MOS Systems, Inc 2460 North First Street San Jose CA 95131 Telephone: 408.954.0120 ext 3586 email: delrio@smos.com COMMENT: This is the only info I have on this card. I think I sent e-mail to these people some time ago, but cannot be sure. Sorry. ==================================================================== OMNICOMP 3DEMON ================= FROM THE SPEC SHEET: 3DEMON 3-D Graphics Accelerator for PCI Local Bus Technical Brief The 3DEMON provides workstation class 3-D graphics and high performance 2-D acceleration using the GLINT (tm) 300SX 3-D processor from 3Dlabs. The 3DEMON accelerates all rendering operations of OpenGL, including Gouraud shading, depth buffering, fogging, anti-aliasing, alpha blending, scissor and stipple mask, dithering, and logical operations. Features: * 3-D Rendering at up to 300K shaded, Z-buffered, anti-aliased, translucent polygons per second * 64-bit GUI acceleration up to 1M 10 pixel vectors/sec., 500K 10x10 rectangles/sec with 24-bit pixels * Texture mapping acceleration * Z-buffer for hidden line/hidden surface removal * 100% OpenGL compliant Frame buffer: * 4 Mbyte high speed VRAM * 8,12,16, and 24/32 bits per pixel Local buffer: * 4 or 8 Mbyte DRAM * 32 bits per pixel contains Z-buffer, Stencil field, Fast clear control, and Graphics ID 3DEMON Model SX44 * 4 MByte frame buffer, 4 MByte local buffer * Double Buffered Resolutions 800x600 24/32-bit (3-D) 1024x768 16-bit (3-D) * Single Buffered Resolutions 1024x768 24/32-bit (3-D) 1280x1024 16-bit (2-D) 3DEMON Model SX48 * 4 MByte frame buffer, 8 MByte local buffer * Double Buffered Resolutions 800x600 24/32-bit (3-D) 1024x768 16-bit (3-D) 1280x1024 8-bit (3-D) * Single Buffered Resolutions 1024x768 24/32-bit (3-D) 1280x1024 16-bit (3-D) Software Compatibility * Microsoft's implementation of OpenGL under Windows NT (tm) 3.5 and Windows 95 (tm) (included) * 2-D drivers for Microsoft Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT 3.5 (included) * HOOPS, 3DR, and other industry standard 3-D APIs * Reality Lab, RenderWare, BRender, and other 3-D games APIs * Accelerated-X drivers for The X-Window System by X-Inside * Specific applications such as AutoCAD, Microstation, CadKey, and 3D Studio Hardware Compatibility * Minimum OpenGL platform of Pentium processor, Windows NT 3.5, and 32MB RAM recommended * Windows NT 3.5 support for PowerPC and MIPS processors is under development CONTACT INFORMATION: Steve Gillaspy Omnicomp Graphics Corp. 1734 W. Sam Houston Pkwy N. Houston, TX. 77043 Phone: 713-464-2990 Fax: 713-827-7540 email: omnicmp@phoenix.phoenix.net COMMENT: These guys are brilliant - they are responsive, and have been really helpful in my own research, often pointing me in the direction of other people and companies who can help, as well as showing a solid technical understanding of my requirements and making recommendations based on that understanding. ==================================================================== ISC POWERGL ============ FROM E-MAIL: "PowerGL Graphics Accelerator ---------------------------- from International Software Corporation World-Class OpenGL 3D Graphics for PCI-Based Systems The PowerGL XL3(tm) PCI-based graphics accelerator delivers unprecedented 3D graphics price/performance on PCI-based systems running Windows NT. In fact, the XL3 on Intel, DEC Alpha, MIPS, and PowerPC delivers an incredible 2x to 4x increase in price performance over comparable HP 715, SUN SS20 and SGI Indy systems. Features -------- * PCI option card (short form factor) * Accelerates OpenGL under Windows NT * 24-bit true color and 16-bit Z buffering * 32 color planes with 16-bit double buffering * 1280 x 1024 @ 60-74 Hz, non-interlaced Performance ----------- * 1 Million 2D vectors per second (10 pixel, 24-bit) * 1 Million 3D vectors per second (10 x 1 pixels, smooth shaded, Z buffered) * 205k 3D triangles/sec (50 pixels, smooth shaded mesh, lit, Z buffered) Benefits -------- * Performance of a $25k+ Unix workstation for under $10,000. * Standard applications with Windows NT (including Windows 3.1 applications compiled for Intel cpu). * Scalable architecture delivers increased graphics performance with higher performance host cpu. Price ----- * PowerGL XL3 graphics accelerator: $2,195 * Complete PCI-based systems: CALL 1-800-839-4721 Don't get left behind. Join the 3D desktop revolution with the PowerGL XL3 on your PCI-based systems. You won't find better price/performance! PowerGL specifications ---------------------- Graphics performance -------------------- * 2D vectors (10 pixel, 24-bit) 1M/sec * 3D vectors (10 pixel, smooth shaded, unlit, Z buffered) 1M/sec * 3D triangles (50 pixels, smooth shaded mesh, 205K/sec lit, Z buffered) * Frame buffer-to-frame buffer copy 30/15 Mpixels/sec (8/16-bit images and 32-bit images respectively) * Non-Z buffered clears and solid fills 320 Mpixels/sec * Bitmap writes and unaligned fills 80 Mpixels/sec Hardware Features ----------------- * Scalable architecture efficiently leverages the system CPU; a faster CPU yields faster graphics * 7.5 MB of total RAM - 5 MB VRAM used as a 32 plane frame buffer, supporting: * resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 pixels with up to 16.7 million colors (24 bit true color) * 16 bit double buffering * 8 bit color index - 2.5 MB DRAM used as a 16 bit Z-buffer * Rectangle clipping, Alpha blending and Dithering Graphics application programming interfaces ------------------------------------------- * Open GL * HOOPS and 3DR planned for early 1995 Supported Operating System Environments --------------------------------------- * DOS 6.0 or later, Windows 3.1 or later, Windows 95 (Chicago), Windows NT 3.5 with Open GL (Daytona) Supported Applications ---------------------- * Pro/ENGINEER and Pro/JR. from Parametric Technology Corporation * AutoCAD Release 11, 12, and 13 from Autodesk * MicroStation version 4 and 5 from Bentley Systems (including MOGLE) * Any OpenGL application Platforms supported: Intel, Alpha, MIPS, & PowerPC platforms System requirements: -------------------- * One free PCI slot * VGA or SVGA compatible graphics adapter ____________________ tm PowerGL and XL3 are trademarks of International Software Corporation." CONTACT INFORMATION: International Software Corporation (ISC) Suite 275 433 Park Point Drive Golden, CO 80401 Orders: 1-800-488-4721 Fax: 303-526-0581 E-mail: 76516.2544@compuserve.com ==================================================================== EVANS & SUTHERLAND FREEDOM =========================== PRESS RELEASE: "EVANS & SUTHERLAND BRINGS 3D GRAPHICS EXPERTISE TO THE PERSONAL COMPUTER SALT LAKE CITY, March 2, 1995 Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation (NASDAQ: ESCC) today announced Freedom Graphics(tm) for the Personal Computer. Freedom Graphics is the first product to bring the 3D graphics technology of E&S to the personal computing environment. Freedom Graphics is an implementation of the specialized features that 3D graphics applications require for smooth, fast execution. Users can produce impressive realistic images with the product's rich feature set and high-performance graphics for Windows/NT(r) applications. The graphics card supports the OpenGL(r) software application programming interface and is designed to accelerate OpenGL in the PC environment. Freedom Graphics is a PCI bus-based card that incorporates the same technology as the Freedom Series graphics accelerators which supply high-end graphics for the world's largest workstation vendors. Ideal markets to take advantage of the extensive feature set of Freedom Graphics are CAD, Industrial Design, Simulation, Visualization, Animation, Entertainment and Game Development. Supported PC processors include MIPS(tm), Pentium(r) and Power PC(tm). "The interest being generated by Freedom Graphics is extraordinary," said Jim Oyler, President and CEO of Evans & Sutherland. "Freedom Graphics allows a low-cost PC-based system to achieve the performance of a much more expensive workstation. This is going to be an explosive market in the very near future." Evans & Sutherland is the only 3D graphics vendor with a product line that spans the entire computing industry from the personal computer up to multi-million dollar flight simulators and location-based entertainment systems. "We are pleased that Evans & Sutherland has applied their knowledge and experience in high-performance real-time 3D graphics to the PC marketplace," said Tom Coull, President of Sense8 Corporation. "WorldToolKit and Freedom Graphics will offer a definitive hardware-accelerated solution for texture-mapped virtual reality applications." Freedom Graphics' feature set includes real-time 3D graphics rendering and animation, hardware based 24-bit texture acceleration, scalable texture memory up to 16 MBytes, bi-linear and tri-linear MIP-mapping, specular highlights, fast set-up calculations, full scene antialiasing, transparency and depth cueing. The additional experience of E&S with OpenGL will also result in significant performance advantages for applications using the OpenGL library from E&S. According to Ian Reid, Vice-President of Marketing at Advanced Visual Systems, "Freedom Graphics offers a new level of capability for the PC user and AVS/Express allows any PC developer to take immediate advantage of features such as hardware texture-mapping and transparency. It's the ideal combination." Freedom Graphics performance under Windows/NT and OpenGL is 300,000 triangles/second. The card will list price at $2450 with second quarter availability through OEMs and VARs. Freedom Graphics was first shown at Fall Comdex '94 in Las Vegas. The significance of Freedom Graphics lies in its delivery of a graphics feature set at unsurpassed performance levels. Advanced features such as texture mapping are still unavailable from any other vendor for under $10,000. Freedom Graphics also provides performance not yet seen in the 3D PC graphics market. Nearest competitors for performance provide minimal feature sets and are only available at much higher prices. Evans & Sutherland is a leader in advanced 3D graphics and visualization systems for science, industry, education, and entertainment. The Graphics Systems Division provides graphics hardware and software solutions that are sold and supported by DEC, HP, IBM, and Sun Microsystems. Evans & Sutherland was founded in 1968 and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Freedom Graphics, and Freedom Series are trademarks of Evans & Sutherland. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. ------------------------------------- Freedom Graphics(tm) for the Personal Computer High-Speed Realism from Evans & Sutherland Evans & Sutherland pioneered the computer graphics industry over 25 years ago. Since then our graphics know-how has been engineered into everything from multi-million dollar flight simulators to high-end graphics accelerators for workstations. Now, the same technology used in those high-end workstations is available for the personal computer with Freedom Graphics. Freedom Graphics is a 3D graphics card that delivers high-performance, workstation-class 3D graphics for your Windows NT applications. Freedom Graphics is a masterful implementation of the specialized features that 3D graphics applications require for smooth, fast execution. Users will be impressed by the realistic images they can produce with the well-crafted feature set. Freedom Graphic Advantages o Real time 3D graphics rendering and animation o 24 bit texture acceleration o Perspective acceleration of colors & textures o Bi-linear & tri-linear MIP-mapping o Color modulation o Fast set-up calculations o Antialiased vectors and polygons o High resolution support o Programmable antialiasing filter o Hardware window clipping o Transparency & Depth cueing o Hardware cursor support o Line-slope intensity correction Software Programming Environment Freedom Graphics supports the OpenGL(tm) software application programming interface and was designed to accelerate OpenGL in the personal computing environment." FROM THE SPEC SHEET: "Technical Specifications 3D Graphics Engine by Evans & Sutherland Display Memory - 4MByte of VRAM Z buffer Memory - 4MByte of DRAM Texture Memory (optional) 1, 4 or 16 MByte user installable SIMM 3D Resolutions (1280x1024, 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480) Display Colors - 8, 12, 24 bit color support Maximum Vertical Refresh Rates 72Hz non-interlaced at all supported resolutions Software Support - 2D/3D Drivers Windows NT 3.5, OpenGL, DDI (Windows95/OpenGL when available) PCI local bus Physical dimensions 12.28" Length x 4.2" Height (PCI Full Length Compliant) CPU Support: Power PC, MIPS, Pentium Monitor Video timing supports any monitor capable of displaying the listed resolutions in non-interlaced mode. 15 pin D-shell VGA connector Availability The Freedom Graphics product will be initially sold through OEM's and Value-Added Resellers, who will be announced along with the product. The product will be available on the product announcement date. Freedom Graphics is a trademark of Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics Inc. All other products are trademarks of their respective companies." CONTACT INFORMATION: Jennifer Hughes Evans & Sutherland jhughes@dsd.es.com Phone: 1-800-367-7460 Facsimile: (801) 582-0524 ==================================================================== FUJITSU SAPPHIRE 2SX =================== The Sapphire 2SX PCI-bus graphics accelerator uses the GLINT 300SX to provide acceleration for 3D multimedia and Virtual Reality applications. The Sapphire 2SX supports multiple configurations and memory options. Put out by their Microelectronic division. The following URL appears to be partially invalid (the vspace/index.html doesn't exist anymore). URL http://www.fujitsu.com:80/FMI/vspace/index.html Some information I received off the net: Pixel bus: use one card - one monitor use two cards - one monitor (double performance) use two cards - one / two desktop Drivers: PCI bus - Windows 95 - NT 3.5 - Apple PowerPC !!! Headquarters 3545 North First Street San Jose, California 95134-1807 (408) 922-9000 (408) 432-9044 (fax) 1-800-642-7616 (FMI Product Information) Manufacturing Gresham Manufacturing Divison 21015 S. E. Stark Street Gresham, Oregon 97030-2099 (503) 669-6000 (503) 669-6109 (fax) COMMENTS: They can mail but not fax information. I'm waiting to receive it. ==================================================================== LOCKHEED MARTIN REAL3D/100 ========================= OTHER REFERENCE: http://www.mmc.com/real3d/ PRESS RELEASE: Lockheed Martin 3D Graphics Accelerator offers real-time PC visual system performance. Bethesda Maryland, March 20 - Lockheed martin announced today it is entering the 3D graphics PC market market with a high performance chip set based on real-time computer image generation technology that gives a combination of dynamic response and realism previously available only on dedicated graphics workstations and high end custom visual image generators. The Real3D(tm) brand name will be applied to a series of commercial and consumer computer graphics products. The first product, R3D/100, is a graphics accelerator that provides high throughput, high realism and sustained real-time 3D graphics response. Key performance attributes of the chip set include an embedded 100 MFLOPS geometry processor, pixel write rates of up to 33 million pixels per second, up to 750k polygons per second, line processing up to 1.5 million per second, and provides up to 192 color texture maps (128x128 mipmapped) in real-time. This performance eliminates the jerky visual movement found in graphics products that operate at less-than-real-time rates. "Real3D(tm) products set a new price performance standard in such areas as architectural and computer aided design, object modelling, gameware development, simulation and and real-time visualisation," said John Lenyo, Commercial Visual Systems Business Development Director for Lockheed Martin Information Systems Co. "Systems running Real- 3D-based boards will be able to function as supercharged graphics accelerators that run 3D graphics applications in real-time." The new product is an outgrowth of Lockheed Martin's proprietry computer graphics technology previously used in high performance military simulation, engineering research and training applications first developed for astronaut training and military flight simulation. The company has invested more than $200 million in research and development in this area and owns more than 40 related patents in the field. Lenyo attributes much of the development success of the new commercial PC product to experience gained in a highly successful adjacent application developed for Sega Enterprises, Ltd - the Model 2 Computer Graphics System. Model 2 is the host hardware platform for Sega's latest generation of high performance arcade games. First released in January 1994, Sega has shipped over 33,000 Model-2 based arcade games such as the top selling Daytona USA(tm), Desert Tank(tm), Virtua Cop(tm), Virtua Fighter II(tm) and virtual reality theme park ride system VR-1(tm). Lockheed Martin's R3D/100 chip set provides faster processing through it's patented hardware desing which incorporates geometry processing, rasterisation and texture mapping. The R3D/100 embedded floating point geometry processor remoces significant processing burden from the host CPU. The patented texture processor applies color mipmapped texture to polygons in true 3D corrected perspective. Designed as a true polygon processor with texture processing and scaleable texture memory from the outset, the R3D/100 chipset includes dedicated hardware acceleration of mipmapped texturing that provides continuous high fidelity image quality. This chip set simulates spotlights, fog and realistic curved surfaces. Additionally, improved image quality is provided with multi-pass anti-aliasing. The R3D/100 chip set directly interfaces with Microsoft 3D/DDi and supports all 3D/DDI- compliant APIs, such as OpenGL(tm) and comes with device driver software and a device driver kit. Lockheed Martin is a highly diversified $23 billion advanced technology company with core markets in defense, commercial, civil government, energy and internation markets." CONTACT INFORMATION: email: real3d@mmc.com voice: 800-393-7730 fax: 407-826-3358 COMMENTS: Contact these people and ask for the glossy brochure - WOW!!!! (ok, so I'm not being objective...I like poring over glossy brochures as much as the next person...*grin*) Their staff were also really helpful and responsive. Apparently, application notes will be available in August of this year, with sample chipsets and reference boards available in November. Production quantities will be available in the first quarter of 1996. Price for the reference board is in the US$2,800 area. -- Blair MacIntyre (bm@cs.columbia.edu), Graduate Student (Graphics and UI Lab) smail: Dept. of Computer Science, 450 Computer Science Building, 500 W 120 St. Columbia University, New York, NY 10027