Early last week we reported that some pre-order customers were beginning to receive their 3dfx Voodoo4 4500 PCI cards; now 3dfx has broken their silence on the issue with an official confirmation that these 3D cards are now shipping. The single-chip, lower-cost partner to the V5 5500, the V4 is a high-speed 2D and 3D solution that will run in any G3 and G4 Mac. Along with typical 2D acceleration the card supports OpenGL, Glide and Rave 3D APIs, and does support 2x FSAA at lower resolutions.

Here are details from the press release:

3dfx Interactive Inc. (Nasdaq: TDFX - news) today announced the immediate availability of the Voodoo4(TM) 4500 PCI graphics board for Macintosh featuring fully integrated and accelerated 2D/3D rendering capability. Voodoo4 4500 PCI offers a superior design and publishing solution that delivers excellent image quality beyond any other available Mac solution today. Utilizing a 350MHz RAMDAC for optimum 2D imaging, the Voodoo4 4500 PCI delivers resolutions as high as 2048x1536x32 bit with unmatched color and clarity. In addition, Voodoo4 4500 PCI can go beyond analog CRTs to deliver the cleanest, edge-to-edge, creative workspace on ultra-clean, all-digital flat panels. Enhanced 2D acceleration yields unprecedented responsiveness and is further tuned with integrated font and picture caching. So whether users are running Adobe Photoshop, doing layout in QuarkXPress(TM), surfing the Web or taking a break fighting for survival on some alien world, on-screen images will look razor sharp at any resolution.

``Graphics designers can expect to take their artistry to a higher level with less hassle using the Voodoo4 4500 PCI,'' said Bryan Speece, director of Macintosh business development for 3dfx Interactive. ``The Voodoo architecture simultaneously delivers better visual quality and higher performance for users of professional Macintosh applications. This means graphics designers, publishers and content creators can expect smoother, cleaner, faster video performance with better visual quality -- it's just a better tool.''

For $179.99 MSRP, the Voodoo4 4500 PCI exploits the power of the VSA-100 2D/3D graphics processing chip to deliver unparalleled performance and rendering quality. Not to be outdone by its 2D capabilities, the Voodoo4 4500 PCI also delivers incredible levels of Macintosh 3D performance. Boasting an impressive fill rate of 333 Megapixels per second, the Voodoo4 4500 can render vivid, real-time 3D environments in true 32-bit color at amazing frame rates. Together with 32mb of high-speed graphics memory and QuickTime(TM) multimedia support, the Voodoo4 4500 is the perfect high-speed graphics solution for every Macintosh owner. Only 3dfx offers full support for Glide, QuickDraw 3D and Apple OpenGL, ensuring compatibility with the widest array of Macintosh 3D titles. Ziff-Davis MacBench version 5.0 shows Voodoo 4 4500 PCI delivering up to 30 percent faster performance than alternative accelerators running the standard Graphics test suite. Of more significance to design professionals is a score of over 3000 in the Publishing Graphics suite -- more than 300 percent faster than competitive offerings.

3dfx Inc.

3dfx Voodoo4 4500 PCI Mac Press Release

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