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

ELSA Synergy II - Powerful 2D/3D Acceleration for Graphics Professionals

ELSA Synergy II 16 MB Expansion of the Synergy Range Delivers NVIDIA's High Performance RIVA TNT Graphics Controller and ELSA's Unique OpenGL Technology

Las Vegas, NV (COMDEX L5640)- November 16, 1998 -- ELSA, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) today announced ELSA Synergy^™II, an AGP 2D/3D graphics accelerator with OpenGL technology designed to deliver high performance graphics. ELSA Synergy II is positioned for computer-aided design and engineering (CAD/CAE), 3D animation, and image processing markets at a compelling price. ELSA Synergy II expands the Synergy brand with NVIDIA'S^™ high performance TwiN-Texel RIVA TNT^™ graphics controller and 16 MB of RAM. It continues to deliver extremely powerful performance and high resolutions in both 2D/3D for graphics professionals.

"ELSA is excited to combine ELSA's unique OpenGL technology with the powerful NVIDIA RIVA TNT engine," said Uli Theissen, President of ELSA, Inc. "Delivering ELSA's 3D expertise and professional application support, the ELSA Synergy II is a great solution for professionals who need productivity at a compelling price."

ELSA Synergy II is an AGP 2D/3D graphics accelerator incorporating the award winning NVIDIA RIVA TNT processor, with a TwiN-Texel processing engine, and integrated hardware setup. With earth-shattering Windows NT^® and Windows^® 95 performance, the ELSA Synergy II is powered for professionals with ELSA's OpenGL technology. In addition, the graphics controller has a dual-pixel 32-bit color pipeline with a 24-bit Z-buffer, 8-bit stencil buffer and per-pixel precision. With double the fill rate through the TwiN Texel technology, it delivers fill rates of 250 million pixels-per-second, and can drive 8 million triangles per second. The ELSA Synergy II provides resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 with a 250MHz RAMDAC.

"Much like the RIVA family of products, the Synergy family of products has been known for delivering high-performance, visually stunning graphics to the professional PC market," said Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO and President at NVIDIA. "We believe that the ELSA Synergy II, featuring the award winning RIVA TNT, will continue to meet the high demand in the professional PC market."

The ELSA Synergy II will be available for OEM and channel distribution in Q1 '99 with an expected retail price of $299.00.

The ELSA Synergy II was designed for professional applications such as AutoCAD, 3D Studio MAX/VIZ, LightWave 3D, Nichiem Mirai, ESRI ArcView, Adobe Photoshop, among others.

"Reliable drivers for Autodesk products are key to high productivity, and ELSA, with its long term experience in both the 2D and 3D graphics arena, has had high performance and reliable drivers for our products for years," says Carl Bass, Chief Technology Officer for Autodesk, Inc. "We are excited to see their continued support with ELSA Synergy II."

"The Synergy brand has provided high performance 3D OpenGL support at a very approachable price for our users, said Brad Peebler, VP 3D Graphics Group at Newtek. "The ELSA Synergy II with ELSA's OpenGL expertise will deliver a compelling solution for our users."

ELSA Software Advantage

The ELSA Software Advantage provides professional users with the performance and productivity advantage for OpenGL and 2D applications, and bundled software drivers and utilities for AutoCAD^® and 3D Studio MAX^®/VIZ^®. ELSA OpenGL technology achieves a CDRS-03 score surpassing 70. ELSA POWERdraft™ is the only driver worldwide delivering hardware acceleration for both AutoCAD R13 and R14. ELSA MAXtreme^™ for 3D Studio MAX R2 and VIZ R2 gives users enhanced 3D graphics performance with a customized driver combining OpenGL, HEIDI, and ELSA technology. ELSAview 3D is a real-time 3D editor and viewer tightly integrated with AutoCAD R14, AutoCAD R13, MDT and ADT.

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.