DOS Days

Old PC Computing Resource

"DIAMOND MULTIMEDIA UNVEILS VERSATILE NEW STEALTH 3D 3000XL VRAM ACCELERATOR FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE BUSINESS, PROFESSIONAL GRAPHICS AND ENTERTAINMENT APPLICATIONS

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- August 6, 1996 -- Today at Siggraph, Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: DIMD) unveiled the Diamond Stealth 3D 3000XL, a versatile new VRAM add-in subsystem that delivers ultra-high performance 2D graphics acceleration, digital video playback and 3D rendering to meet the needs of today's general business, professional graphics, Internet 3D VRML and computer entertainment markets. The new dual-ported VRAM accelerator features Diamond-enhanced drivers for Microsoft Windows® 95, Windows NT 3.51, Windows 3.1x, AutoCAD and DOS operating systems and supports a number of popular graphics and video APIs, including Direct3D, OpenGL and RenderWare, among others. The Diamond Stealth 3D 3000XL will be available this month through retailers, distributors and system integrators. Pricing will start at $299 estimated retail price (ERP). Diamond also will make a version the Stealth 3D 3000 series available to OEM customers.

Based on S3's ViRGE VX chipset, the PCI-bus Diamond Stealth3D 3000XL will be available in 2MB and 4MB VRAM models, both with optional memory upgrade daughtercards (see chart). The Stealth 3D 3000XL comes with an exciting business productivity and entertainment software bundle that includes Asymetrix 3D F/X, Asymetrix Digital Video Producer, Compton's International Encyclopedia 96, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Interplay's Descent II: Destination Quartzon 3D, and a version of Diamond's InControl Tools 95 desktop utilities.

The Diamond Stealth 3D 3000XL Meets the High Performance Needs of the Windows Power User

• Provides the fastest 2D performance of any Diamond VRAM solution for Windows power users, dramatically enhancing overall system and business application performance;

• Offers high-performance accelerated Windows 95, Windows NT 3.51, and Windows NT 4.0 drivers (planned);

• Delivers high resolution graphics acceleration (up to 1600x1200) for large monitor support;

• Features a 220MHz RAMDAC for fast, flicker-free refresh rates up to 120Hz;

• Provides advanced digital video, delivered via an on-board graphics engine using X and Y interpolation, color space conversion and hardware double buffering, allowing users to view multimedia presentations and other documents in full-screen at up to 30 frames per second, and offers no-compromise full-screen digital video scaling using Mediamatics' software MPEG;

• Includes a version of Diamond's popular InControl Tools 95 for resolution and color-depth switching on-the-fly;

An Affordable Solution for Entry-Level CAD and Game Designers

• The Stealth 3D 3000XL provides high-resolutions and high color depths (up to 24-bit color at 1280x1024) for desktop publishing, CAD and document image processing;

• Offers affordable solution with OpenGL support for entry-level 3D graphic design under Windows NT;

• Supports Diamond's Big Focus display-list driver, customized for AutoCAD Releases 12 and 13, featuring an easy-to-use interface with a toolbar menu for quick access to commands, close up views, and a birds-eye window that offers a variety of user-defined zoom levels under Windows.

• Features hardware-accelerated, state-of-the-art 3D animation with perspective corrected texture mapping for increased realism and image quality; bi-linear filtering, MIP-Mapping and tri-linear MIP-mapping and special effects including realistic smoke, steam, fog and water. 3D engine provides for both Gouraud and flat shading in 3D object design;

• Has Z-buffer memory, which speeds up the removal of hidden surfaces so that objects appear life-like without compromising the 3D performance;

• Fully supports certain DirectX drivers including Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectVideo and other leading development APIs including RenderWare and BRender.

The Stealth 3D Delivers Advanced 3D Gaming on the PC

• Has more than 50 leading game developers support, including Activision, Gremlin, GTE Interactive, Interplay Productions, Looking Glass, Mindscape, Papyrus (Sierra On-Line), Psygnosis and Virgin, ensuring a steady-flow of future games;

• Provides drivers for leading game development APIs including Direct3D, also ensuring support for a large list of titles.

• Offers fast DOS performance for legacy games;

• Includes InControl Tools 95 utility for easy resolution and color depth changes when switching between different games and applications.

Configurations

Stealth 3D 3000XL Features	2MB VRAM Model	4MB VRAM Model
Maximum Resolution at 24-bit Color/Refresh Rate	800x600 at 120Hz	1280x1024 at 85Hz
Display Memory Upgrade Option	2MB VRAM (also includes 2MB of 3D memory)	n/a
Max. Resolution at 24-bit Color/Refresh Rate with Option	1280x1024x85Hz	n/a
3D Memory Upgrade Option (Adds 3D memory including Z-buffer and texture memory)	2MB DRAM (also includes 2MB of display memory)	4MB Memory (Type TBD)
Recommended Usage	Business user, corporate desktop, gaming	Power user, gaming, desktop publishing, entry-level CAD design
Operating System Support	Windows 95, Windows 3.1x, Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0 planned, AutoCAD, DOS	Same
API Support	Direct3D, DirectVideo, DirectDraw, Video for Windows, Renderware, 3DR, BRender, OpenGL, Software MPEG	Same

",   Diamond Multimedia, 6th August 1996

"Our revamped tests revealed two new best buys: ATI's $219 3D Pro Turbo PC2TV and Diamond's $170 Stealth 3D 3000. These two cards do the best job of handling a wide range of applications, from standard business applications to virtual reality. They're not tops at every single type of graphics application, but all in all, they're the best you can find right now for both work and play

The 3D Pro Turbo is particularly powerful since it has 8MB of SGRAM. It has strong performance in several different areas, including 2D, but it has mediocre AVI video playback. It also has TV-out capabilities. The Stealth 3D 3000 has excellent 2D performance and did well in two of our three subjective game tests. Still, it was one of several boards that botched Fox Interactive's Independence Day game. Overall, the Stealth 3D 3000 is a great package."     PC Magazine, Vol.7 Iss.12 (Dec 1994)