New graphics processor brings high-end realism to PCs

A new addition to TI's family of 3D graphics processors will bring the type of visual realism previously found only in high-end workstations to a variety of consumer applications, including personal computer gaming, virtual reality and virtual World Wide Web browsing.

The new TVP4020 integrates the three most important graphics functions required by the demanding consumer segment: high-performance 3D, leading 2D graphics acceleration and advanced video processing. It features a geometry set-up engine for accelerated 3D triangle processing and an award-winning 230-MHz random access memory digital-to-analog video converter (RAMDAC).

Additionally, the device supports both the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) and AGP (Advanced Graphics Port) buses, as well as all leading 3D graphics application programming interfaces (APIs), including the Microsoft® Direct3D and Silicon Graphics OpenGL® APIs.

The TVP4020 is TI's second generation graphics controller to incorporate PERMEDIA 2 3D graphics technology from 3Dlabs®, Inc. Last year, TI and 3Dlabs signed a cross-licensing agreement giving TI access to 3Dlabs advanced graphics processing technology and 3Dlabs access to TI's industry-leading RAMDAC technology.

The TVP4020 will operate as a Windows accelerator and includes fast SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array) capabilities on-chip. Further, the TVP4020's sophisticated 3D execution pipeline can process special 2D features such as texture units used for tiled blits, chroma key test used for transparent blits and bilinear filter used for stretch blits for even faster 2D performance.

Samples of the TVP4020 are expected to be available from Texas Instruments and its authorized distributors in the 2Q97. Production quantities are anticipated to be available in 3Q97.

TVP4020 272-pin PBGA $35

Suggested retail pricing In U.S. dollars in 50K unit quantity.

Microsoft is a registered trademark, and Direct 3D and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft, Inc. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Heidi is a trademark of Autodesk Inc. 3Dlabs is a registered trademark and PERMEDIA a trademark of 3Dlabs, Inc.

Technical fact sheet

Feature	Explanation/Benefit
· 24-bit 3D support	Full 24-bit color provides enhanced image quality
· Packed 24-bit pixels	Reduces the amount of memory needed to store images and increases the speed at which images are transferred from memory
· Per pixel effects	Per pixel effects create more realistic shading, fogging and blending of visual images
· Eight-bit paletted textures	Reduces texture storage and improves performance
· Optimized internal texture cache	Improves bilinear filtering, which improves visual textures at close range
· Faster perspective divide	Increases graphics processing speed by 50 percent
· Color space conversion	On-chip YUV to RGB conversion increases visual performance by offloading this task from the system's CPU
· Video special effects	XY scaling, video mirroring and filtering allow applications to efficiently manipulate video windows within a 3D graphics environment
· Copy mode texture rate of 80M pixels/sec	Doubles video playback rate and improves general texturing speeds
· 230 MHz RAMDAC	Improves high-resolution up to 1600 x 1200 pixels and refresh rates up to 83 Hz