NVIDIA RIVA 128 Graphics Card

NVlDlA RlVA 128: Winner of over 100 design, gaming and end-user awards!

Introducing the world’s first mainstream Real-time Interactive Video and Animation accelerator. The RIVA 128 3D processor is the first in a family of highly-integrated graphics products that have set new standards in the high performance segment of the mainstream graphics market. By leveraging NVIDIA’s graphics technology and the massive gate counts available with advanced 0.35 micron 5LM technology, RIVA 128 is able to deliver intense realism, high frame rate 3D, along with benchmark winning 2D, VGA and video acceleration in a single chip.

Riva 128 Performance

2D/VGA Graphics Features and Performance

• 100MHz 128-bit graphics engine
• 100MHz 128-bit SGRAM interface
  •     1.6Gbytes/sec bandwidth
• 230MHz integrated RAMDAC
  •     Maximum Resolution: 1600 x 1200
  •     Maximum Refresh (@ 1600×1200): 85Hz
  •     Maximum Color Depth: 32 bits per pixel
• 32-bit hardware VGA/SVGA
• NTSC/PAL TV Output with external encoder
• PCI/AGP 1X
• 2-4MB frame buffer

3D Graphics Features and Performance

• 5 GFLOPS triangle setup engine
  •     1.5 million triangles/sec sustained
  •     5 million triangles/sec peak
• 15 BOPS pixel processing engine
  •     100 million pixels/sec fill rate
• 12KB on-chip memory
• 3D Feature Set
  •     16-bit rendering
  •     Perspective-correct texturing
  •     Bi-linear filtering
  •     16-bit Z-buffer
  •     LOD mipmapping
  •     Lighting
  •     Alpha blending
• Texture Storage
  •     Main memory for both PCI and AGP
  •     Off-screen frame buffer
  •     On-chip texture cache

Riva 128 Features

• Advanced Video Processing
• Backend hardware scaling
• Multitap X and Y sub-pixel interpolation with filtering
• Hardware color space conversion (YUV 4:2:2, 4:2:0)
• Multiple video windows (multiple color space converters and X and Y filters)
• Media port – CCIR656 & MPEG2/DVD devices
• Software Compatibility
• Windows 95: Display Driver, DirectDraw, Direct3D, DirectVideo, DirectMovie
• Windows NT 3.5, 4.0: Display Driver, Direct3D
• Windows 3.X: Display Driver
• Windows NT MCD OpenGL Driver
• System Software – BIOS, (VGA, DDC2, VBE3), Scitech UniVBE Support

Riva 128 Specifications

Leadership 2D graphics features and performance

• 128-bit engine, 128-bit memory interface
• 100 MHz sgram interface – 1.6 gbytes/sec bandwidth
• 32-bit hardware VGA core for all VGA and SVGA modes
• 230MHz integrated RAMDAC
• NTSC/PAL output

Advanced video processing for emerging applications

• backend hardware scaling (arbitary x:y interpolation with filtering)
• hardware color space conversion (yuv 4:2:2, 4:2:0) – reduce MPEG2 decode load by 20%
• video port – direct connection to CCIR656 stream and hardware MPEG2 devices
• industry hardware standards
• PAL output
• NTSC output
• CCIR656

Real-time consumer 3D

• 100% hardware triangle setup-peak: 5M triangles/sec avg: 1.5M triangles/sec1
• massive array of pixel processing units – 100M pixels/sec2
• full 3D feature set- perspective correct texturing, filtering, lighting, alpha, z-buffer
• advanced 3D features – lod mip mapping, texturing, filtering, lighting, alpha, z-buffer
• texture storage in main memory for both PCI and AGP
• 125-pixel triangles
• 2perspective correct texturing, bilinear filtered, lit, 16 bits Z-buffered, alpha

Compability with PC standards

• Windows® 95 – Display Driver, DirectDraw, Direct 3D, DirectVideo, ActiveX
• Windows NT 3.5, 4.0 – display driver
• Windows 3.x – display driver
• System Software – bios (VGA, DDC2, VBE3), Scitech UniVBE support

NVIDIA’s RIVA 128 Gains Support as Preferred Direct3D Developer Platform

RIVA 128 Delivers Real Time 3D Performance and Special Effects for Next
Generation Titles

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 10, 1997–NVIDIA Corp. today announced its RIVA 128(TM) 3D multimedia accelerator chip has been embraced bysome of the world’s most recognized game developers, such as Electronic Arts, Bullfrog Productions, Gremlin Interactive, Rage Software, Criterion Studios, Acclaim Entertainment, Probe Software, Kinesoft Development and many others, as evidenced by its use to demonstrate cutting-edge games at the ECTS show in London, England.

NVIDIA’s RIVA 128 3D multimedia chip is being praised by developers who are utilizing its horsepower and advanced 3D features to render high-fidelity geometry models and challenging effects such as realistic smoke, fog, lens flares and fire in real-time.

Since the introduction of the RIVA 128 (April 1997), NVIDIA has worked extensively with many developers to optimize their 3D multimedia games for Direct3D(TM) and, concurrent with the release of Microsoft’s DirectX(TM) 5 and NVIDIA OEM customer shipments, is demonstrating the RIVA 128 in key developer booths at ECTS this week in London.

“Games are the acid test for 3D multimedia accelerators,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA. “RIVA 128 lets developers push the envelope to deliver lifelike imagery, cinematic effects and animation as smooth as natural motion. We are extremely excited about the stunning results our work with the leading game developers has delivered. End users have much to look forward to this Christmas.”

Maximum Direct3D Performance with RIVA 128

Direct3D is driving the development of dynamic new 3D games for the personal computer as evidenced by the vast number of titles being released this year. RIVA 128 is the first 128-bit multimedia accelerator chip specifically designed to provide maximum acceleration for Direct3D applications. RIVA 128 and Direct3D give the game developer community broad access to a mainstream real-time 3D platform, allowing them to exploit their technical assets while maximizing return-on-investment.

Ian Shaw, head of Research and Development for Bullfrog Productions Ltd, a UK game developer of the upcoming title “Populus-The Third Coming” stated, “Ourpolicy is to support all good 3D chips, hence the use of Direct3D as an API. We perceive RIVA 128 as one of the most powerful chips on the market for some time to come and will continue to support it through Direct3D.”

“The RIVA 128 delivers stunning Direct3D performance with a comprehensive range of quality 3D features. Our latest Direct3D title, G-Police, looks fabulous on NVIDIA’s new chip. This technology clearly shows the way forward for Direct3D acceleration,” stated Dominic Mallinson, technical director of Psygnosis Ltd, based in Liverpool, England.

“RIVA 128 is the most exciting chip to come along this year,” said Frank Barchard, senior 3D engineer for Electronics Arts Canada based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. “It delivers a noticeable improvement over the best existing chips. Its architecture is efficient and easy to code for, so developers won’t have to spend as much time tuning to get maximum performance.
We used to say we would support 3Dfx or better. Now there’s better.”

“The RIVA 128 solution from NVIDIA represents the current state-of-the-art in 3D on the PC, and possibly the best all-around Direct3D implementation to date,” stated Peter Sills, CEO of Kinesoft Development, based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. “We at Kinesoft are very excited about the power that the RIVA brings to our users and look forward to harnessing its power to provide the next generation in experience to the PC gamer.”

The RIVA 128

The RIVA 128 3D multimedia accelerator is the first in a family of highly integrated graphics products that is targeted at the performance segment of the mainstream graphics market. By leveraging NVIDIA’s graphics technology and the massive gate counts available with SGS-THOMSON’s advanced 0.35 micron 5LM technology, RIVA 128 is able to deliver intense realism, high frame rate 3D, along with leadership 2D, VGA and video acceleration in a single chip. The RIVA 128 3D multimedia accelerator was recently selected by five major OEMs including Dell Computer, Gateway 2000, Micron Electronics and graphics accelerator manufacturers Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. and STB Systems Inc.