3Dlabs Inc has announced the second generation of its Permedia graphics processor family which it claims is twice a fast as the previous version. Permedia 2 accelerates both two- and three- dimensional graphics, integrates 3D geometry set-up processing and carries out MPEG-2 video playback, the San Jose, California- based company said. Unlike its predecessor, the new version incorporates both the floating point geometry set-up and the RAMDAC on the chip rather than on the host processor, making the graphics processing faster. The 230Mhz RAMDAC is based on the company’s Glint Delta technology. The new chip is compatible with both PCI and AGP buses and provides hardware acceleration for OpenGL and Direct3D. 3D Labs is targeting the chips at the commercial desktop, entry-level professional and power consumer markets. It said it already has a line up of 14 companies set to build the chip into graphics boards, including Diamond Multimedia, Digital Equipment Corp, Radius Inc and the Symmetric subsidiary of STB Systems Inc. Texas Instruments Inc is manufacturing the devices as well as licensing them. The chip is sampling now and has a list price of $35 in volume. Boards with integrated Permedia 2 chips are expected to start shipping in the summer. Texas and 3Dlabs will co-market the chips.
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