***Bus & AGP
Intel Positions Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) for
Workstation Market
(March 6)
Intel Corp. announced it is working with industry-leading
workstation OEMs and graphics vendors on a new graphics
specification designed to extend the Accelerated Graphics
Port (AGP) interface specification to meet advanced
workstation graphics needs.
The new specification, AGP Pro, is expected to deliver up to
four times the electrical power of today's AGP interface
specification. It includes an enhanced connector, improved
cooling system, form factor specifications such as graphics
card size, and layout specifications to meet the demands of
workstation graphics users on both IA-32 and IA-64
platforms. The new specification will be supported in both
AGP 2X and AGP 4X modes. AGP Pro includes advanced
capabilities such as high-performance single and multiple-
image display, integrated video and 3-D functionality, and
advanced realism. These features will significantly improve
performance for users of simulation, mechanical CAD,
financial modeling and digital content creation
applications.
Intel expects to make public the AGP Pro specification
during the second quarter of 1998 as an addendum to part of
the AGP Interface Specification Rev 2.0. As with AGP 1.0,
Intel will also drive the associated interoperability forums
for the industry.
www.intel.com/pressroom.
WAVE Comments
AGP Pro is but another example of Intel’s dominant presence
in the industry. We at the WAVE Report have been critical
about the limitations of AGP, especially its lack of
scalability including multimonitor support for high end
applications. It is hinted that this has been addressed in
the AGP Pro version. We ask the question - why is Intel
confining its work in the industry to only a few select
players while it leaves the rest dangling until Q2 1998 when
the final version is released? Such actions reflect an
industry which is increasingly closed. Certainly Intel and
its chosen partners benefit but we continue to wonder is the
industry better off in the long run by such close knit
actions. Certainly the limitations of AGP 2X, and its clumsy
3 Drop solution, would indicate that Intel has had less than
sterling implementation effectiveness.
Wave Issue 9802 3/23/98 Article 4-01