Double Data Rate (DDR) Memory Improves Bandwidth for Intensive Graphics Operations

For Immediate Release

SANTA CLARA, CA. – DECEMBER 20, 1999 – Continuing to raise the graphics performance bar, NVIDIA™ Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) announced today that it has established another industry milestone by being first to deliver an ultra-high performance Double Data Rate (DDR) Synchronous RAM graphics solution for the mainstream market. Working with DDR manufacturers Infineon Technologies and Hyundai Electronics Corporation, NVIDIA's GeForce 256 and Quadro GPU-based add-in cards with DDR are already available this Christmas season. With DDR memory end users get lightening fast frame rates and higher resolutions and color depths. For technical information on DDR memory, refer to the NVIDIA Technical Brief located at www.nvidia.com/products/DDRtechbrief.

"NVIDIA's mission is to deliver real-time Toy Story to the desktop PC and memory bandwidth is one of the key bottlenecks," stated Dan Vivoli, vice president of marketing at NVIDIA. "The GeForce 256 and Quadro GPU's true power are unleashed with the help of DDR memories."

"Once again, NVIDIA is raising the bar in the graphics industry with an aggressive approach to innovating new technologies for the desktop PC market. NVIDIA is taking the end-user's visual experience to the next level with DDR synchronous memory that delivers maximum performance and bandwidth, thus improving the end-user's 3D and 2D experience," stated Sherry Garber senior vice president of Semico Research Corporation."

The RAM functionality of the new DDR generation almost doubles the usable bandwidth between frame buffer and graphics controller. The DDR interface uses SSTL-2 signaling and has become the industry standard for advanced frame buffer applications. Infineon will deliver DDR SGRAM the 32MB in standard TQFP-100 packages.

"GeForce and Quadro are powerful catalysts, laying the groundwork for the transition from SDRAM to DDR in graphics intensive applications," said Bert McComas, founder and principal at InQuest Market Research. "DDR offers the bandwidth headroom necessary for graphics processors to take the next major leap in performance, while preserving the option to use SDRAM for midrange board implementations based on the same controller."

The Hyundai DDR SDRAM family is high-speed Double Data Rate (DDR) Synchronous DRAM's fabrication with the Hyundai high performance CMOS process. While all address and control inputs are latched on the rising and falling edge of the clock data, data strobe and data mask inputs are sampled on both rising and falling edge of the clock. The data path is internally pipelined and 2-bit pre-fetched to achieve higher bandwidth. Because data rate is doubled through reading and writing at both rising and falling edge of the clock, 2X higher data bandwidth can be achieved.
 
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), the world's leading supplier of performance 3D graphics processors, is the only independent top-to-bottom supplier of 3D graphics solutions for mainstream PCs. NVIDIA designs, markets and sells an award-winning family of 3D processors, delivering industry-leading performance and visual quality for a broad range of PC-based applications, including enterprise visualization, e-commerce, e-business, education and entertainment. Used by the top PC OEMs in the world, NVIDIA's products are distributed through a worldwide channel that includes PC OEM, add-in card and motherboard partners in Europe, Asia and North America. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at http://www.nvidia.com.

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Notes to Editors: The recommended way of writing GeForce 256 is with an uppercase G and F, all other letters lowercase with a space between GeForce and 256. The recommended way of writing Vanta is in title case. Please note that the recommended way of writing NVIDIA, RIVA 128, RIVA 128ZX, RIVA TNT and RIVA TNT2 is all CAPITALS. 
 
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