S3 Inc announced that its DRAM-based Vision864 graphics accelerator was selected by Number Nine Computer Corp to deliver graphics to its low-cost No 9GXE64 add-in board. The No 9GXE64 supports high resolutions, extended colour depths and high refresh rates for $250, available immediately. The No 9GXE64 is available in PCI and VESA VL-bus models. The 1Mb board is field-upgradable to 2Mb and comes with Number Nine’s Hawkeye feature set of graphics utilities. The No 9GXE64 is multimedia-enabled with bi-directional video port that complies with the VESA Advanced Feature Connector specifications and enables motion video to be passed from a companion board into the No 9GXE64. The S3 Vision864 features an internal 64-bit engine and external 64-bit data paths using high-speed, VESA VL or PCI local buses. It is VGA and Super VGA compatible, and features VESA-compatible Green PC support. The Vision864 displays flicker-free, non-interlaced resolutions and high refresh rates from 800 by 600 in 16.7m colours at 72Hz, to 1,280 by 1,024 in 256 colours at 72 Hz. It supports frame buffer memory bandwidth up to 240Mb per second and sustains up to 220Mb per second of data bandwidth to the display screen. Users need this level of bandwidth to have access to more colour without compromising the screen performance and image quality.
