Avi Singh, Product Marketing Manager
ELSA Inc.
408-919-9100 ext. 140
avis@elsa.com

ELSA MAXtreme for 3D Studio MAX R2 and 3D Studio VIZ R2 Now Shipping

High-End AGP OpenGL 3D Accelerator - ELSA GLoria-XXL is Now Available in Volume for Both Channel and OEM Customers

Orlando, FL (July 21, 1998) - ELSA Inc. today announced that 3D Studio MAX^® R2 and 3D Studio VIZ^® R2 users will be able to take advantage of MAXtreme - ELSA's unique driver solution. Available with the ELSA GLoria-XXL, GLoria-XL, and the GLoria Synergy products, MAXtreme has a clear advantage over both standard alternatives: software HEIDI or hardware accelerated standard OpenGL^® drivers. MAXtreme delivers smooth 3D modeling for all tasks within 3D Studio MAX R2 and 3D Studio VIZ R2, including large textures and interactive editing requirements.

ELSA also announced the general availability of the ELSA GLoria-XXL for OEM and channel distribution. ELSA GLoria-XXL not only solves the geometry bottleneck for complex 3D modeling, but also provides 3D resolution up to 1920 x 1200 in HiColor, stereo output, up to 56 MB of memory, and the ELSA Software Advantage in high performance OpenGL, 3D Studio MAX and AutoCAD^® drivers. Users of applications such as 3D Studio MAX, Autodesk Mechanical Desktop^®, Pro/ENGINEER^®, MicroStation, SolidWorks, SOFTIMAGE 3D among others can take advantage of the GLoria-XXL's optimized support for OpenGL and customized drivers. Supporting 3.3 million polygons per second, the ELSA GLoria-XXL is the price/performance leader in high end OpenGL acceleration.

The combination of ELSA GLoria-XXL and MAXtreme delivers the maximum performance available for complex modeling in 3D Studio MAX R2 or 3D Studio VIZ R2. In 3D Studio MAX R2 benchmark 1, the GLoria-XXL with MAXtreme achieves a score of 3.7 seconds as compared to 4.6 seconds for MAXVision Titan II and 7.2 seconds for Diamond Fire GL 4000. (Smaller scores are better.) With high performance OpenGL drivers, the GLoria-XXL is ideal for animation and MCAD users.

"ELSA is excited to be able to provide Kinetix users with high performance solutions such as MAXtreme," said Thomas Neubert vice president of sales and marketing at ELSA Inc. "The value add it delivers to products like the GLoria-XXL allows users to take advantage of ELSA's performance advantage today."

"ELSA's advanced customized software drivers have always added great value for its high-performance GLINT and PERMEDIA-based accelerators," said Neil Trevett, vice president of workstation products at 3Dlabs. "The availability of MAXtreme will certainly enable graphics professionals using 3D Studio MAX to experience an exceptional level of interactivity."

"We are extremely pleased with the performance we see from the ELSA product line," said Jimmy Giliberti, senior director of product development of Kinetix Inc. "ELSA's knowledge of the OpenGL and HEIDI pipelines allow them to combine high performance graphics hardware with fast, efficient support software."

ELSA Software Advantage

Through the ELSA Software Advantage, customers can take advantage of a wide array of unique, high-performance drivers and utilities to enable GLoria accelerator boards to achieve maximum 2D/3D graphics performance. ELSA leverages its 13 years of experience in CAD and high-end graphics to create high-quality drivers to accelerate professional applications such as AutoCAD or 3D Studio MAX.

ELSA's custom drivers and tools are available to customers free-of-charge and are standard components with every ELSA GLoria graphics board. The latest drivers are available online from the ELSA Web site, and are regularly updated on the ELSA WINNERware CD-ROM.

GLoria-XXL Availability

Priced at a MSRP of $2249, the ELSA GLoria-XXL is available through general distribution and mail order channels. Please check the "Where to Buy" and "Resellers" section on our web site for details. It can also be found in high performance solutions from Tri-Star, UMAX, DTK, and Sys Technology.

ELSA Information

ELSA Inc. is a subsidiary of ELSA AG, a Germany based publicly listed company, trading on the 'Neuer Markt' trading segment of the Frankfurt stock exchange. Founded in 1980, ELSA has built a world-class reputation in high-performance 2D and 3D graphics solutions for professional workstations, commercial desktop and consumer PCs. In addition ELSA offers a wide range of communications products such as modems, ISDN-internet access solutions and PC based videoconferencing products.

The ELSA logo is a registered trademark of ELSA AG. All names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.