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3Dlabs., Inc. Ltd. (Nasdaq: TDDD) today announced that its acclaimed Wildcat II graphics is providing the core graphics technology for the new Sun(TM) Expert3D-Lite professional graphics card from Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW). Available immediately worldwide, the Sun Expert3D-Lite with Wildcat II technology was developed by 3Dlabs according to Sun specifications and requirements, with Sun engineers providing optimized interfaces and drivers for maximum performance in the Sun Solaris(TM) Operating Environment.
The performance and efficiency of the Wildcat II technology enabled Sun to deliver a professional-level graphics card at prices never before seen in the Unix workstation market. Compared to Sun’s own Elite3D m3 graphics board, the Sun Expert3D-Lite graphics accelerator delivers 300 percent greater texture mapping performance, 58 percent higher 3D resolutions support, 30 percent faster geometry performance, and 300 percent more onboard memory-all for about half the cost. In addition, the Expert3D-Lite has been extensively tested and certified with leading technical software from Alias|Wavefront(TM), Autometric, Dassault, EAI, ERDAS, GeoQuest, Landmark, PTC, Paradigm Geo, SDRC. and Unigraphics Solutions..
3Dlabs announced that its acclaimed Wildcat II graphics is providing the core graphics technology for the new Sun Expert3D-Lite professional graphics card from Sun Microsystems.
”We’re pleased to once again have the opportunity to work with Sun Microsystems in bringing high-performance Wildcat graphics technology to the Unix marketplace at a very affordable price,” said Osman Kent, president and CEO of 3Dlabs. ”At 3Dlabs, we’re dedicated to serving the needs of graphics professionals in all areas of the market, regardless of their preferred platform.”
”By leveraging the architecture of our high-end Sun Expert3D graphics board, the Sun Expert3D-Lite delivers professional graphics quality and many of the same capabilities of the Sun Expert3D-but at one-third the price,” said Fred Kohout, Director of Marketing, Technical Market Products Group at Sun Microsystems. ”3Dlabs’ Wildcat II graphics technology is an important component in our goal of bringing 64-bit computing to an ever-wider audience of professionals working in mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD), geographic information systems (GIS), digital content creation and medical imaging.”
New Price/Performance Milestone for Unix-based Workstations
Sun’s announcement of the Sun Expert3D-Lite with Wildcat II graphics coincided with the unveiling of Sun’s new Sun Blade(TM) 100 workstation, a key product launch for Sun that sets a new price point for 64-bit workstations with high-end 3D graphics. In addition to the Sun Blade 100, the Sun Expert3D-Lite graphics accelerator with Wildcat II technology will be supplied in a broad range of Sun workstations, including the acclaimed Ultra 60 and 80 workstations, and the high-end Sun Blade 1000 workstation. Professionals can use up to four Sun Expert3D-Lite graphics accelerators in a single Sun workstation, with applications spanning multiple displays or viewed as a single virtual display.
