Silicon Graphics Computer Systems Inc is claiming a breakthrough in graphics technology that for the first time enables users to interact with realistic moving images. Incorporated into the new MIPS Computer RISC-based Iris 4D/60GT and 4D/70GT stations, the technology enables designers of cars and aircraft to try out new designs and ideas for moving objects on the screen, avoiding the need to build models so that an engineer can see the performance of a car suspension as it moves along a bumpy road without the need for road testing. Silicon Graphics reckons this capability was previously available only in supercomputers costing $6m and up, against under $100,000 for its new stations. The new technology is is a combination of the new architecture and five of its proprietary Geometry Engines, plus 20 other special purpose graphics CPUs in a massively parallel processing structure that does 500m operations per second. The Iris 4D/70GT is $89,900 and the 4D/60GT is $74,900.
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