Tech
Matrox Parhelia-512
Matrox's newly-announced Parhelia-512 graphics chip looks set to cause a stir among the 3D gaming community. Here's a preview of what's on offer.
While nVidia and ATI have been battling it out in the 3D/gaming graphics arena, Matrox has stayed on the sidelines, pursuing the 2D business market pretty exclusively. But on 15 May, the company announced it was re-entering the fray with the Parhelia-512, a new, high-performance 3D graphics chip.
Matrox's Parhelia-512 is a 2D, 3D and DVD/video graphics processing unit (GPU) featuring 80 million 0.15-micron transistors and a 256-bit DDR memory interface providing over 20GB/sec (GB/s) of memory bandwidth.
The Parhelia-512 is named after the solar phenomenon (also known as a 'sun dog') where the sun is accompanied by two bright spots. According to Matrox, the Parhelia has its own celestial trio: unparalleled visual quality, superior performance, and innovative features. We can't say yet whether the Parhelia-512 will live up to Matrox's claims, but it does have some cutting-edge graphics technology. The chipset's 512-bit graphics processing unit (GPU) is loaded with 80 million 0.15-micron transistors, and its 256-bit DDR memory interface allows for up to 20GB/sec bandwidth speeds. Its AGP host interface is designed for up to 8X bandwidths and has a graphics engine that's compliant with OpenGL 1.3 and DirectX 8.1. The Parhelia-512 has other intriguing new features. The card uses Hardware Displacement Mapping (HDM), which adds depth and realism to textured objects in a way that bump mapping cannot. Also, the Parhelia-512 can support up to three simultaneous displays, giving a new dimension to desktop real estate and high-end gaming.
The Parhelia-512 is named after the solar phenomenon (also known as a 'sun dog') where the sun is accompanied by two bright spots. According to Matrox, the Parhelia has its own celestial trio: unparalleled visual quality, superior performance, and innovative features. We can't say yet whether the Parhelia-512 will live up to Matrox's claims, but it does have some cutting-edge graphics technology. The chipset's 512-bit graphics processing unit (GPU) is loaded with 80 million 0.15-micron transistors, and its 256-bit DDR memory interface allows for up to 20GB/sec bandwidth speeds. Its AGP host interface is designed for up to 8X bandwidths and has a graphics engine that's compliant with OpenGL 1.3 and DirectX 8.1. The Parhelia-512 has other intriguing new features. The card uses Hardware Displacement Mapping (HDM), which adds depth and realism to textured objects in a way that bump mapping cannot. Also, the Parhelia-512 can support up to three simultaneous displays, giving a new dimension to desktop real estate and high-end gaming.
The Parhelia-512's support for up to three simultaneous displays brings the promise of 'surround gaming' -- for those able to afford the hardware.
If you'd like to see the full list of the Parhelia-512's specifications and features, check out Matrox's Web site. The company won't be shipping Parhelia-512 cards until early July and pricing hasn't been finalised yet, but 128MB cards are expected to cost around $400 (£275). As soon as we get a Parhelia-512 card, we'll put it through its paces in our labs and post the results, so keep an eye on this space.
If you'd like to see the full list of the Parhelia-512's specifications and features, check out Matrox's Web site. The company won't be shipping Parhelia-512 cards until early July and pricing hasn't been finalised yet, but 128MB cards are expected to cost around $400 (£275). As soon as we get a Parhelia-512 card, we'll put it through its paces in our labs and post the results, so keep an eye on this space.