Fremont, California, December 2, 2008 - S3 Graphics today released Beta drivers for the latest version of the OpenGL 3.0 API to take advantage of the Khronos Group’s open, cross-platform 3D standard on the newly released Chrome 500 Series programmable GPUs. This major milestone allows software developers to start OpenGL 3.0 development on S3 Graphics hardware using the latest beta driver and GLSL 1.3 shading language on Windows XP and Vista.

These drivers bring out the latest capabilities of the OpenGL 3.0 API so developers can enhance their software applications to fully utilize the Chrome 500 Series graphics hardware for innovative and realistic 3D rendering. New features in OpenGL 3.0 include a new version of GLSL shader language, vertex array objects, 32-bit FP textures, four new texture compression methods, sRGB rendering/blending, and performance enhancements for conditional rendering with highly efficient array indexing.

 The first S3 Graphics product to support the latest OpenGL 3.0 API, the S3 Graphics Chrome 530 GT, is available now through the GStore online outlet at: https://s3gstore.s3graphics.com/

“S3 Graphics is proud to be a major participant and contributor to the Khronos Group and OpenGL Architecture Review Board (ARB). Our goal is to bring to market cutting edge graphics based on full compliance with the requirements of the OpenGL standard,” said Yanjun Zhang, Director of Linux Development at S3 Graphics. “With our visual computing ecosystem of partners and customers continuing to grow, the OpenGL community can be confident that S3 Graphics hardware and software are ready to take advantage of the new graphics features of OpenGL 3.0 for upcoming applications.”

S3 Graphics offers a premium line of discrete graphics processors, from the Chrome 400 Series to the latest Chrome 500 Series multimedia GPUs for the most immersive OpenGL 2D/3D experience. Diverse markets that can take advantage of Chrome 500 Series OpenGL 3.0 acceleration include game, CAD, workstation, and other related PC and workstation markets. To download the latest OpenGL 3.0 beta driver, please go to:

http://www.s3graphics.com/en/resources/drivers/chrome_500/

The S3 Graphics Chrome 500 Series

The latest graphics architecture from S3 Graphics supports both OpenGL 3.0 and DirectX 10.1 standards and features the ChromotionHD™ engine for playback of the latest HD standards including Picture-in-Picture (PiP) Blu-ray playback and hardware acceleration of H.264, MPEG-2, VC-1, WMV-HD, and AVS formats. Chrome 500 Series processors incorporate the latest audio and display integration including DisplayPort with HDCP, HDMI with HDCP, dual-link DVI with HDCP, and dual-channel LVDS. Integrated Dolby 7.1 digital surround sound and HD Audio controllers are supported natively in the GPU.

For more details about the S3 Graphics Chrome 500 Series please visit: http://www.s3graphics.com/en/products/desktop/chrome_500/

OpenGL is governed by a consortium of graphics-related companies within the Khronos Group, committed to bringing graphics to the forefront of the user experience. The OpenGL specification gives software developers a set of 2D/3D instructions for hardware acceleration of graphics, rendering, and special effect functions, using the full programmable shader power of the GPU. The OpenGL standard is the most widely used graphics API, shipping in a full range of hardware platforms, and supporting major operating systems like Windows® and Linux.

More information on the OpenGL specification can be found at: http://www.khronos.org/opengl/