November 16, 1999 Web posted at: 11:35 a.m. EST (1635 GMT) by Douglas F. Gray

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(IDG) -- Graphics chips firm 3dfx Interactive Monday announced the new VSA-100 graphics chip, and the Voodoo 4 and Voodoo 5 graphics boards, the first products based on the new chip.

3dfx makes graphics accelerator chips, boards and software used in personal computers to enhance the graphics quality for computer games. The VSA-100 is the company's first processor to use its new Voodoo Scalable Architecture technology.

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Up to 32 of the VSA-100 processors can be integrated on a board, said Gordon Campbell, founder and Chairman of the Board of 3dfx, Monday at a press briefing at Comdex.

The VSA-100 processor features a new 3D engine featuring fill rates from 333 megapixels to 1.47 gigapixels per second, and using from 16M bytes to 128M bytes of video memory.

The Voodoo 4 4500 PCI video accelerator board will feature a single VSA-100 chip, a fill rate of 333-367 megapixels per second and 32M bytes of video memory. The 4500 will be available in the first quarter of 2000 for $179.

The Voodoo 5 5000 PCI will feature dual VSA-100 chips and a fill rate of 667-773 megapixels per second and 32M bytes of video memory. It will feature the company's FSA (full-scene anti-aliasing) technology, which enhances the curves of lines and reduces the "stair-step" effect in curves. The Voodoo 5 5000 also features the T-Buffer Digital Cinematic Effects engine, which creates cinematic effects including motion blur, depth of field, soft reflections and soft focus. The board will be available first quarter 2000 for $229.

The Voodoo 5 5500 AGP features dual VSA-100 chips, a fill rate of 667-733M pixels per second and 64M bytes of video memory. It also features FSA and T-Buffer technology. The 5500 will be available first quarter 2000 for $299.

The Voodoo 5 6000 AGP has four VSA-100 chips, a fill rate of 1.33-1.47 gigapixels and 128M bytes of video memory. The 6000, which features T-Buffer and FSA technology, will be available first quarter 2000 for $599.

The company's professional branch, Quantum 3D, is also preparing to release new boards targeted to industrial and military uses. The boards will feature eight to 32 chips, fill rates of up to 3 gigapixels per second, up to 2G bytes of video memory. The boards will cost up to $40,000.