While nVidia and ATI are preparing for the mother of all Graphics battles, a company that has been there for a while is now trying to change the market landscape. S3, Via's graphics division, have announced details of their upcoming "Delta Chrome" card, formerly known as "Columbia". The features are impressive but what is truly stunning, is the price tag.
The cards, expected in Q2, 2003, will start retailing at, wait for it... USD 90. Yeah but the S3 offering will not be up to their competitors standards, I hear you say, have a look at the features and judge for yourselves:
The chips G.P.U. clock will weigh in at 300MHz+ and 300MHz+ for the memory, which will be plain DDR. Another, the economy, version of the card will have a top speed on 240MHz+, for the graphics engine and 300MHz+ for the memory.
The full and extremely rich feature list is as follows:
Advanced Display Features
Continuing the S3 Graphics tradition of providing advanced reliability, DeltaChrome products weave stability and technology into basic 2D display graphics features.
DirectX 9.0
DeltaChrome is equipped with programmable hardware shaders compatible with Pixel Shader version 2.0+ and Vertex Shader 2.0+. DeltaChrome actually goes beyond the DirectX 9.0 requirements with esoteric features for improved 3D and video quality.
Hi-Def Computing
HDTV is the final word when it comes to high resolution displays available today. Thanks to DeltaChrome's unique, integrated Hi-Def HDTV encoder technology, you can now get the most from HDTV resolution capable displays, televisions and projectors.
Hi-Def HDTV encoding brings the theater home when watching a DVD. Video games played in Hi-Def mode bring characters to life before your eyes, and Hi-Def corporate presentations viewed with an HDTV resolution capable projector are crisper and more professional looking than ever before.
Chromotion Programmable Video Engine
The Chromotion Programmable Video Engine is a radical departure from fixed function video decoding and processing. The Chromotion engine has the flexibility to process MPEG-2/4, Windows Media Video, and other video standards. Fixed function processing such as iDCT is now handled by the programmable Chromotion engine. Post-processing to improve poor source material is an exciting new feature that will enhance video material such as webcasts.
The Chromotion engine's real-time rendering capabilities bring video effect processing to the mainstream. The home video enthusiast can now exercise as much ArtisticLicense as advanced video artists. All can edit and process video with Chromotion quality using familiar effects and filters for professional looking results for any project, whether simple or involved.
V8 Pipeline
The DeltaChrome V8 pipeline is a sophisticated and complex full 8-pixel pipeline. An astounding 2.4 Giga-pixel per second fill rate increases the intensity of the gamer's visual experience and provides heart-pounding 3D graphics speed.
You will be assured of being the last player standing in the emerging mobile gaming trend when your laptop is equipped with DeltaChrome's V8 pipeline.
PicturePerfect
DeltaChrome's PicturePerfect hardware anti-aliasing for full screen and WindowsXP text makes for a consistent, silky smooth-edged image. No more jaggies.
Advanced Deferred Rendering
The completely new Advanced Deferred Rendering technology dramatically increases the efficiency of the 3D engine for maximum performance beyond standard z-culling technology. By maximizing effective bandwidth, Advanced Deferred Rendering does not leave extreme gamers short during peak 3D performance levels.