Matrox Parhelia™ - 512 Technology Brief

matrox.com/mga Under NDA until May 14, 2002

Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

A source of unparalleled quality, superior performance and the widest range of innovative features, Matrox Parhelia™-512 is designed to surpass the expectations of the most demanding professional users and PC enthusiasts. Integrating an unprecedented number of groundbreaking technologies into the world's first 512-bit graphics processing unit (GPU), Parhelia-512 is the most complex graphics chip built to date. The following is an overview of the various technologies that make Parhelia-512 the leader in all aspects of visualization: quality, performance and features.

Unparalleled Visual Quality

I Designed with tremendous attention to detail paid to every aspect of the graphics pipeline, Parhelia-512 delivers unparalleled image, color and output quality. Leading image quality and support for the latest display technologies are key attributes of this new product. Parhelia-512 continues Matrox's unwavering focus on raising the bar in cutting-edge visual quality by bringing significant, new, quality-based innovations to market. These include:

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

10-bit GigaColor Technology The first graphics technology to support true 10-bit per color channel, Parhelia-512 is capable of simultaneously displaying over one billion colors. Full 10-bit color precision is available for 2D, 3D, DVD and video. It is maintained throughout the graphics pipeline, which includes 10-bit RGB frame buffers, dual 10-bit RAMDACs and a 10-bit TV encoder. Moreover, each 10-bit RAM- DAC is fully gamma correctable for precise color matching. GigaColor is a forward-looking technology, which provides an exceptionally vibrant Windows® desktop, the richest graphics, as well as the sharpest 3D images and in-game graphics.

UltraSharp Display Output Technology

Parhelia-512 measured signal output Building on Matrox's unparalleled display output quality, Parhelia- quality: Stable output with no over- shoot & undershoot 512's display output subsystem integrates a sophisticated new design that delivers the highest-fidelity RGB, DVI and TV outputs. High-precision RAMDACs and advanced design techniques ensure that signal quality is maintained at the highest frequency Standard Test Pattern desktop settings, resulting in flicker-free, ultra-crisp displays, free of any pixel ghosting, sparkling or shadowing artifacts. These techniques, combined with the most highly developed electronics Competitor's measured signal output and filters, deliver the highest-quality analog, digital and TV out- quality: Unstable output with over- shoot & undershoot puts—Matrox's best ever.

64 Super Sample Texture Filtering Parhelia-512 integrates the world's most advanced texture filtering units allowing for the dynamic allocation of up to 64 texture samples per clock—double the number available on competing GPUs. These samples can be flexibly allocated to provide higher quality texture filtering with minimal performance impact. For example, the 64 samples could be arranged to deliver:

• Dual-textured pixels with trilinear filtering at the same performance as dual-textured pixels with bilinear filtering • Dual-textured pixels with 16-sample anisotropic filtering at comparable performance to dual-textured pixels with trilinear filtering on competing GPUs With Without

With 64 Super Sample Texture Filtering, Parhelia-512 is able to 64 Super Sample Texture Filtering offer a higher quality 3D experience without the performance penalty suffered on other GPUs.

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

Glyph Antialiasing Parhelia-512 is the first graphics technology to provide hardware acceleration for antialiased text and font rendering with full gamma correction—a feature currently available in Microsoft® operating systems but only accelerated in software. Furthermore, Matrox has taken Microsoft's text quality initiative one step further by offering programmable gamma correction for text antialiasing. While certain competing GPUs accelerate the antialiasing of text in hardware, they do not apply gamma correction during this process. Gamma correction during the antialiasing process is imperative for the accurate rendering of antialiased text. With Glyph Antialiasing, users have the ability to adjust gamma levels independently in order to have text antialiased according to their preferences. Enabled by Matrox under Windows® XP and Windows 2000, Glyph Anitialiasing makes onscreen text more readable and provides the ultimate desktop viewing experience—without compromising performance.

Without antialiasing With antialiasing

Text

These images are for illustration purposes only. The exact antialiasing effect can be seen on a PC monitor.

16x Fragment Antialiasing (FAA-16x) FAA-16x is the only technology that is capable of providing true 16-sample antialiasing for the highest quality antialiased rendering with minimal performance impact. Supporting a wide variety of 3D applications that use compatible 3D rendering techniques, FAA-16x intelligently antialiases only the edge pixels of triangles and applies 16x supersampling to them, while leaving internal textures sharp and unblurred. As edge pixels typically make up only a small fraction of the pixels in a scene, Parhelia-512 is able to offer this superior quality with a very small performance penalty. For even broader compatibility, Parhelia-512 also supports 4x Full Scene Antialiasing (4x FSAA).

Without FAA-16x With FAA-16x

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

Superior Performance

I With a 512-bit architecture, massive memory bandwidth and an immense array of 3D processing elements, Parhelia-512 delivers the fastest 2D, 3D, DVD and video performance. Parhelia-512 is capable of sustaining very high performance levels even during the rendering of complex 3D scenes that simultaneously enable high polygon counts, FAA-16x antialiasing, 8-sample anisotropic filtering, 10-bit GigaColor Technology and deep vertex and pixel shaders. Pushing the limits of design and architecture, Parhelia-512 integrates the following high fidelity performance technologies:

World's first 512-bit GPU and 256-bit DDR memory interface One of the key aspects of providing sustained performance for complex applications is having a large amount of available memory bandwidth to feed the GPU. In addition to being the first 512-bit GPU, Parhelia-512 is also the first mainstream GPU to incorporate a true 256-bit DDR memory interface, delivering an unprecedented 20 gigabytes per second (GB/s) of memory bandwidth. Forming the backbone of the rendering and display engine, this high bandwidth architecture allows Parhelia-512 to offer the highest performance for 2D, 3D, DVD and video. Additionally, this high level of performance is sustained during the most complex rendering scenarios, even during high-resolution, multi-display computing.

Up to 256 MB 256-bit DDR (20 GB/s) Unified Frame Buffer 512-bit

Competing GPUs Up to 128 MB 128-bit DDR (10.4 GB/s) Unified Frame 256-bit Buffer

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

Quad Vertex Shader Array Parhelia-512 integrates four full vertex shader units into a single vertex-processing array capable of delivering extremely high vertex throughputs. With a 512-instruction cache, 256 constant registers and a sophisticated control unit, Parhelia-512 sustains maximum performance, even during the execution of the most complex vertex shader programs on high detail 3D geometry. In addition, the Quad Vertex Shader Array helps produce the most realistic lighting and animation effects. Parhelia-512 is also opti- mized for OpenGL standard lighting models, handling these at accelerated rates. Decal Specular

Quad Texturing Parhelia-512 is the first GPU to support single-pass quad texturing with four pixels-per-clock throughput. The four texturing units allow Parhelia-512 to sustain performance during multi-texturing. Quad-textured rendering With the latest generation of 3D games along with a plethora of future games expected to push the limits of texturing beyond dual texturing, Parhelia-512 is the only GPU to provide a rendering platform that sustains performance for cutting-edge graphics applications. Normal Caustic

36-Stage Shader Array With four programmable texture stages and five programmable pixel shader stages on each of the four pixel pipelines, Parhelia- 512's 36-Stage Shader Array boasts the fastest and most powerful pixel-rendering pipeline to date. The massive shading power of the engine allows Parhelia-512 to render real-life effects and the most demanding next-generation content at high performance rates. Additionally, each stage maintains 10-bit per color precision, which combined with GigaColor Technology, provides the highest quality 10-bit 3D rendering at no performance penalty. Compared to the maximum 16 stages available in competing solutions, Parhelia-512 more than doubles the raw rendering performance of quad-textured, pixel-shaded operations.

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

Distinct Innovative Features

I With a steadfast tradition of bringing trend-setting new features to market, Matrox leads the way once again with Parhelia-512, which offers more new and innovative features than any other graphics technology. These include:

Hardware Displacement Mapping Developed by Matrox and integrated as a standard feature in Microsoft’s DirectX® 9 API, Hardware Displacement Mapping is a powerful new method of representing and rendering complex 3D geometry using a simple and compact data representation. Hardware Displacement Mapping allows for the encoding of high- resolution geometric detail into 'displacement maps'. These maps, which represent height displacements from a low-resolution object mesh, can be stored as simple texture maps. Using dynamic, Depth-Adaptive Tessellation and mip-mapped Vertex Texturing, Hardware Displacement Mapping combines the base Grand Canyon rendered using mesh with the displacement map in real-time to enable stunning- Hardware Displacement Mapping. ly realistic 3D-rendered scenes. Displacement map for Grand Canyon

Surround Gaming The first technology to support up to three displays from a single graphics chip, Parhelia-512 delivers the IMAX® experience of 3D gaming by rendering supported 3D games across three displays and providing three times the regular field of view (FOV). Bridging the gap between virtual reality and reality, this panoramic view of the game fully engages the player's peripheral vision on the side displays, with the main point of focus on the center display. Additionally, it provides a competitive edge to gaming enthusiasts with a wider view of interactive scenes. With out-of-the-box sup- Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002 port for many popular games including Id Software™'s Quake III Arena™, Activision®'s Soldier of Fortune II, Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002 and LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC’s Jedi Knight® II, Surround Gaming provides gamers with a truly immersive environment that has to be experienced to be believed.

Id Software™'s Quake III Arena™

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

DualHead®-High Fidelity (HF) The pioneer of single-chip multi-display technology, Matrox has consistently provided the best multi-display technology. Since its introduction by Matrox four years ago, DualHead® has become an industry standard technology. With Parhelia-512's DualHead-HF, Matrox extends its leadership in multi-display solutions by intro- ducing the first fully symmetric, no-compromise multi-display support on a single graphics chip. DualHead-HF is powered by two full-featured display controllers, two 400MHz 10-bit RAMDACs, a 10-bit TV encoder and dual 165MHz DVI output support. With DualHead-HF, Parhelia-512 is capable of displaying dual 2048 x 1536 @ 32bpp analog outputs or dual 1920 x 1200 @ 32bpp digital outputs with hardware overlays, hardware cursors and gamma correction.

TripleHead Desktop mode Providing maximum screen real estate for professional computing, Parhelia-512 uses a specialized third RAMDAC to support a rectangular Windows® desktop stretched across three displays. Supporting a maximum resolution of 3840 x 1024 @ 32bpp, this ultra-wide desktop provides the ultimate in productivity for both professionals and enthusiasts.

PC-Theater DVD Playback Parhelia-512 is the first and only graphics chip to provide DVD playback with home-theatre quality on the PC. Similar to DVD set-top boxes, which use 10-bit technology to provide higher quality playback, Parhelia-512 incorporates 10-bit precision for DVD decoding, advanced video filtering and scaling. Additionally, it maintains 10-bit precision through to the display by providing 10-bit high-fidelity TV encoding—a feature commonly used as a differentiator in high-end DVD set-top boxes. Delivering the highest quality DVD playback ever on a PC, Parhelia-512 also features Matrox-pioneered DVDMax along with independent proc-amp controls for video overlay and TV output.

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

Matrox PowerDesk-High Fidelity (HF) First introduced in 1995, Matrox PowerDesk has consistently provided the most extensive set of configuration and desktop management tools for increased productivity. The new Matrox PowerDesk-HF utility suite is a power user's dream for hardware configuration and desktop management, especially in multi-display environments. It provides easy-to-use controls for advanced features and DualHead-HF setup and includes the renowned Matrox MultiDesk software, which provides support for multiple independent Windows desktops. In addition to a complete set of power utilities for graphics productivity, PowerDesk-HF also integrates a 10-bit color calibration utility for multi-display color matching. Comprehensive, and user-friendly, PowerDesk-HF comes with a fully integrated configuration wizard and tour.

Conclusion

I With Parhelia-512, Matrox continues to build on its global reputation as an industry leader in quality and visualization. Incorporating the most advanced features and initiatives in the industry, Parhelia-512 is a breakthrough rendering platform that delivers the ultimate in quality, performance and features to provide high-fidelity graphics—with no compromises.

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

Feature Description Benefit

10-bit GigaColor Technology A technology that enables the simultaneous I Higher color precision for graphics display of over one billion colors. Full 10-bit operations, rendering and output per channel precision is maintained I No banding artifacts on color gradients throughout the graphics pipeline including I Vibrant Windows® desktop, rich colors and the

Quality 10-bit RGB frame buffers, dual 10-bit sharpest in-game graphics gamma correctable RAMDACs and a 10-bit I Enhances desktop publishing, image editing, TV encoder. 2D CAD, 3D CAD, 3D gaming, and video

UltraSharp Display Output Technology A display output subsystem with a sophis- I Highest-fidelity RGB, DVI and TV outputs ticated new design that combines high- I Flicker-free, ultra-crisp displays precision RAMDACs, highly developed I No pixel ghosting, sparkling or electronics and filters, and advanced shadowing artifacts design techniques to ensure that signal I Reduction of user eye strain quality is maintained, even at the highest frequency desktop settings.

64 Super Sample Texture Filtering A highly advanced and flexible texture filtering I Highest-quality texture filtering subsystem that allows for the dynamic allo- I Minimal performance impact cation of up to 64 texture samples per I Anisotropic filtering quality at trilinear filtering clock. levels of performance I Trilinear filtering quality at bilinear filtering levels of performance

Glyph Antialiasing Hardware acceleration for text and glyph I Smooth, crisp and more readable text antialiasing with full user programmable I No system performance penalty gamma correction. I User customizable for personal preferences

16x Fragment Antialiasing (FAA-16x) An antialiasing algorithm developed by I Highest-quality antialiasing for edges Matrox that intelligently antialiases only I Low performance penalty edge pixels of triangles with 16x supersam- I No blurring of internal textures ple quality.

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

Feature Description Benefit

512-bit GPU and 256-bit DDR memory 512-bit wide internal chip architecture with I Highest performance for 2D, 3D, DVD and interface a 256-bit DDR interface to memory that video applications delivers an unprecedented 20 GB/sec I Sustained performance for high-resolution memory bandwidth and forms the back- and multi-display computing bone for the display and rendering engine. I Sustained performance for the most complex rendering scenarios Performance Quad Vertex Shader Array A T&L subsystem that integrates four full I Extremely high vertex throughput vertex shader units into a single vertex- I Sustained performance for complex vertex processing array along with a 512-instruction shader programs cache, 256 constant registers and a I Sustained performance for high detail 3D sophisticated control unit. geometry I Dramatically realistic lighting and animation effects

Quad Texturing Support for single-pass quad texturing with I Maximum texel throughput four pixels-per-clock throughout. I Sustained performance for quad texturing I Highest quality 3D texturing without performance penalty

36-Stage Shader Array A rendering subsystem that integrates four I Extremely high pixel throughput programmable texture stages and five pro- I Sustained performance for the most complex grammable pixel shader stages in each of pixel shading and rendering operations its four pixel pipelines, boasting the most I Ultra-realistic 3D scene rendering powerful and complex pixel rendering subsystem built to date.

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Matrox Parhelia™- 512 Technology Brief

Feature Description Benefit

Hardware Displacement Mapping A powerful new method of representing I Unprecedented levels of detail and realism in and rendering complex 3D geometry using 3D scenes a simple and compact data representation. I Maximum scalability and efficiency Underlying Depth-Adaptive Tessellation and I Real geometric extrusions Vertex Texturing technologies combine a I Compatible with static, dynamic and skinned base mesh with a displacement map in geometry Features real-time to generate high detail geometry.

Surround Gaming A technology that enables the rendering of I The IMAX® experience of 3D gaming supported 3D games across three displays I Engages gamer's peripheral vision on side with an ultra-wide field of view (FOV). displays I Bridges the gap between virtual reality and reality I Provides competitive edge with a wider view of interactive scenes I Out-of-box support for a wide variety of popular games

DualHead®-High Fidelity (HF) A display output subsystem that provides I High performance for dual-display computing fully symmetric capabilities and perform- I Symmetric capabilities on each output ance on each of the two display outputs. I Up to 2048 x 1536 @ 32bpp on each These include dual high-precision analog display RAMDACs, dual high-resolution DVI out- I Up to 1920 x 1200 @ 32bpp on each digital puts, dual gamma correctable hardware display overlays and dual hardware cursors.

TripleHead Desktop Mode Support for an ultra-wide rectangular I Maximum real estate for maximum productivity Windows desktop across three displays. I Up to 3840 x 1024 @ 32bpp analog resolution

PC-Theatre DVD Playback An advanced DVD playback system that I DVD playback with home-theatre quality on provides Matrox-pioneered DVDMax and the PC 10-bit precision during decoding, scaling, I Full quality, unscaled output of full-screen DVD filtering and output of MPEG-2 video on a TV streams.

Matrox PowerDesk-High Fidelity (HF) The most advanced Graphics User I Powerful, yet simple control of hardware and Interface (GUI) and tools for graphics hard- software features ware configuration and desktop manage- I Intuitive Windows XP-style user interface ment. Includes a full DualHead-HF setup, I Advanced tools for increased productivity advanced multiple desktop management I Easy control over display and color settings software, and a user-friendly configuration I Easy creation, configuration and manage- wizard and tour. ment of multiple independent desktops

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