Further confirming the dominance of 3Dfx Interactive Inc’s Voodoo2 chipset (CI No 3,407) in the three dimensional gaming market. San Jose, California-based Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc is now shipping its Voodoo2 based 12MB Monster 3D II X100 accelerator. The X100 offers 4MB Extended Data Out (EDO) memory and 8MB dedicated to texture processing, which, according to graphics unit vice president Scott Vouri should be appreciated, when more 3D games capable of taking advantage of it are released later this year. The X100 is marginally later to market than some of its 12MB competitors, such as the Pure 3D II board from fellow Californian company, Canopus Corp. However, the X100 offers a new twist on the Voodoo2 theme, the ability to link two Monster 3D II boards together, running from separate PCI-bus slots and connected by ribbon cable. The company calls the option MEGAmonster and claims that it offers resolution support up to 1024×768 with 16-bit color. The 12MB Monster 3D II X100 retails at $300.00.
