Posted: April 25, 2000
Written by: Tuan "Solace" Nguyen
Note: This preview was written April 20th. Some data/facts may become inaccurate as new information becomes available.

DualHead (cont.)

New to the table with the G450 is Matrox G450’s 165 MHz Transmission-Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS) transmitter running at 165MHz, which outputs to a DVI-based digital flat panel at resolutions as high as 1600 x 1200, in 24-bit color. Those of you who have experienced low resolution output on flat panels will appreciate this feature.

Environment Mapped Bump Mapping

Among all the unique features that the Millennium G400 offered, Environment Mapped Bump Mapping had to be one of the coolest features of the card. This feature is also built into the G450 chipset itself, and just as in the G400, it is done in a single pass.

First, you have your texture layer. Then you have a black and white bump layer (which is just another texture layer that's all black and white) that lies on top of the texture layer. What this bump layer indicates is lighting. What part is dark and what part is light.

The element that distinguishes EMBM from other techniques is that it can map on the surrounding environment as well.

Conclusion

The main differences between the G400 and the G450 are enhanced features such as 0.18u fabrication process, core speed increase, native DDR memory architecture, a second RAMDAC for increased resolution and refresh rate support for the secondary display, TV-out encoder able to be set at a different resolution than your main display, support for DirectX EMBM, DVI support, and increased 2D/3D performance.

Matrox has once again introduced a follow up worthy of recognition. Many of the features of the G450 were introduced in the G400. Unlike other semi-annual graphics card updates that usually deal with speed increments, Matrox decided to throw in a few new features while increasing speed. This is one product to watch out for. Expect Matrox to do a similar MAX version of the G450 and a Marvel version.

Expect to see G450 cards as early as the second half (July and beyond) of 2000.

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