Press Release
- 2003
Three new visual processors extend ATI’s performance lead in key PC graphics markets
ATI launches the most comprehensive and feature-rich product lineup in desktop graphics history
Wednesday March 5, 2003
MARKHAM, ON and GDC, SAN JOSE, CA, — ATI
Technologies Inc. (TSX: ATY, NASDAQ: ATYT), in a first for
the graphics industry, today simultaneously launched three
visual processors for desktop PCs. With these processors,
ATI cements its leadership at the high end and offers the
best performance through the volume mainstream segments.
The processors are being rapidly adopted by OEMs, system
builders and retail partners.
Today’s launch introduces three new Radeon® product
families, each with features, performance and value unmatched
in their respective classes. The Radeon® 9800 PRO is
the fastest available and will win the hearts of hardcore
gamers everywhere. The Radeon® 9600 series delivers
high-end features and performance with price tags that appeal
to the broader market. The Radeon® 9200 series, designed
for the mainstream market, matches great value with performance
and features suitable for today’s 3D games.
“Last year we took the performance crown in the high-end.
This year we deliver performance to the whole market,” said
Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President, Marketing and General
Manager, Desktop, ATI Technologies Inc. “By rapidly
driving our high-end technologies into the mainstream, we
bring a compelling game experience to users across the board.
Delivering three extremely sophisticated visual processors
at once underlines the strength of our engineering teams
and our ability to execute.”
Gateway, Fujitsu Siemens and NEC are all announcing systems
powered by the new Radeon boards. Gateway has chosen the
Radeon 9800 PRO as the graphics powerhouse in their new 700XL
system, which will be available soon. Fujitsu Siemens has
selected the Radeon 9200, Radeon 9600 and Radeon 9800 products
for its Scaleo PCs and NEC has chosen Radeon 9200 products
for its Packard Bell range and the Radeon 9800 PRO for the
NEC iSelect.
All the major gaming-focused system integrators have also
chosen the new Radeon products. ABS Computers, Alienware
Corp., CyberPower, Falcon Northwest, iBuyPower, MDG, and
Voodoo PC will include Radeon 9800, Radeon 9600 and Radeon
9200 products in their current and upcoming systems.
ATI and its board partners, which include Connect3D, FIC,
Gigabyte, Hercules, Hightech, PowerColor, Sapphire, Tyan,
Visiontek, Wistron and YUAN, will announce and ship products
based on Radeon 9800, Radeon 9600 and Radeon 9200 technologies
starting this month.
Radeon 9800
Targeting the ultra-high-end/enthusiast segment, the Radeon
9800 products deliver unequaled performance, features,
image quality and stability, which are the key criteria
for hardcore gamers everywhere. A 256-bit memory interface
and eight powerful pixel pipelines provide the brute force
and finesse to deliver real-time, Hollywood-caliber graphics – even
for the most demanding next-generation games – and
sets it apart from anything on the market. Programmable
shader engines, full speed, full floating-point precision
and support for the latest Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0
and OpenGL® feature sets ensure games look great even
at breakneck speeds. Radeon 9800 products illustrate an
important point – you don’t have to sacrifice
performance for image quality.
Radeon 9600
Delivering the best product in the enthusiast segment is
also crucial to winning mind share in the performance and
mainstream segments, which represent large portions of
the graphics hardware market. The Radeon 9600 series brings
cinematic realism and unprecedented power to the performance
segment, where customers are looking for the most advanced
features and performance, at a more affordable price. Driven
by its full floating point architecture featuring quad
pixel pipes and dual vertex engines, the Radeon 9600 series
of visual processors deliver amazing performance, full
support for the latest Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0
and OpenGL® feature sets and advanced anti-aliasing
and anisotropic filtering technologies. The first of ATI’s
products to be developed using an advanced 130 nanometer
production process, the Radeon 9600 products offer an excellent
entertainment value.
Radeon 9200
Powered by an advanced quad-pipe rendering architecture,
the Radeon 9200 series delivers a dazzling visual experience
with the highest performance in its class. With a full
suite of performance and image quality-enhancing technologies
including full support for the AGP 8X and Microsoft® DirectX® 8.1
standards, and streaming video de-blocking capabilities,
features unique in this segment, Radeon 9200-based products
deliver sharp, clear graphics and video imagery. Radeon
9200 products offer an unbeatable value, with prices right
for the most price-conscious consumer.
Catalyst®
All of ATI’s products, including these newest additions,
are supported by Catalyst®, ATI’s unified suite
of software. Catalyst includes the only DirectX 9 driver
that is Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certified,
a key criterion for OEMs and corporate customers.
For more information on these products or ATI’s current
lineup of award winning products, please visit www.ati.com.
Copyright
2003 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.
About ATI Technologies, Inc.
ATI Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative
3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions. An industry pioneer since
1985, ATI is the world's foremost visual processor unit (GPU) provider and
is dedicated to deliver leading-edge performance solutions for the full range
of PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstation, set-top and digital
television, game console and handheld markets. With 2001 revenues in excess
of US $1 billion, ATI has more than 1,900 employees in the Americas, Europe
and Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange
(ATY).
Contact Information
For media or industry analyst support, visit our
Web site at http://www.ati.com
For Information:
Patricia Mikula, Public Relations Manager, Desktop and Workstation
Products, at (905) 882-2600, Ext. 8809 or pmikula@ati.com
Other ATI Contacts:
Tenille Cuthbertson, Consultant, BenchMark Porter Novelli, at (416) 422-7163
or tcuthbertson@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
