Diamond Multimedia's Monster Sound MX300 Audio Accelerator Wins Seventeen Leading Industry Awards in Just Three Months

Business Wire, March 2, 1999

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 1999--

Monster Sound MX300 Positional 3D Audio Card Receives PC

Magazine's "Editor's Choice" Honor and Computer Gaming World's

"1999 Best Hardware" Premier Award

Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:DIMD), a leader in PC multimedia and Internet connectivity, today announced that the company's state-of-the-art Monster Sound MX300 audio accelerator received PC Magazine's "Editors' Choice" award as the best sound card in the "The Ultimate Upgrade Guide", March 9, 1999 issue and Computer Gaming World magazine's "Best Hardware" award as the top gaming hardware for 1998 in the April 1999 issue.

"In addition to four-channel output, a generous software bundle, and foolproof setup routines, the Monster Sound boasts some of the most powerful MIDI and 3-D we've seen," reported PC Magazine.

Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 sound card, based on Aureal Semiconductor's Vortex(TM) 2 processor and A3D 2.0 audio technology, features multi-dimensional sound that reflects the acoustics and surfaces of each game environment and provides a fully immersive 3D audio experience for one of the most complete audio solutions for PC games and DVD movies.

"We're very excited about these awards as they further acknowledge the quality of Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 and our delivery of a high-performance sound card to today's computer users looking for the utmost in PC gaming and entertainment," said Scott Vouri, vice president and general manager of the Multimedia Division at Diamond Multimedia. "The Monster Sound MX300 delivers innovative audio capabilities right to the ears of PC consumers at a very attractive price."

An Impressive List of Accolades

These most recent industry awards enhance an impressive list of honors and awards in just three short months of shipping the Monster Sound MX300 to PC consumers and gaming enthusiasts. Featured in both online and hardcover publications, Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 has won significant recognition in head-to-head comparisons since its launch, including:

-- "Best Hardware -- 1999" award, Computer Gaming World, April 1999

issue -- "4 1/2 Stars out of 5 -- Stamp of Approval", Computer Games

Strategy Plus, April 1999 issue -- "Editor's Choice" award, PC Magazine, March 9, 1999 issue -- "Ten out of Ten" 3D Audio Wars, PC Accelerator, March 1999 issue -- "Editors' Choice" award, Computer Dealers News, February 26, 1999

issue -- "Hardware of the Year" award, MPOG.com, February 1999 -- "4.5 out of 5" rating, Computer Games online, January 1999 -- "9.8 Rating out of 10", igamer.net, January 1999 -- "Kick-Ass Award", Maximum PC, January 1999 issue -- "100% and Phatty Boom Batty Blunt" award, PC Fan, January 1999 -- "9 out of 10" rating, AGN3D, December 1998 -- "1998 Sound Card of the Year", Gamers Depot, December 1998 -- "4.5 our 5" rating, Gamespot, December 1998 --

"Five Stars out of Five", MPOG.com, December 1998 -- "4.5 Rating out of 5", Sharky Extreme, December 1998 -- "98% and Sonic Boom" award, 3D Audio Immersion, December 1998 -- "Whoop Ass" award, Voodoo Extreme, December 1998

Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 state-of-the-art positional 3D audio solution has been further accredited as the sound card of choice for leading system manufacturers.

Monster Sound MX300 Design Wins

In addition to the numerous awards, Diamond Multimedia's Monster Sound MX300 has won support both from top OEM's, such as Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ), and leading gaming system integrators, such as Falcon Northwest located in Oregon.

According to Falcon Northwest President and CEO Kelt Reeves, "Our demanding customer base is now requesting Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 over other leading sound technologies in such high measure that we've made it the standard offering in our MachV series gaming machines."

Falcon Northwest builds custom PC systems precisely to gaming enthusiasts' specifications and recently received Computer Gaming World's "Editors' Choice" award in the January 1999 issue for the Ultimate Gaming Machine, the fourth year in a row for Falcon Northwest.

In addition, Compaq recently announced that one of their new home Internet PCs, the Presario 5600i, will include the Monster Sound MX300 as an option for consumers wanting the latest in PC audio equipment. Through Compaq's retail "Built For You" program and direct channels, including Compaq's Online Store, http://www.compaq.com/buynow/online.html, PC consumers can custom-configure the system they are ordering to meet their exact requirements, including selection of the award-winning Monster Sound MX300.

Monster Sound MX25 Offers Dolby Digital(R) Support

Additionally, Diamond Multimedia today announced its first option in the MX-LINK series, the Monster Sound MX25 upgrade card, giving Monster Sound MX300 customers the latest advancements in Dolby Digital support at a very affordable price point. The Monster Sound MX25 option combined with the Monster Sound MX300 and software DVD offers S/PDIF (Sony and Philips Interconnect Format) output for an impressive home theater experience.