jmke

VisionTek First to Deliver 9800 PRO 256MB

XTASY 9800 PRO 256MB brings Ultimate 3D Graphics to High-End Gaming



INVERNESS, Ill., May 14, 2003 - - VisionTek, a division of Hartford Computer Group and a leading supplier of advanced PC graphics cards and memory solutions, today announced the availability of the XTASY 9800 PRO 256MB, a high-end 3D graphics accelerator built utilizing ATI’s RADEON® 9800 PRO Visual Processing Unit. It becomes the first consumer graphics card to feature 256MB of fast DDR2 memory, incredible 3D game play, and real-time Hollywood style cinematic effects. VisionTek, ATI’s Premium Retail Partner for North America is the first of ATI’s add-in board partners to deliver the new product.

"You can see the difference immediately when you run the 256MB 9800 PRO," remarked Jeff Hoeft, graphics product manager for VisionTek. "You notice it some in the lower resolutions, but when you turn it all on [cinematic effects] and crank the resolution all the way up, then you really see the big performance increases."

While Intel and AMD have been locked in an ongoing battle for processor supremacy, ATI Technologies and NVIDIA have waged their own battle in the graphics arena with even greater ferocity. At stake has been the title of 3D processor champion, with ATI winning the most recent rounds. This latest product should further solidify ATI’s leadership position.

The XTASY 9800 PRO features ATI’s RADEON 9800 PRO VPU, a fast-and-wide™ 256-bit memory interface with 256MB of high speed DDR2 memory, full Microsoft DirectX® 9 support and an 8-pixel pipeline. The card has a core clock speed of 380MHz and an effective memory clock of 700MHz. It has a suggested retail price of $499.

VisionTek is not expecting to sell high volumes of its new card simply because of its selling price. With a suggested retail price near the cost of a complete entry-level PC system, the card will be beyond the budget of many PC gamers. "When you consider that a gamer could buy three consoles for the same price, you quickly realize who this card is engineered for," quipped Hoeft. "If you’re the kind of gamer that has to have the absolute fastest performance then there is no other choice."

The XTASY 9800 PRO 256MB is available from many of VisionTek’s resellers including CompUSA and TigerDirect. The XTASY 9800 PRO 256MB is also the centerpiece of VisionTek’s Ultimate Gamers Contest. VisionTek is giving away three of the cards along with a top-end Alienware gaming PC to winners of the contest.

About VisionTek:
VisionTek is a division of Hartford Computer Group Inc. Founded in 1978, Hartford has evolved into an organization specializing in technology services, IT asset management, and IT equipment services. Hartford Computer Group acquired the VisionTek and XTASY brands in December 2002 and is committed to bringing the most innovative and best performing products to PC enthusiasts.