Superior Performance for
Professional Computing

• Optimized 64-bit PCI graphics board
• Fast Windows, 3D and video at up to 1920 x 1200 resolution
• Exclusive dual-ported WRAM memory
• High performance 250 MHz RAMDAC
• Feature-rich drivers for Windows NT 4.0
• 4 or 8 MB base boards, upgradeable to 16 MB

Power your PC into the next Millennium

The next revolution in graphics technology is here today. The Matrox Millennium II is specifically designed to meet the demands of the professional Windows NT user. Following the Matrox Millennium's leading position in the high performance graphics market for the past two years, Matrox has once again redefined graphics technology with the Millennium II's MGA-2164W processor.

This sixth generation of the MGA chip is a completely new design of the industry standard 64-bit graphics processor and is complemented by a fast 250 MHz DAC and powerful dual-ported WRAM memory.

The Matrox Millennium II offers superior graphics performance for the professional user, delivering acceleration in ultra high resolutions such as 1920 x 1200. Based on the MGA-2164W processor, it offers the fastest 2D acceleration, and enhanced 3D performance with fast Gouraud shading, hardware accelerated texture mapping as well as support for a 32-bit Z-buffer, to handle all graphics intensive operations under Windows NT 4.0. The MGA-2164W also integrates an enhanced video scaler with X and Y interpolation for faster, higher-quality video playback performance.

AGP?

What are the main differences between PCI and AGP?

The PCI (Peripheral Component Interface) bus' bandwidth is shared by all peripheral devices, ranging from SCSI adapters to sound and graphics accelerators. In comparison, AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) is a dedicated graphics connection used only by the graphics accelerator. AGP has a higher bandwidth than PCI. Specifically, the AGP bus operates at a minimum clock rate of 66MHz (equivalent to a peak bandwidth of 266MB/second) while the PCI bus operates at 33MHz (or a peak bandwidth of 133MB/second.) In addition, the AGP architecture implements special features, such as pipelining, side band signaling and Direct Memory Execute (DIME) designed to increase 3D texture mapping performance with games developed to take advantage of AGP. Finally, while the PCI bus mostly operates in slave mode, AGP is a full bus mastering device. (See further explanation of bus mastering below.)

What are the principal benefits of AGP?

The AGP architecture improves overall system performance. Having a dedicated connection for graphics means the available bandwidth does not have to be shared with other devices. Isolating graphics operations on the AGP bus off-loads the PCI bus bandwidth from all data intensive graphics operations. All available PCI bus bandwidth is therefore available for other operations such as I/O accesses and networking. The resulting additional PCI bandwidth might also lead to future performance enhancements in PCI devices.

AGP's increased bus bandwidth also allows for faster graphics operations in real-world applications such as 2D design and 3D games. AGP increases 2D and 3D speed by providing the graphics accelerator with higher bandwidth and direct access to system memory. The graphics accelerator can access system memory faster, resulting in better performance. Performance in 2D will mostly benefit from the higher bus bandwidth, which results in faster image loads or other similar operations. Performance in 3D games should improve significantly, allowing applications to use larger or more textures and Z-buffering in high resolutions, for better graphics quality.

Who will use AGP systems?

The forecasted AGP systems in 1997 are expected to be sold in both the corporate and consumer markets. While it might be difficult to initially measure the performance gains, over time AGP will benefit all graphics applications and increase overall system performance. Corporate users will benefit from the added bandwidth of AGP for faster overall system performance and increased PCI capabilities, such as networking. Consumers will benefit from the added bandwidth and the special features of AGP for faster performance in 3D games. It is important to note that every AGP solution is not necessarily a gaming solution. AGP graphics accelerators, like PCI graphics cards, are engineered and designed to serve particular needs for different markets. Understanding the users' needs is therefore important when evaluating whether an AGP system or board is appropriate for a given market.

What is Matrox's current AGP offering?