NVIDIA and Guillemot Combine With Electronics Boutique to Pre-Sell RIVA TNT2-Based Graphics Cards

Business Wire, March 30, 1999

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 1999--

Companies Offer Program to Meet Overwhelming

Customer Demand for Industry's Hottest Technology

NVIDIA(TM) Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) announced today that graphics cards based on the high-performance NVIDIA RIVA TNT2(TM) 3D processor can be pre-ordered at Electronics Boutique retail stores throughout the Unites States and on their web site at http://www.ebworld.com/ebx/nvidia.asp. Electronics Boutique, the largest mall-based retailer of computer software and interactive games with over 600 stores worldwide, is offering Guillemot Corporation's Xentor 32MB AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) card and Xentor 16 MB AGP card based on NVIDIA's RIVA TNT2 3D processor with prices starting at $149.99. Electronics Boutique will also offer additional add-in-cards based on the RIVA TNT2 as they become available.

"Due to the overwhelmingly positive response that the RIVA TNT2 has received from the press, there is a built up end-user demand for boards based on this processor," said Cory Hodge, buyer for Electronics Boutique. "By offering products from add-in-card vendors like Guillemot we are able to offer our customers a variety of options to easily enjoy the benefits of the RIVA TNT2."

The announcement of availability of RIVA TNT2-based products at Electronic Boutique e-commerce site supplements NVIDIA's December 2, 1998 announcement announcing the formation of an e-commerce site at www.nvidia.com/highiq. The new e-commerce site, named the "High I.Q. store," is designed for end-users to review and purchase 3D applications specifically designed to take advantage of features found in NVIDIA's family of 3D processors.

"End-users have been demanding new RIVA TNT2 graphics processors since news of its high-performance and exceptional visual quality capabilities began leaking out," said Michael Hara, vice president of corporate marketing at NVIDIA. "By making these products available at such high visibility outlets as Electronics Boutique, all end-users, whether they are hardcore gaming enthusiasts or novices, will have greater access to RIVA TNT2 based products and enjoy the ultimate 3D experience that this new processor allows."

RIVA TNT2

Targeting the mainstream performance PC market, RIVA TNT2-based boards will feature a 300MHz RAMDAC and 32MB of RAM and will support resolutions beyond HDTV and as high as 2048x1536x16bpp at 60hz. The RIVA TNT2 architecture is NVIDIA's fourth-generation, integrated, 128-bit 3D processor. The RIVA TNT2's 32MB frame buffer, 32-bit color pipeline and 32-bit Z-buffer delivers unsurpassed quality and performance. The TwiN Texel Architecture, combined with per-pixel mip-mapping precision, offers an unprecedented fill rate of up-to 350 million pixels-per-second, which is twice that of the nearest competitor. The RIVA TNT2 also has the ability to render up to 10 million triangles per second which allows developers to write standards based applications with stunning visual effects.

The RIVA TNT2 is the fastest 128-bit accelerator with Digital Flat Panel support, AGP 4X and AGP 2X support. The RIVA TNT2 meets all the requirements of the mainstream PC graphics market and Microsoft's PC98, PC99 and all DirectX 6.0 initiatives. In addition to DirectX support, the RIVA TNT provides full support for an OpenGL(TM) ICD (Installable Client Driver) for Windows 95 and Windows NT. Delivering the industry's fastest Direct3D(TM) acceleration, leadership VGA, Directdraw and Video performance allows the RIVA TNT2 to power a growing range of 3D applications, including the hottest 3D games and full screen DVD playback.

NVIDIA Processors

The RIVA family of 3D/2D processors, the RIVA TNT2(TM), RIVA TNT(TM), RIVA 128ZX(TM) and the RIVA 128(TM), is the first family of high performance processors for the performance mainstream PC market. The RIVA processors utilize a 128-bit pipeline to support the computational throughput required for current and future graphically intense applications. The NVIDIA Vanta(TM)3D/2D processor is the first in a family of 3D processors designed for the enterprise PC market. Based on the award winning RIVA TNT architecture, the NVIDIA Vanta processor is designed for Windows 2000 and the burgeoning market for enterprise visualization applications. By leveraging its graphics technology and massive gate counts, all NVIDIA processors are able to deliver stunningly realistic, high frame rate 3D, along with benchmark winning 2D, VGA and video acceleration in single chip solutions. NVIDIA processors are optimized for both Direct3D(TM) and OpenGL(TM).

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) designs, markets and sells a complete family of award-winning 3D processors that deliver industry-leading performance and visual quality for a broad range of PC applications, including: enterprise visualization, e-commerce, e-business, entertainment and education. Corporate headquarters are located in California: 3535 Monroe Street, Santa Clara, California 95051. For more information visit the Company's web site at http://www.nvidia.com.