Chipset accelerates graphics

Creative Technology (CREAF) has introduced a new 2D-3D graphics technology, code-named Falcon, based on Microsoft's Direct X technology and a powerful chip from 3Dlabs.

Creative will ship Falcon graphics boards late this year or early next year using 3Dlab's Permedia NT graphics chip set to be sold at PC retail outlets, the company said.

The boards will be able to accelerate Direct Draw and Direct 3D-enabled titles. Microsoft's Direct X technology, such as Direct Draw and Direct 3D, will be included in future updates and versions of Windows 95 and Windows NT.

The boards will support screen resolutions of up to 1600-by-1200 pixels at 24-bit color and offer true plug-and-play support as they will be based on the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) 2.1 specification, the company said.

The Falcon card's Permedia NT chipset includes the 2D-3D engine and Glint Delta processor combined with 4MB of synchronous graphics memory (SGRAM) and an OpenGL-compliant rendering pipeline.

The boards will be targeted at graphics professionals and content creators. A Creative Technologies spokesperson said the company expects to ship the product in late December 1996 or early January 1997 but no pricing had been set yet.