Contact Information: Media Contact: Rita Tennyson TERPIN COMMUNICATIONS (310) 821-6100 x104 rita@terpin.com
Diamond's Newest Vista-Ready Viper Model Provides Fastest Performance of Any 3D Card
Four Versions of X1950PRO Include PCIE & AGP
| Source: Diamond Multimedia
CHATSWORTH, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 14, 2006 --Diamond Multimedia (www.diamondmm.com), a
leading manufacturer of PC graphics cards, sound cards and communications
products, has begun shipping two PCI-E versions of the X1950PRO with AGP
versions in December.
The Viper X1950PRO represents the pinnacle of achievement in a wide-ranging
series of high-performance graphics cards produced by Diamond and featuring
the powerful ATI Radeon® chip that outperforms any other single or
dual-slot solutions. This card uses the Radeon X1950 GPU and comes in both
256MB and 512MB GDDR3 interfaces. It has a core clock speed of 575MHz and
a 1.38GHz memory speed. It supports Dual DVI (x2 Dual-link), HDTV, D-sub
and VIVO.
The X1950PRO is one of the first graphics cards to feature the native
CrossFire® technology with the new plug-and-play CrossFire configuration.
Native CrossFire makes use of CrossFire bridge interconnect cables that
attach directly to the cards for easy installation, while still delivering
the same high-performance multi-GPU gaming experience CrossFire is known
for, enabling high resolutions and refresh rates.
Yet another breakthrough is the X1950PRO's support of High Dynamic Range
(HDR) with full post-processing capabilities, including anti-aliasing,
providing sharp texture filtering to ensure that every game detail is crisp
and clear. The X1950PRO also features built-in native HDCP (High-bandwidth
Digital Content Protection).
The Viper X1950PRO supports DirectX 9, and Shader Mode 3.0. It is
Microsoft Windows Vista-ready and supported by Catalyst Control Center, the
award-winning feature-rich 3D software application. Catalyst automatically
configures optimal settings for the user's system, and is packed with
features that go far beyond traditional driver configuration software. The
Radeon Ultra-Threaded Shader Engine will handle up to 128 threads at once,
as well as up to 48 simultaneous shader processors, featuring a
revolutionary 3-to-1 shader-to-texture ratio.
All Diamond video cards also carry the Diamond guarantee of quality
assurance. Unlike many cards that are simply first to market, Diamond
carefully tests and retests every new model for its ratio of performance to
reliability. Diamond is legendary in the PC video card business for its
low return rates -- less than 1 percent versus an industry average of
approximately 10 percent -- and attributes this to its intensive testing,
detailed product knowledge down to the component level, superior
relationships with suppliers and unyielding commitment to quality. Diamond
cards use superior connectors, cables and components, as well as undergo
more thorough testing for heat susceptibility and durability, and this is
directly reflected in its superior track record of longevity at the highest
levels of performance.
The X1950PRO retails at $229 and $179 for PCIE, and $249 and $299 for AGP.
All Diamond cards are available through most North American distributors,
such as ASI, D&H, Ingram Micro and TechData along with most leading
computer retailers and e-commerce sites like NewEgg.com and Amazon.com.
About Diamond Multimedia
For the past two decades, Diamond Multimedia has been widely recognized as
a pioneer in the graphics, sound and communications industries and as a key
player in launching the multimedia revolution. Through the process of
specialization, multimedia companies have become nearly extinct, each
concentrating on a few aspects but never again addressing a complete
experience. In that time evolution and natural selection has transformed
Diamond into a new type of multimedia company, a company that brings all of
the differing technologies together under one brand. Diamond Multimedia is
partnered with some of the top technology companies including AMD as ATI
graphics provider.
Diamond provides the absolute best quality in advanced graphics, digital
television, communications and sound hardware solutions for home and
business users, enabling users to create, access and experience compelling
new media content from their desktops and through the internet.
Diamond products are available to the public throughout North America
through retailers, resellers and systems integrators as well as top
technology product distributors. Diamond products stand for performance,
quality and value. Corporate headquarters are located in Chatsworth,
California.