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With the nfiniteFX engine, games and other graphics-intensive applications offer stylized visual effects. Two patented architectural advancements: Vertex Shaders and Pixel Shaders.
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NVIDIA Introduces GeForce3 -- Breaks New Ground in the Quest for Real-Time
Cinematic Graphics; Industry's Most Advanced GPU to be Flagship Graphics for
Apple's Power Mac G4 Line
TOKYO--Feb. 22,
2001--MACWORLD/Providing the catalyst for a new graphics revolution, NVIDIA(R)
Corporation (Nasdaq:NVDA) today introduced the world's most advanced graphics
processor, the GeForce3TM GPU for the Macintosh(R) platform at Macworld Expo
Tokyo 2001.
Powered by the new NVIDIA nfiniteFX(TM)
engine the new GeForce3 GPU enables users to experience a rich, interactive
environment. 3D scenes have ambiance with GeForce3 because objects appear photo
realistic and custom lighting heightens drama and emotion. Characters and living
creatures have organic behavior and unique expressions -- their personality
emerges. Programmability and performance are the catalysts for this graphics
revolution.
"This announcement comes just one month
after the first NVIDIA-based Macintosh launch," stated Jen-Hsun Huang, president
and CEO of NVIDIA. "We are excited to have the first public showing of GeForce3
at MacWorld Tokyo in Steve Jobs' keynote address. The combination of our new
leading-edge technology with Apple's is going to send shock waves throughout the
Macintosh community."
"Apple is proud to be able to
introduce the most powerful graphics processing unit on the planet first on a
Mac," said Philip Schiller, Apple's vice-president of Worldwide Product
Marketing. "The all-new Power Mac G4 with Velocity Engine, when combined with
the incredible NVIDIA GeForce3 GPU, delivers industry-leading computing and
graphics performance to Mac customers."
In
addition, GeForce3 is:
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The first fully programmable GPU -- the nfiniteFX(TM) Pixel Shader
processor and Vertex Shader processor give developers the ability to
program a virtually infinite number of special effects and custom looks.
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The first high-resolution antialiasing (HRAA) GPU, featuring NVIDIA's
patented Quincunx AA mode, for high-resolution, high-quality,
high-performance multisampling capabilities. |
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A platform for advanced transform and lighting features, enabling more
complex, visually exciting objects and scenes. |
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OpenGL(R) 1.2 compatible. |
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Available in 64MB DDR SDRAM configuration that supports both the
innovative Apple(R) Display Connector and the industry standard VGA
connection. |
NVIDIA's
nfiniteFX Engine:
 The GeForce3 GPU's nfiniteFX engine
gives developers the ability to program a virtually infinite number of special
effects and custom looks. Instead of every developer choosing from the same
hard-coded palette of capabilities and ending up with a generic look and feel,
application developers can specify personalized combinations of graphics
operations and create an unlimited list of their own effects. Two architectural
advancements enable the nfiniteFX engine's programmability and its multitude of
effects: Vertex Shaders and Pixel
Shaders.
Injecting Personality and Ambiance via
Vertex and Pixel Shading Operations
Vertex
Shaders inject personality into characters and environments. Motion invades the
entire scene, not just the focal points. The vertex processing capabilities
allow characters to move and show facial emotion, materials to stretch, and the
scene to come alive. By customizing the skinning and motion, developers can
create an appropriate personality, intensifying the impact of the visualization
or animation.
Pixel Shaders create ambiance with
materials and surfaces that mimic reality. Amazingly realistic material effects
replace the artificial, computerized look with high-impact organic surfaces.
Characters now have facial hair and blemishes, golf balls have dimples, a red
chair gains a subtle leather look, and wood exhibits texture and grain. By
altering the lighting and surface effects, artists are able to manipulate
colors, textures, or shapes and generate complex, realistic
scenes.
High Performance, High Resolution, High
Quality
The Lightspeed Memory Architecture(TM)
brings power to the GeForce3, delivering earth-shattering performance and fluid
motion even for the most complex scenes. NVIDIA's new Quincunx antialiasing (AA)
mode, generates high performance samples at nearly four-times the rate of the
GeForce2 Ultra, while excellent visual
quality.
Rendering at high resolutions with high
frame rates becomes the standard with GeForce3, as its advances in pixel
rendering and memory efficiency break down the boundaries of frame buffer
bandwidth and enable high-resolution antialiasing (HRAA) for the first time ever
on the PC.
Sophisticated Processing
Technology
The GeForce3 is the world's most
advanced GPU with more than 57 million transistors and the ability to perform
more than 800 billion operations per second and 76 billion floating point
operations per second (FLOPS). The GeForce3 GPU achieves an astounding 3.2
billion antialiased samples per second fill rate -- more than four times the
performance of the award-winning GeForce2 Ultra and more than seven times the
processing power of any competitive consumer graphics product. As do all of the
GeForce family products, GeForce3 drives the most extreme resolutions and color
depths of up to 2048x1536x32.
Another key feature of
GeForce3 is its high-definition video processor (HDVP) that enables a variety of
crystal-clear HDTV solutions when combined with a mainstream CPU and a low-cost
DTV receiver. The HDVP allows mainstream high-performance processors to support
all 18 Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) formats with a simple,
cost-effective DTV receiver card.
Geforce3 graphics
on the Power MacTM G4 will be available next month as a configure-to-order (CTO)
option at the Apple Store (www.apple.com) and
through Apple resellers.
About
NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq:NVDA), based in
Santa Clara, CA, is the global leader in advanced graphics and multimedia
processing technology for the consumer and professional computing markets. It's
2D, 3D, video and multimedia capabilities make NVIDIA one of the premier
semiconductor companies in the world. NVIDIA offers a wide range of products and
services, delivering superior performance and crisp visual quality for PC-based
applications such as manufacturing, science, e-business, entertainment, and
education.
Certain statements in this press
release, including the statements relating to the Company's performance
expectations for NVIDIA's family of products and expectations of continued
revenue growth, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than
expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
manufacturing and other delays relating to new products, difficulties in the
fabrication process and dependence of the Company on third-party manufacturers,
general industry trends including cyclical trends in the PC and semiconductor
industries, the impact of competitive products and pricing alternatives, market
acceptance of the Company's new products, and the Company's dependence on
third-party developers and publishers. Investors are advised to read the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those sections
entitled "Factors Affecting Operating Results," for a fuller discussion of these
and other risks and uncertainties.
Contents of Article: Nvidia
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