Release Notes MicroImages, Inc. TNT-Products V. 6.8

Tablet PCs.
RELEASE OF RV6.8 TNT PRODUCTS
The use of these new Windows XP supported systems is discussed in detail above. For
a thorough and up to date review of what is available in the first generation Tablet PCs
see www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,925249,00.asps for:
Tablet PCs: R eady for Prime Time. by Cade Metz. PC Magazine. April 8, 2003. pp.
100-112.
Graphics
Cards.
Graphics chip and associated board developments continue at a rapid pace compared
to all other workstation components, and these rapid improvements have a direct impact
in geospatial analysis. TNTsim3D makes direct use of these advances by using their
hardware implementation of DirectX and OpenGL. MicroImages X server for Windows
now directly
supplies built-in support for OpenGL [see section MI/X Server below], how-
ever, use of this and/or DirectX will only gradually be implemented
in existing TNT processes,
for example, the rendering of 3D displays.
Current
Leader.
At the moment, the lead in the graphics cards goes to the ATI’s Radeon 9800 Pro over
nVIDIA’s BFG Asylum GeForce FX 5800 Ultra. As seems to be a very standard continuing
practice, both of these boards are being introduced at the US$400 price point.
The nVIDIA board is not shipping as of yet. For comparison tests please see
www.pcmag.com/article2/ 0,4149,980836,00.asp for
ATI Maintains a Rad Lead. PC Magazine. by Konstantinos Karagiannis, 22 April 2003.
p. 38
Some interesting points made in this comparison are:
“Both cards feature support for DirectX 9 [9 is already tested with TNTsim3D] and
OpenGL, as well as 8X AGP.”
“These differences give the 9800 Pro a memory bandwidth
of 21.8 GBps compared with
only 16 GBps in the
5800 Ultra”.
“Indeed, our tests showed—at worst—only a tolerable performance drop when 4X antialiasing
was activated [for the ATI 9800].” [Anti-aliasing is important in improving the
appearance of TNTsim3D and 3D game operations. Activating it caused a frame rate
decease before this chip. ]
“The new GeForce FX architecture comes in a new form factor. We are not thrilled
with
the card’s thickness—it eats up two card slots because its fan assembly – nor with its
huge power draw (you’ll need at least a 300-watt power supply). And when the fan kicks
in, it’s loud.” [Another reviewer pointed out that the FX consumes 180 watts and if it
were positioned just inside the top of the PC, it could be used as a coffee warmer as
well. Certainly this is an impractical power draw.]
Future
Orientation.
Can graphics chips continue their advance? Some insight can be gained from an excerpt
from an article reviewing ATI’s lead and where graphics chip design is headed.
The startup that saved ATI. Armed with management and engineering prowess for
ArtX, No. 2 player in 3-D graphics is positioned for the next round of pixel wars. Electronic
Engineering Times. Issue 1266. Rick Merritt. 21 April 2003. pp. 18-20.
MICROIMAGES MEMO 24
5 MAY 2003