With its new Banshee chip, 3Dfx Interactive Inc has its eye on the 2D/3D corporate market, no doubt looking to replicate the success of chips like nVidia Corp’s RIVA 128 (CI No 3,408). The company has just released details of its single chip accelerator, claiming to offer ‘the fastest 2D performance in the world’. The chip has just completed its first round of testing and was said to be immediately running games, applications and benchmarks. 3Dfx is almost ready to start a second sampling round. The company claims it has achieved higher levels of 2D performance by implementing in hardware operations that usually place a high demand on software drawing routines. For instance, the company claims that the chip supports 256 raster operations (ROPS), with 99% of those operations performed in hardware. The Banshee will also have the first 128 bit VGA for pumping up the performance of DOS applications and games, according to 3Dfx. The company is not entirely forsaking its gaming heritage – promising a new 3D capability that ‘will turn some heads’ and full compatibility with its Voodoo and Voodoo2 range. There are no details yet on pricing or shipping dates.
