S3 Graphics Chrome 440 GTX released

S3 Graphics unveiled the Chrome 440 GTX, this new card is aimed at HTPCs or low-cost gaming PCs and is the firm's fastest graphics card yet. The Chrome 440 GTX is made on a 65nm process and costs $69, it uses GDDR3 memory and has support for DirectX 10.1. This low-profile PCI Express 2.0 card features a 725MHz core and supports 1080p HD playback. The Chrome 440 GTX won't run Crysis well but if it's like its Chrome 430 GT predecessor it should offer some nice competition for low-end cards from AMD and NVIDIA if S3 manages to create decent drivers.

According to S3 Graphics the card is 15 percent faster in 3D benchmarks than the current market leader in its class, the AMD Radeon HD 3450.

The Chrome 400 GTX is the latest addition to the S3 Graphics Chrome 400 series, delivering exceptional graphics realism and stunning HD multimedia performance in optimized desktop and media PCs. Based on the low profile PCI Express® Gen 2 graphics card specification, the Chrome 440 GTX is ideally suited for PC users who wish to enhance their PCs to provide dual-stream Picture-in-Picture (PiP) 1080p Blu-ray Disc™ playback with the latest DirectX 10.1 / OpenGL 2.1 unified shader architecture. The Chrome 440 GTX uses the latest GDDR3 memory for optimized memory bandwidth and native HDMI connectivity for the latest digital displays.

The S3 Graphics Chrome 440 GTX outperforms the current market leader in its class by over 15% in 3D benchmarks and rendered frames-per-second in the most popular DX10 and DX9 games.

The S3 Graphics Chrome 440 GTX gives users the perfect balance of leading DirectX 10.1 3D performance, high-quality dual-stream Blu-ray Disc playback, and advanced display connectivity using a high-speed, 64-bit, energy-efficient DDR3 memory bus interface. Display connections allow HDMI with audio, dual-link DVI (DVI-D/DVI-I), and an optional CRT connector for enhanced productivity using configurable multiple display settings for smooth image details at higher resolutions.

The Chrome 440 GTX incorporates a higher performance ChromotionHD™ 2.0 video processor unit (VPU), advanced filtering, and cutting edge post-processing to perform ultra smooth decoding of MPEG-4/AVC (H.264), MPEG-2, VC-1, WMV-HD, and AVS video for Blu-ray™ content and a movie-going experience. To further enhance operation for home theatre applications that demand cool-and-quiet operation, the Chrome 440 GTX features PowerWise™ technology for a power smart design to maximize heat dissipation without compromising performance or features.