Press Release
- Archives 2001
ATI introduces Radeon® 8500, the world’s fastest, most advanced technology graphics board
Radeon® 8500 offers best visual effects, unsurpassed gaming performance, and is first chip to fully support Microsoft’s DirectX 8.1 specification
Tuesday August 14, 2001
MARKHAM, Ontario - ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY, NASDAQ:ATYT), a world leader in the supply of graphics, video and multimedia solutions, today introduced the Radeon® 8500, the world’s fastest and most technologically advanced graphics board and the foundation for ground-breaking visual effects -- affording consumers an unsurpassed 3D gaming experience.
The Radeon 8500 graphics board, powered by the most advanced graphics processor chip in the world, delivers up to 33 percent higher performance than the nearest competitive product (1). It features a core clock speed of 250 MHz (megahertz), memory clock speed of 275 MHz and 64MB (megabytes) of DDR (double data rate) memory. Available in late September, it has an MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) of (US) $399.
“The Radeon 8500 clearly positions ATI as the technology and performance leader. Enthusiasts will find an unequalled visual experience in the Radeon 8500,” said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Desktop Marketing, ATI Technologies Inc. “With the Radeon 8500 GPU (graphics processing unit), the industry moves a quantum step forward, towards full visual reality on the PC and Macintosh platforms.”
Major technological advancements include TruForm™, an innovative rendering technology that helps to deliver the smoothest, most natural 3D images ever seen on existing and next-generation 3D games; and SmartShader™, an advanced technology that takes advantage of Microsoft’s new DirectX 8.1 specification, including supporting Pixel Shaders Version 1.4 to enable more complex and realistic texture and lighting effects without sacrificing performance.
“Beyond what ATI’s Radeon 8500 will do in the way of offering a great 3D platform for next-generation games is what it will do for current games through its innovative TruForm technology,” said Mark Dochtermann, Technical Director, MumboJumbo. “When playing Myth II on TruForm-enabled 3D hardware, the Myrkridia, Trow and other units look much more natural and realistic than ever before, bringing gamers one giant step closer to experiencing full visual reality with this graphics chip.”
DirectX 8.1 is an integral part of Microsoft’s new Windows XP operating system, due to ship this Fall. All the features available on the DirectX platform will also be available under OpenGL®.
“We are entering the next generation of GPUs and ATI’s Radeon 8500 has the features to be a leader in the graphics market,” said Dr. Jon Peddie, President, Jon Peddie Associates, the leading market research company tracking digital media. “The pent-up demand for the programmability and range of control found in TruForm and SmartShader is enormous and this new technology will empower a whole new class of amazing, realistic games and visualization applications.”
Also underpinning Radeon 8500’s industry-leading visual effects and multimedia capabilities are the following technologies:
- HYPERZ™ II, a next-generation memory bandwidth saving technology, that boosts rendering performance by 25 percent;
- Charisma Engine™ II, which supports full transform, clipping and lighting (T&L) at 62.5 million triangles/second peak processing capability;
- Pixel Tapestry™ II, the Radeon 8500’s 3D rendering engine, which uses four rendering pipelines to process an incredible 2 gigatexels per second for the highest fill rates in 32-bit color at high resolutions;
- Hydravision™, ATI’s world-leading, multi-monitor desktop management software optimizes the dual display experience with user controllable shortcut keys and individual application settings. The Radeon 8500 takes advantage of Hydravision with its integrated dual display controllers, enabling true dual monitor support, for the first time in a high-performance gaming product;
- Video Immersion™ II, a second-generation technology that enables integration of industry-leading digital video features, including DVD (digital versatile disc) video playback and advanced de-interlacing algorithms for unprecedented video quality.
“We are at the dawn of a new era in the 3D PC market with the introduction of the Radeon 8500. The game development community will finally be able to create games that closely mirror photo realism,” explained Toshi Okumura, Senior Product Manager, Desktop Marketing, ATI Technologies Inc. “Not only will the Radeon 8500 offer the world’s fastest gaming experience, but the new technologies integrated in this GPU will enable visually compelling gaming encounters. The Radeon 8500 clearly positions ATI as the performance and technology leader in the PC graphics market.”
(1) Based on 3Dmark 2001 benchmark tests performed in July 2001. For more information on the benchmarking process, visit www.MadOnion.com.
Copyright 2001 ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. ATI and ATI product and product feature names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Company Background
Founded in 1985, ATI Technologies Inc. is a
world leader in the supply of graphics, video and multimedia
solutions for the personal computer and Mac platforms. The
pioneer, innovator and market leader in the graphics industry,
ATI provides cutting-edge technologies for the PC, workstation,
set-top box, game console and other consumer appliances markets.
The Company has more than 1,900 employees supporting customers
from its headquarters in Markham, Ontario, Canada, as well
as from offices in Barbados, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland,
Japan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock
Exchange (ATY).
Contact Information
For media or industry analyst support, please
visit our Web site at or contact:
Patricia Macdonald,
Public Relations Manager,
Desktop,
ATI Technologies Inc.,
at (905) 882-2600 Ext. 8809 or pmacdona@ati.com
Derek Baker,
Counsellor,
BenchMark Porter Novelli
at (416) 422-7158 or dbaker@bmporternovelli.com
John B. Challinor II APR,
Director,
Public Relations,
ATI Technologies Inc.,
at (905) 882-2600 Ext. 8815 or jchallin@ati.com
Anne Ferguson,
Senior Counsellor,
BenchMark Porter Novelli,
at (416) 422-7154 or aferguson@bmporternovelli.com
For investor relations support, please contact:
Janet Craig,
Director,
Investor Relations,
ATI Technologies Inc.,
at (905) 882-2600, Ext. 2631 or jcraig@ati.com
