Serious Acceleration for 3D Studio MAX R2 and 3D Studio VIZ R2 with ELSA GLoria Graphics Accelerators
ELSA MAXtreme is a specialized driver for 3D Studio MAX and 3D Studio VIZ version R2.x that provides users with considerable performance and productivity gains in combination with ELSA GLoria graphics accelerators.
Available with the GLoria-XXL, GLoria-XL,and GLoria SYNERGY products, MAXtreme has a clear advantage over both standard alternatives: software HEIDI or hardware accelerated standard OpenGL® drivers. This special ELSA software for 3D Studio MAX and 3D Studio VIZ realizes this advantage by combining the best features of the standard alternatives, the advanced hardware acceleration of OpenGL and the unique scene-rendering optimizations of HEIDI, into a single, customized, set of software for ELSA GLoria graphics hardware.
ELSA MAXtreme gives users not only phenomenal performance rotating entire scenes, but improves object editing and manipulation performance by over 3 times compared to standard OpenGL. ELSA MAXtreme employs unique ELSA technology to provide superior functionality and performance while working in 3D Studio MAX R2 and 3D Studio VIZ R2.
Current ELSA GLoria users will feel like they have a new accelerator card when using ELSA MAXtreme, and new users will see why ELSA is the global leader in workstation graphics solutions.
Why ELSA MAXtreme
While most applications typically allow users to use only one graphics
API, 3D Studio MAX R2 and 3D Studio VIZ R2 give users a choice not only
between software and OpenGL, but also allow 3rd party vendors to provide
alternative 3D Studio drivers for graphics performance. ELSA MAXtreme
is a custom driver for 3D Studio which delivers optimal performance.
The OpenGL Advantage
The OpenGL API, with 3D hardware accelerators like the ELSA GLoria,
accelerates the processing, and rendering of complex 3D graphics entities
and scenes. Through hardware, OpenGL delivers rendering performance many
times faster than with the software HEIDI driver in 3D Studio.
The HEIDI Advantage
When a small object in a large 3D Studio scene is selected to be
moved or edited, HEIDI (SZB) is able to redraw only the affected area of
the display through a unique architectural feature of the API known as dual
planes. OpenGL, in achieving the same effect, must redraw the entire display.
The difference in performance, therefore, comes from the fact that the HEIDI
driver may only need to draw a few hundred polygons, whereas the standard
OpenGL driver may need to redraw several thousand or more polygons for every
screen update. Regardless of the performance gains that OpenGL offers through
hardware, it is in the most complex scenes that most require OpenGL hardware
acceleration where HEIDI software Z-buffer has a clear software advantage.
The ELSA MAXtreme Advantage
ELSA MAXtreme combines the HEIDI and OpenGL advantages into
a single solution so that 3D Studio MAX and 3D Studio VIZ users no longer
need to compromise performance. Dual planes and other enhancements to 3D
Studio performance are implemented.
And it doesnít stop there. By developing a customized driver for 3D Studio MAX and 3D Studio VIZ, the ELSA software engineers have laid a foundation for both new optimizations and new features which in the future will only be found on ELSA GLoria graphics accelerators.
Which Card Do I Need?
Depending on your tasks and level of use complexity, GLoria products
can fit your needs in conjunction with ELSA MAXtreme
| Very complex scenes with small polygons, multiple lights, materials, and animations | ELSA GLoria-XXL |
| Complex scenes with small polygons, materials, and animations | ELSA GLoria-XL |
| Low polygon models with low resolution materials, and animations | ELSA GLoria SYNERGY |
3D Studio MAX R2 Performance Benchmark (Full Window). The tests were conducted on a 400MHz Intel Pentium® II system running Windows NT® 1024 x 768 x 32bpp
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
ELSA GLoria accelerator boards to achieve maximum 2D/3D graphics
performance. ELSA's custom drivers and tools are available to customers
free-of-charge and are standard components with every ELSA GLoria
graphics board. Download from http://www.elsa.com, or from the ELSA WINNERWARE
CD-ROM.
