ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY, NASDAQ:ATYT), a world leader in the supply of graphics, video and multimedia solutions, announced today it has taken performance leadership in the PC graphics industry with the introduction of its next generation Radeon® processors, the world's most powerful and innovative family of graphics chip and board technologies offering the ultimate in pure gaming power, 3D quality of the highest order and unparalleled price-performance.

Building on the performance leadership demonstrated by its second-generation Radeon chip and board technologies announced today, and founded on the heritage of its first-generation Radeon products, ATI's new family of graphics processors delivers unprecedented performance for both enthusiast and mainstream computing, offering consumers the most complete range of solutions available from any graphics manufacturer in the world.

"Today's introduction of our revolutionary, new Radeon family of graphics processors is proof-positive of our ability to deliver on our strategy that calls for technology leadership, improving market share leadership and absolute customer acceptance of ATI's value," said David Orton, President & Chief Operating Officer, ATI Technologies Inc. "ATI is breaking new ground in high-performance gaming, mainstream 3D visual effects and mid-range workstation content development capability, while establishing a new standard for power, quality and value in every category in our industry."

The new Radeon graphics processor family consists of three category-leading products:

Radeon® 8500: Designed with the most advanced graphics technology in the world, the Radeon 8500 delivers up to 33 percent higher performance than the nearest competitive graphics processor (1). 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 the new Microsoft DirectX 8.1 API (application programming interface) to enable more complex and realistic texture and lighting effects without sacrificing performance, including supporting Pixel Shaders Version 1.4.

Radeon® 7500: This graphics processor offers an ideal combination of performance, innovative 3D features and real value for mainstream commercial and consumer computer users. It delivers up to a 60 percent improvement in performance compared to the previous generation of Radeon high-performance processors (2). The Radeon 7500 targets the performance mainstream, offering a level of performance not seen at its price point;

FireGL 8800: Combining the FireGL's pioneering workstation reputation and software excellence in OpenGL with ATI's new industry-leading technology, the FireGL 8800 is easily the most affordable mid-range 3D graphics board for CAD/CAM and the modelling and animation aspects of digital content and creation.

Radeon® 8500: The Ultimate Gaming Graphics Card
The Radeon 8500 is powered by the most advanced graphics technology in the world, and features 64MB of DDR (double data rate) memory, digital flat panel (DVI) support as well as dual monitor and video output, and DVD (digital versatile disc) video playback. The first gaming card with complete hardware support for DirectX 8.1, the Radeon 8500 will be available in late September and has an MSRP of (US) $399.

"The Radeon 8500 clearly positions ATI as the technology and performance leader in the enthusiast segment of the PC desktop market, providing an unequalled visual experience for games," said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President of Marketing & General Manager, Desktop Business, ATI Technologies Inc. "The Radeon 8500 moves our industry's objective of bringing full visual reality to the PC and Mac platforms a quantum step forward."

"With the TruForm and SmartShader components of the Radeon 8500 graphics chip, combined with the DirectX 8.1 environment that will first be available in the Windows XP operating system, game developers can produce more visually innovative and complex 3D computer graphics including higher order surfaces without hindering performance," said Channing Verbeck, Director of Windows Graphics and Gaming Technologies at Microsoft Corp. "We look forward to continuing to work with innovators like ATI that utilise the ground-breaking features in DirectX 8.1, such as the improved pixel shaders, to help bring the game development community the best platform for next generation Windows-based PC games."

"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 III 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."

Radeon® 7500: The Performance Mainstream Graphics Board
The Radeon 7500 brings premium-level features to the mainstream market. Coming standard with dual-monitor support, including VGA (video graphics array) and digital flat panel (DVI) displays and integrated TV-out, low power and acoustic levels and proven technologies, the Radeon 7500 features 64MB DDR. Available in late September, it has an MSRP of (US) $199.

"The lion's share of the market for graphics products is represented by mainstream users who are looking for a combination of price and performance, yet with features that enhance visual reality - and ATI has hit the mark better than anyone else historically; and it looks like history will repeat itself with ATI's latest offering, the Radeon 7500," said Dr. Jon Peddie, President, Jon Peddie Associates. "With memory bandwidth up to 8.8GB/sec, performance that has only been seen on the current generation of high-performance boards, the Radeon 7500 packs a lot of punch for a mainstream price."

"Radeon 7500 builds on the strength of the original, award winning Radeon technology," said Jewelle Schiedel-Webb, Director, Product Marketing, Desktop Marketing, ATI Technologies Inc. "The overall value proposition associated with the Radeon 7500 - processor speed, 3D performance and price - is unparalleled."

FireGL 8800: The Mid-range Workstation Solution The FireGL 8800 combines the extensive and proven workstation experience of the FireGL brand with the leading edge technology of the Radeon 8800 chip to offer workstation users a fully-featured, economically-priced, mid-range workstation solution. Featuring 64MB DDR memory and VGA and DVI support, the FireGL 8800 is optimised for superior application performance using OpenGL and Linux drivers. It is the first workstation graphics processor in the industry to support the Microsoft DirectX 8.1 API. It begins shipping in October.

"The FireGL 8800 provides ATI with a fully-featured, mid-range workstation graphics board to complement its recently introduced high-performance FireGL 4 processor," said Ian Cartwright, Vice President & General Manager, Workstation Products, ATI Technologies Inc. "This newest addition to the FireGL line will redefine the price versus performance value proposition. In addition, it offers ATI customers and technology partners a high-performance workstation product that is fully capable of supporting the most intensive CAD/CAM and digital content and creation requirements."

"The market for workstation products based on Intel processors and Microsoft operating systems has grown steadily since the original introduction of these technologies in 1996, so much so that this market has become the mainstream segment where most workstation computing is done," said Pia Rieppo, Principal Analyst, Workstations, Gartner Dataquest. "Today, the 3D capabilities of these widely-used platforms have been considerably enhanced, such that intricate CAD/CAM and digital content creation applications - considered far too complex for these workman-like products just a few years ago - are now possible at attractive price points."

(1) Based on 3DMark 2001 benchmark tests performed in July 2001. For more information on the benchmarking process, visit www.MadOnion.com

(2) Based on 3DwinBench benchmark tests performed in July 2001. For more information on the benchmarking process, visit www.ZDNet.com

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).

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.
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