Rectron has announced the MatroxParhelia family of graphics accelerators, the first graphics boards based on the new Parhelia-512 high fidelity GPU, which offers a range of features, including a full 256-bit DDR memory interface, partial compatibility with Microsoft DirectX 9.0 and advanced multi-display computing capabilities.
According to Rectron, Parhelia takes a significant step toward increasing the realism of 3D graphics, through its DirectX 9.0-compatible Quad Vertex Shader Array and Hardware Displacement Mapping support.
"With Parhelia`s support for innovative multi-display features such as TripleHead Desktop, its users will greatly benefit from the enhanced productivity made available by running Windows XP in a multi-monitor environment," says Rectron`s Reon Coetzee.
"Matrox Parhelia graphics adaptors represent one of the highest quality 2D and 3D multi-display computing solutions available on the market," he says. "They are Ideal for desktop publishing, Web design, software development, digital photography, video editing and gaming. With Parhelia, Matrox brings substantial ingenuity and compelling features to the 2D workstation and high-end enthusiast markets."
All Parhelia boards are full-height ATX form factor with two DVI-I connectors integrated on the bracket and allow Matrox to offer a wide variety of display output options on the market:
Dual independent DVI-out at 1600 x 1200 resolution each (165MHz) Dual independent RGB-out at 400MHz each (dual 2048 x 1536 @ 85Hz) Triple independent RGB-out in extended desktop mode at 3840 x 1024 32bpp Various mixes of DVI-, RGB- and TV-out.
The full flexibility of display configurations are offered to end-users by the standard bundling of three cables/adaptors:
One "Y-shaped" DVI-I to dual HD-15 cable One DVI-I to HD-15 adaptor One HD-15 to S-video and composite cable.
Matrox Parhelia boards employ highly developed electronics and fifth-order filters, which - coupled with the Parhelia`s dual 10-bit RAMDACs - ensure that signal quality is maintained at the highest frequency desktop settings, resulting in flicker-free, ultra-crisp displays, free of any pixel ghosting, sparkling or shadowing artefacts to deliver high-fidelity RGB, DVI and TV outputs.
The Matrox Parhelia boards deliver fast 2D performance, and are said to be the first full-speed AGP 4X devices capable of accelerating 3D across three monitors.
"All boards offer an incredible range of cutting-edge 2D and 3D features, including 10-bit GigaColor Technology, four quad-textured pixels rendered per clock, 64 Super Sample Texture Filtering, 16x Fragment Antialiasing (FAA-16x), Glyph Antialiasing, a Quad DirectX 9 Vertex Shader Array, and a 36-op pixel shader array," adds Coetzee.
For the ultimate gaming experience, Matrox Parhelia boards uniquely offer Surround Gaming for three-display game play, providing a most immersive 3D experience for many popular gaming titles including: Flight Simulator 2002, by Microsoft; Quake III Arena, by Id Software/ Activision; Return to Castle Wolfenstein, by Gray matter and Id Software/Activision; Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, by Raven Software/LucasArts Entertainment; Unreal Tournament 2003, by Digital Extremes and Epic Games/Atari(R); Imperium Galactica 3: Genesis, by Philos Laboratories/CDV Software Entertainment AG and more.
All Matrox Parhelia graphics boards will ship standard with full-featured drivers for Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000 including support for Microsoft DirectX 8.1 and OpenGL. Parhelia comes with Matrox`s completely new PowerDesk-HF utility suite, providing easy-to-use controls for hardware configuration and multi-display desktop management.
Parhelia is bundled with a special version of the Waytech Coloreal advanced colour calibration system. The Matrox version of Coloreal takes full advantage of the Parhelia`s dual, high precision 10-bit RAMDACs and allows users to precisely colour match multiple monitors.
Also included is the Matrox GigaColor plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, allowing users to view extremely high colour .TIF and .PNG files in 10-bit per colour channel employing one billion simultaneously displayed colours.
This applet is launched through Adobe`s plug-in architecture and allows interactive viewing of images at the highest fidelity.
Share
Editorial contacts