NVIDIA Quadro4 Solutions Lead on New Application-Oriented SPECviewperf Benchmark Tests While Taking the Price/Performance Crown

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Susan Austin 
NVIDIA Corporation  
saustin@nvidia.com  
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SANTA CLARA, CA — MAY 21, 2002 — NVIDIA® Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) today announced that its Quadro™4 family of workstation graphics solutions delivered the highest performance results on the new SPECviewperf 7.0 3ds max-01 and Ugs-01 tests as well as the updated Light-05 test published by the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation’s Graphics Performance Characterization (SPEC/GPC) group.  NVIDIA’s Quadro4 graphics solutions decimated the competition with the best price/performance results across all of the SPECapc and SPECviewperf 7.0 benchmarks.  The Company’s workstation products also achieved top performance marks on SPECapc Unigraphics V17, 3ds max™ 4.2™ and SolidWorks® 2001™ tests.  The results can be found online at www.spec.org/gpc/.

“The new SPECviewperf 7.0 suite of benchmarks are further evidence that our Quadro4 professional graphics solutions are the workstation industry’s best choice for both performance and value,” said Dan Vivoli, vice president of marketing at NVIDIA.  “We’re committed to sustaining our leadership position in the professional 3D graphics market, and are dedicated to supporting the SPECopc’s efforts to bring graphics performance measurement closer to the end user’s real world applications experience.”

Widely respected and regarded as the industry's standard for application-based performance benchmarking for the professional 3D graphics industry, the SPEC/GPC’s OpenGL® Performance Characterization project group released SPECviewperf 7.0 on May 6.  A major new version of its application-based performance evaluation software, SPECviewperf 7.0 includes new features to more accurately capture graphics functionality from real applications and provides new and updated viewsets representing popular applications for digital content creation (DCC) and computer-aided design (CAD), manufacturing and engineering.

The undisputed SPECviewperf 7.0 price/performance leader, the Quadro4 family is a complete, top-to-bottom family of workstation graphics solutions delivering the industry’s highest performance and most complete feature set at unprecedented values.  The Quadro4 XGL series has the ideal solution for every level of user of CAD and DCC applications, while the Quadro4 NVS series of multi-display professional solutions offers industry-leading acceleration for professional 2D applications popular in the financial services and Non-Linear Video Editing (NLE) markets.  New technology introduced in the Quadro4 family includes:
·         Two completely new graphics architectures designed to accelerate professional DirectX® and OpenGL applications.
·         NVIDIA’s advanced programmable shading technology enables custom special effects and real-time custom animations.
·         nView™, NVIDIA’s multi-display technology supports combinations of analog monitors and digital flat panel displays to drastically increase the user’s desktop.
·         Lightspeed Memory Architecture II (LMA II), NVIDIA’s 128-bit memory interface features a crossbar design and advanced Quadro memory management techniques.

NVIDIA’s Quadro4 graphics boards are available worldwide from a variety of workstation OEMs and channel partners, including: Compaq Computer Corporation, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM, Boxx Technology, Colfax International, DigitalScape, LT Micro/The 3D Shop, Max Black Systems, MaxVision, PNY Technologies and Tristar International.

About SPEC
SPECopc is a project group of the Graphics Performance Characterization (GPC) Group, which in turn is part of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC).  SPEC is a non-profit corporation formed to establish, maintain and endorse a standardized set of relevant benchmarks that can be applied to the newest generation of high-performance computers. SPEC’s membership includes computer hardware and software vendors, and leading universities and research facilities worldwide.

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq - NVDA), located in Santa Clara, CA, is the global leader in advanced graphics and multimedia processing technology for the consumer and professional computing markets.  Its 2D, 3D, video and multimedia capabilities make NVIDIA one of the premier semiconductor companies in the world.  NVIDIA offers a wide range of products and services, delivering superior performance and crisp visual quality for PC-based applications such as manufacturing, science, e-business, entertainment and education.
 
Certain statements in this press release, including the statements relating to the Company's performance expectations for NVIDIA's family of products and expectations of continued revenue growth, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations.  Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, manufacturing and other delays relating to new products, difficulties in the fabrication process and dependence of the Company on third-party manufacturers, general industry trends including cyclical trends in the PC and semiconductor industries, the impact of competitive products and pricing alternatives, market acceptance of the Company's new products, and the Company's dependence on third-party developers and publishers.  Investors are advised to read the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those sections entitled "Certain Business Risks," for a fuller discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.

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