DOS Days

Old PC Computing Resource

"An nVidia faithful, STB adds the 4400 to its line of Velocity videocards, a name befitting this fastest of fast videocards.

Following reference specs, the Velocity 4400 harbors 16 MB of nonupgradable 125 MHz SDRAM coupled with a 250 MHz RAMDAC.

Curiously, the Velocity 4400's refresh rates are lower than the Viper V550's rates. Unlike the Viper V550, the Velocity 4400 comes with separate S-Video and composite TV outputs powered by BrookTree's 869KRF TV decoder chip, on top of the standard monitor connector.

STB's drivers let you control TV-centering keys, fine-tune Direct3D and OpenGL visual attributes such as auto mip-mapping and filtering, and more.

Apart from a slightly slower Battlezone benchmark, every other test put the Velocity 4400 neck-and-neck with the Viper V550, with fractions of a framerate separating the two. D3D at 1024x768 looks especially delectable. OGL gaming, on the other hand, we would keep at 800x600. At 1024x768, frame rates bogged down to the high 30s - dual-Voodoo2 does 60fps under the same conditions.

2D output remained sharp and eye soothing, as did gaming under the TV output. This iteration of the BrookTree decoding came out clearer. Still, the 60Hz nature of TV output begs for gameplay, not word processing.

Dig it - this card is one powerful piece of silicon that's ready to rip into any of your games."     
Maximum PC, November 1998

" STB Announces Velocity 4400 Next-Generation Multimedia Accelerator. Based on NVIDIA's RIVA TNT chipset, Velocity 4400 delivers high-end 2D/3D/multimedia performance

Richardson, TX-(June 15, 1998)-STB Systems, Inc.® (NASDAQ-STBI), a leading supplier of multimedia and convergence products, today announced its new Velocity 4400T multimedia accelerator with true color TwiN Texel architecture. Utilizing the advanced RIVA TNT architecture from NVIDIAr Corporation, the Velocity 4400 delivers 250 mega-pixels-per-second (MPPS) fill rate, over 8 million polygons per second, and a full 128 bit memory interface to deliver astonishing 3D quality and performance.

"The performance capabilities of the Velocity 4400 will continue the great success we have had with our Velocity product line," remarked J. Shane Long, vice president of sales and marketing for STB. "In this age of visual computing, the multimedia accelerator has become an increasingly important component of the PC. STB's goal is to develop the most advanced multimedia products to support tomorrow's top multimedia applications. The Velocity 4400 does just that with its extremely realistic 3D imaging and fast acceleration."

"STB's first-to-market focus delivers outstanding implementations of NVIDIA's 3D processor technology. The result has been an unprecedented list of magazine awards for the Velocity 128 with the RIVA 128 3D graphics processor," pointed out Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation. "We fully expect STB to extend this winning tradition with the new RIVA TNT processor in both the OEM and consumer channels."

"With their excellent engineering resources and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities, STB is well structured to cater to the needs of the major personal computer manufacturers," added Jeff Fisher, vice president of sales at NVIDIA. "This is why STB has emerged as an industry leader in 3D solutions."

Based on NVIDIA's RIVA TNT processor, the Velocity 4400 features a unique combination of high performance 2D graphics, high quality video playback and high speed 3D rendering for Direct3DT and OpenGLT interfaces. The 128-bit 2D graphics engine provides unparalleled performance in business applications like spreadsheet programs and web browsers. The video playback and superb 3D performance will accelerate graphics intensive applications used by game developers, animators and graphic designers.

The Power to Play Quake 2 at 1600x1200

RIVA TNT graphics processor has a 16MB frame buffer and a 3D graphics engine strong enough for extremely high-resolution gameplay. Velocity 4400 is so powerful it runs QuakeT 2 at an astonishing 1600x1200 resolution and sustains high frame rates as well.

"A Quake session at 1600 x 1200 resolution is convincing evidence that the RIVA TNT isn't just more of the same old thing," said Andy Fischer, senior analyst with Jon Peddie Associates of Tiburon, CA. "This level of 3D performance is unprecedented in the consumer market, and will begin to change the dynamic between professional and mainstream graphics market segments. The Velocity 4400 raises the performance bar considerably."

Featuring a 32-bit rendering pipeline, 24-bit Z-buffer, 8-bit stencil buffer, and per-pixel precision, the Velocity 4400 can apply two textures to a single triangle and process two pixels per clock cycle to yield twice the fill rate. With an unprecedented fill rate of 250 MPPS, the Velocity 4400 can render up to 8 million triangles per second for smooth play in rapidly changing gaming environments. The Velocity 4400 boasts dual true color rendering and true color z-buffering for rich detail in highly complex scenery.

The Velocity 4400 also supports dual texture engine capabilities for single-pass multi-texturing and single pass trilinear texture filtering. This allows 3D tasks like shading and dual textures to be processed through two separate graphics engines simultaneously, completing these complex tasks in only a single cycle of the processor. With previous generation controllers these tasks required the pixel to make two passes through the rendering engine. This ability makes the Velocity 4400 up to four times faster than previous generation accelerators.

With a 250MHz RAMDAC, a maximum refresh rate of 200Hz, and true color display support at resolutions up to 1900 x 1280, the Velocity 4400 exceeds global standards for ergonomics. It also supports high quality TV out on AGP and PCI bus designs. The Velocity 4400 will be available with 16MB of high speed SDRAM, and is targeted at the high-end Performance PC and Professional PC segments.

Pre-Sale Program

The Velocity 4400 in a 16MB configuration will have a suggested retail price of $299, with a game bundle that is yet to be announced. STB is also finalizing plans for a comprehensive pre-sale program for all of STB's retail channel segments. This program will allow consumers to place orders with resellers for the Velocity 4400 before it ships in August, ensuring priority allocation.

"The Velocity 4400 is the hot product for the fall selling season," said Lief Koepsel, director of channel sales for STB. "We expect this accelerator to be very much in demand since it represents such a leap forward in graphics technology."

     
Original Press Release, STB Systems, 15th June 1998