Aachen, February 09, 1998

ELSA Announces Integration of GLoria Synergy Graphics Accelerator in Compaq's Professional Workstations

Aachen, Germany - ELSA today announced that Compaq Computer Corporation (Houston, TX) will incorporate the award-winning GLoria Synergy in its new Professional Workstation 5100 and 6000 products. GLoria Synergy will provide a high-performance graphics solution ideal for Compaq workstations targeted at computer-aided design and engineering (CAD/CAE), 3D animation, post-production and digital media professionals who require both fast 2D graphics performance and robust 3D capabilities.

"ELSA's GLoria Synergy graphics accelerator is an excellent solution for Compaq Professional Workstation customers, especially those who work in both 2D and 3D environments such as CAD engineers and graphics designers," said Les Crudele, Vice President and General Manager of Compaq's Workstation Division. "The GLoria Synergy offers the performance and flexibility demanded by professionals using technical applications such as AutoCAD and MicroStation, as well as digital media software like 3D Studio MAX and Adobe Photoshop."

"The long-term relationship between 3Dlabs and ELSA continues to grow from strength to strength," said Neil Trevett, vice president of marketing at 3Dlabs. "PERMEDIA 2's outstanding 2D and 3D acceleration combined with ELSA's quality committment and manufacturing capability has resulted in a compelling graphics solution for Compaq's new workstations."

"We're pleased that Compaq is incorporating yet another ELSA product in its workstations," said Thomas Neubert, vice president of sales and marketing at ELSA Inc. "The GLoria Synergy is a perfect fit for Compaq's workstation as it provides an all-in-one solution with extremely fast performance and high-quality resolution for both 2D and 3D at a great price."

ELSA GLoria Synergy is based on 3Dlabs' PERMEDIA 2 chip. The chip integrates a GLINT Delta geometry setup processor, VGA and a 230-MHz RAMDAC. This professional CAD board with optimal all-round settings for 2D and 3D can reach a resolution of up to 1920 x 1200 pixels in high color, and 1280 x 1024 in true color. The GLoria Synergy was designed especially for professional 3D applications such as 3D Studio MAX, 3D Studio VIZ, Lightscape, AutoCAD®, Autodesk® Mechanical Desktop, MicroStation, SolidWorks, Open Inventor, Internet VRML viewing, and many more.

The multiscreen function and support of large monitors (up to 24") truly puts this board in a league of its own. The board supports color dithering and performs bilinear MIP mapping in hardware. Its video acceleration supports X and Y scaling and mirroring, interpolation, color space conversion and superb MPEG2 playback support. The GLoria Synergy ships standard with 8 MB of SGRAM in Compaq Professional Workstations.

Founded in 1982, Compaq Computer Corporation, a Fortune 100 company, is a global information technology company. Compaq is the fifth largest computer company in the world and the largest global supplier of personal computers. With worldwide sales of $20 billion in 1996, Compaq develops and markets hardware, software, solutions and services, including industry-leading enterprise computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, networking products, commercial desktop and portable products and consumer PCs. The company is an industry leader in environmentally friendly programs and business practices.

ELSA AG is a stock company based in Aachen, Germany, with subsidiaries in Santa Clara (California), Taipei (Taiwan), and Tokyo (Japan). Founded in 1980, ELSA has built up a world-renowned reputation for applying advanced engineering expertise to computer graphics and data communications products. Technological competence, German standards of quality, leading-edge products and services backed up by excellent support: these are factors which firmly place ELSA at the forefront of the market today.

All names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The ELSA logo is a registered trademark of ELSA AG, Compaq registered U.S. patent and trademark office.

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