3dfx Chalks up Another Design Win

3dfx Interactive's Voodoo3 3000, the fastest video card currently available on the market, has been selected by UK-based Evesham Micros to power several of its high-end gaming computers.

The EveshamVale Scorcher and Platinum series of PCs will both come equipped with a 16MB Voodoo3 3000 and can both be outfitted with processors ranging from Intel's Pentium II to Xeon, DVD-ROMs and Cambridge SoundWorks' PC Works FourPoint Surround speakers.

The Voodoo3 chipset is based on the same architecture as the Voodoo2 chip, but it sports higher screen resolutions, an increase in bits-per-pixel color rendering and, of course, higher clock rates. Currently, 3dfx offers Voodoo3 2000 and 3000 models with differing clock speeds of 143 MHz and 166 MHz, respectively. A 3500 model clocked at 183MHz is scheduled for release in late spring.

3dfx's primary deciding factor in acquiring Dallas-based STB Systems in November of last year was to take advantage of STB's reach into top-level OEM manufacturers. Prior to the acquisition, 3dfx's only source of sales came through the retail market, admittedly a highly competitive arena filled with similar and equally capable products. While widely known for its video cards in the retail sector, STB had consistently managed to penetrate the OEM market and develop various multimedia peripherals for the major system integrators. That, coupled with the fact that STB owns its own manufacturing facilities, made 3dfx's decision all the more easier. The company's reasoning seems to be working so far.