Diamond Multimedia's New Micronics M280 System Board Delivers Integrated Audio & Graphics Solution for the Sub-$1000 PC Market

Business Wire, Nov 12, 1998

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 1998--

First Diamond Micronics Integrated System Board Targets Cost-Conscious

System Integrators and Entry-Level Upgrade Market

Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:DIMD), a leader in multimedia acceleration and PC entertainment, announced today its first integrated Super 7 motherboard featuring onboard video and audio solutions for under $110.

The Micronics M280 is a Micro ATX solution featuring the SiS530/5595 chipset and supporting the Intel Pentium w/MMX(tm), Cyrix MII(tm), AMD-K6(R) 2, and IDT WinChip(tm) C6(tm) processors with speeds up to 450MHz. With 100MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) speeds, integrated SiS 2D/3D AGP graphics and Aureal Semiconductor's Vortex 8820 PCI sound, the Micronics M280 is an excellent choice for an entry-level multimedia Super 7 platform.

"Our introduction of the Micronics M280 marks Diamond's progression towards the ultimate, integrated multimedia system board," says Danny Hsu, director of product marketing of the Systems Business Unit at Diamond.

"We've leveraged the talents of Micronics engineering and Diamond's experience in graphics and audio to create a system board solution that meets the worldwide need for a cost-effective, integrated system board. The Micronics M280 is a 3-in-1 system board targeted at distributors and integrators addressing the 'segment zero' sub-$1000 PC market and consumers seeking a user-friendly, cost-performance platform well suited for multimedia computing."

Micronics M280

Complete with support for PC-100 SDRAM memory, the Micronics M280 features two PCI slots and one ISA slot. The new system board also provides Dual Channel PCI bus mastering EIDI with Ultra DMA/33 protocol support and two Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports. Other features include double-stacked I/O ports, Award/Phoenix BIOS on 2MB flash, and an optional system hardware monitoring device to gauge temperature and voltage levels. The Micronics M280 system board has a U.S. estimated retail price (ERP) of $109.95 and is scheduled to ship late in December to system integrators, VARs, and retail outlets worldwide.

About Diamond Multimedia

Diamond Multimedia is driving the interactive multimedia market by providing advanced solutions for home, business and professional desktop computer users, enabling them to create, access and experience compelling new media content from their desktops and through the Internet. Diamond accelerates multimedia from the Internet to the user with products that include the Stealth and Viper(R) series of media accelerators, the Monster series of entertainment 3D and sound accelerators, the Fire series of professional 3D accelerators, the Micronics series of system boards, the Supra(R) series of modems, and the HomeFree line of home networking products.

Diamond's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol DIMD, and its web site address is www.diamondmm.com.

How to Contact Diamond Multimedia

There are many ways to reach Diamond for sales support, technical assistance, driver updates and general information: -0-

Internet Web Site:  http://www.diamondmm.com
Diamond Multimedia's Headquarters and Multimedia Division:
 408/325-7000; Fax: 408/325-7070
Systems Business Unit (Micronics brand system boards) Main Phone
 Number: 510/651-2300
Communications Division (Supra brand modems) Main Phone Number:
 360/604-1400; Fax: 360/604-1401
European Division (Germany): +49-8151-266-0; (UK): +44-1189-444400;
 (France) +33-1-55381600
Korean Office (Seoul): +82-2-551-2700; Fax: +82-2-551-2710
Japanese Office (Tokyo): +81-3-5695-8401; Fax: +81-3-5695-8403
ASEAN Office (Singapore): +65-353-9511; Fax: +65-353-9510
Hong Kong Office: +852-2375-9023; Fax: +852-2375-9021
Australian Office (Sydney): +61-2-9460-2355; Fax +61-2-9460-2360
Swedish Office: +46-417-40060; Fax +46-417-40054
Product Support (Voice), United States: 541/967-2450; Europe (Germany)
 +49-8151-266-330; Europe (UK) +44-1189-444444; Europe (France)
 +33-1-55381616; TDD/TTY Support 541-967-2451
Product Support (Fax), United States: 541/967-2401; Europe (Germany)
 +49-8151-266-331; Europe (UK): +44-1189-444445; (France)
 +33-1-55381601
Pre-sales Information: 1-800/468-5846
24-Hour Fax-On-Demand Service: 1-800/380-0030
Investor Relations: 408/325-7476; 1-888/474-3463 (U.S. and Canada)
FTP site: ftp.diamondmm.com
BBS: 541-967-2444 (to 33.6 Kbps);  Europe (Germany) BBS at
 +49-8151-266333 (to 28.8 Kbps) or +49-8151-266334 (ISDN); Europe (UK)
 at +44-1189-444415 (to 33.6 Kbps)

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Note to Editors: Monster 3D, Supra and HomeFree are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. Monster(R) is a registered trademark of Monster Cable. Viper(R) is a registered trademark of Directed Electronics, Inc., Used under License. All other trademarks referenced are the service mark, trademark or registered trademark of their respective manufacturers. This announcement relates to products whose introductions are in North America. The product name, contents, prices and availability may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements.