3D Overdrive Module

Combined with MacPicasso 540, 3D Overdrive offers unrivaled 3D capabilities

For the first time in graphics accelerator history, the technical advantages of 2D and 3D imaging have been combined without compromise. This provides professional and non-professional users alike with an ingenious and effective tool to put their ideas and concepts into a multi-dimensional form. This highly innovative concept is made possible by the use of three individual graphics controllers, each with a capacity of 4MB, being connected by a specially designed 2D/3D bridge chip. This results in a total capacity of 12MB, thereby allowing fast 3D imaging even at a window size of 1600 x 1200 pixels in thousands of colours.

The Real Time Solid Modeling concept allows users to work immediately on an already rendered model rather than waiting for the inadequate preview results. This dispenses with the use of wire frame models during editing, thereby resulting in a more precise manoeuvering of objects and light sources, and ,most important of all, a much faster result.

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The immediate visual output of implemented graphic effects generated by the Real Time Modeling concept helps to determine the degree of visual quality in the context of the entire image. This makes 3D Overdrive an ideal tool for beginners (who will be particularly motivated by its fast results) and professionals alike.

3D Resolution

• 8 MB fully accessible 3D memory for frame and texture mapping.

• QuickDraw 3D: Apple standard high level API
• Rave: Speed optimised low level API for 3D Overdrive
• Glide: Powerful 3D Interface for full screen game applications

• Supported features: Bi-trilinear filter, LOD-MIP mapping, fogging, transparency, translucency, alphablended polygons with subpixel correction, antialiasing, texture morphing,floating point depth buffer, subpixel correction.

• 45 Mpixel/sec. texture fillrate
• > 1 million 25 pixel triangles/sec.
• With all features activated: 300.000 application triangles/sec.
• Integrated chipsets: Voodoo Pixelfx, Voodoo Texelfx, VT 2D/3D bridge dedicated processor

3D Resolution

Even in 3D resolution mode window size can be defined at 1600 x 1200 pixels with all 3D features still available.

Multiple software interface support

A few examples of accelerated applications:

• QuickDraw 3D: Strata, InfiniD, LightWave.
• Rave: Maxon Cinema 4D XL, Weekend Warrior, Mechwarrior 2
• Glide: Quake

Providing you with a more accurate preview, whose quality is very close to the rendered image. Due to its easy handling even beginners will be able to achieve quick results.

Speed

Real time imaging results in a more precise manoeuvering of objects and light sources.

VOODOO Chipset technical features

4 MB linear frame buffer	An area of memory in which an image is stored whilst it is displayed on screen. This large 4Mb enables you to display up to 960x720 in true colour double buffered at 30 fps.
4 MB texture memory	A dedicated area of memory where all the textures used in the 3D scene are stored. Thanks to this we can store many textures to be mapped over the polygons.
Multiple format texture buffer (8 bit, 16 bit)	We can handle up to 13 different file formats for textures, from 32x32 up to 256x256. It is possible to use any texture size thanks to our downsampling ability. In other words any texture you would like to see in 3D will be displayed.
24 bit frame buffer with 16 bit dithered output	If you are working in milions of colours, you can see soft shadings thanks to our dithering ability. In thousands of colours this dithering is done in 15 bit.
Polygonal-based Gouraud shading and texture modulation	This feature makes it possible to "round" the polygons giving them a soft appearance, with specular and diffuse light effects. In addition texture modulation provides diffuse lightning effects for each texture mapped in the scene.
Sub-pixel correction	Improves image quality making each pixel at the best position because the pixel is oversampled in a 4x4 matrix.
Level of detail (LOD) MIP mapping	This is a real-time rendering engine where multiple textures, each with an increased level of detail, are created for each object. In this way far-away objects have a less detailed texture map than close-up objects. Therefore you only need one texture stored in the dedicated texture memory to simulate reality.
Bi-linear and Tri-linear texture filtering	This method reduces the blockiness of a texture by blurring the edges to give a real aspect even when you are very close to the texture. The trilinear filtering is more sophisticated because it reduces the blur effect and keeps the soft transition between pixels.
Perspective corrected texture mapping	The textures are really mapped into 3D polygons and they keep the right perspective in the scene. This feature makes distant objects appear clear and real.
Over 45 Mpixel/sec sustained fill rate for advanced filtered textures	This is the speed at which the 3D Overdrive can texture map polygons. This benchmark is achieved even with every special feature turned on.
Over 1 Million triangles per second for filtered, LOD MIP-mapped, Zbuffered, alpha blended, fogged, textured 25-pixel triangles	This is the number of elementary polygons or triangles that the 3D Overdrive can render in one second. Each triangle is assumed to be about 25 pixels big. This enables you to build even complex scenes and handle this very quickly, up to 30 fps.
Anti aliasing	This feature reduces the sharp and jagged edges to provide a soft contour. In this way the resolution you are using looks higher than the actual one.
Depth buffering (16 bit floating point Z-Buffer)	This buffer stores the depth information of each polygon to know which one is in front of each other. The high accuracy and the speed of this buffer makes it possible to avoid rendering errors like crossing polygons and very close polygons. Thanks to the floating point precision it is possible to discriminate between 2 different polygons even when they are very far away from the camera. This produces perfect rendering output of complex 3D scenes.
Alpha blending	This is a special blending technique to mix two different textures. The perspective calculations are performed on both textures used in the blending technique and thanks to the alpha channel the blending is very smooth and provides wonderful softened rendering effects.
Special effects per pixel: fog, transparency, translucency	You can define real fog in the scene, linear or exponential with every colour, and it is possible to define for each pixel the level of transparency that a texture has and whether a texture map is not completely opaque but semi-transparent.
Texture compositing, morphing, animation	These effects make it possible to simulate real effects by animating the texture mapped into a 3D scene. This creates great visual effects.
Support for all Quickdraw applications	It is simple! All the software that you have is rinning faster and benefits from the new features that the 3D Overdrive provides.
Resolution up to 1600x1200	This enables you to use 3D packages in a very productive way. You can choose any resolution and the 3D acceleration is still available!
True colour 3D acceleration in 1152x870	Thanks to the 12 MB of ram available, the winning MP540 + 3D Overdrive solution allows you to see sharp pictures in high resolution to help you work even faster.
Support for all RAVE games	Thanks to our drivers we have a full support for the RAVE standard. If a game uses RAVE you have to see how fast and cool it is running on a 3D Overdrive.
Support for the native GLIDE API developed by 3Dfx	Thanks to this support you can play native 3Dfx software games in full screen at 30 fps. Many titles are already available.

3D Overdrive

�270.20

MP 540 + 3D Overdrive

�398.33