AfterDawn: News

ATI Technologies Inc. today announced the XPERT 2000(TM), with 32 MB of memory, 32-bit true color acceleration and full hardware DVD acceleration for only $99.

The XPERT 2000 is ideal for system builders and resellers looking to differentiate their low cost PCs. Traditionally, low cost PCs come with just 8 MB of graphics memory, poor 2D and 3D and no DVD. For just $99 (ESP) system builders can now add strong 2D and 3D, 32-bit true acceleration, hardware DVD and 4 times the amount of graphics memory. For system builders 32 MB of graphics memory will be the standard.



``The XPERT 2000 will change the image of the low cost PC and smash the perception that they are featureless and unable to handle today's latest games and popular applications'', said Ed Grondahl, vice president of marketing, ATI. ``The XPERT 2000 transforms the featureless low end PC into a 3D, DVD multimedia powerhouse.''

The XPERT 2000 will make 32 MB of graphics memory a standard with system builders. Having 32 MB of memory boosts the performance and visual quality of graphics intense games and also secures the user's investment. As games become more complex, the 32MB will continue to provide the necessary bandwidth for high frame rate, texture intense game play for future games. The XPERT 2000 is fully optimized to operate in 32-bit true color to provide optimal visual quality graphics. And it does so with minimal performance degradation, providing true color with a performance level equal to that of a card that supports only 16-bit color.

With hardware DVD, the XPERT 2000 produces high quality DVD images at full-screen, full frame rate playback. XPERT 2000 allows even low cost PCs the ability to play back DVDs without burdening the processor. This makes the XPERT 2000 the ideal solution for running interactive DVD applications and watching DVD movies.

Game play will be enhanced through the acceleration of the OpenGL ICD and Microsoft's DirectX APIs. The result is full acceleration and top speeds for intense DirectX and OpenGL games and z-based fog and special effects for the ultimate in realism.

The raw graphics power of the XPERT 2000 comes from the RAGE 128 chip, with more than 8 million transistors, equivalent to many processors today. Other 3D architectural features include a Twin-Cache Architecture including on-chip texture and pixel caches, a 8-bit stencil buffer, a 32-bpp renderer for full accuracy 3D rendering, a deep 32-bit Z-buffer, and high-quality alpha and fog effects.

Price and availability

The XPERT 2000 with 32 MB will be available in August at a street price of (US) $99.



(from Yahoo! PR NewsWire)

Written by: Jari Ketola @ 30 Jul 1999 8:14