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投稿者：
ＲＥＤ５ @ csimain.canon-soft.co.jp on 97/11/20 12:31:12
PowerVR to Diversify in the Next Generation
November 20, 1997
New details of PowerVR's next hardware are being revealed, but in many ways, it raises more questions than answers.
Previously, names like Highlander, PMX and PowerVR2 have been tossed about interchangeably when referring to the second generation of PowerVR hardware (no PCX2 isnt second generation). Sources close to PowerVR have indicated that doing so is largely incorrect. Taking things a step further, the second generation of PowerVR hardware isnt going to be a single chipset, but instead will actually be an entire family of chipsets that will range in features and of course, price.
As it stands right now, sources have indicated that there will be at least five new chipsets all based around a reference piece of second generation PowerVR technology. The original names of Highlander and PMX only referred to one such chipset: the one slated for base use in PCs. This leaves a host of other chips which will be used for everything from Dural (which also is said to have a new as-yet-unknown name) to arcade applications. Sources have indicated that the technology will be extremely cheap and scalable (much like the current architecture) but that even in the lowest end form (which is expected to be the PC product) it should compete toe-to-toe with the best offerings from the likes of 3Dfx. At the same time, due to the integrated 2D/3D nature of the technology, PowerVR is also said to be making moves to get on OEM PC motherboards. Supposedly at least one such deal has already been made but it is currently unknown with whom.
As a result of the distinction between members of the new chipset family, equating the polygon performance (or even some of the hardware features) of Dural with that of the PC chipset would to this point be potentially erroneous. At the same time, the known specifications for Dural are still correct in terms of components, OS, configuration, etc. Arcade chipsets based around the PowerVR technology are said to be even more powerful (supposedly exceeding performance of Sega's Model 3).
Some developers who are already working with the technology have indicated that price points for the first PC products will stay in the sub $100 range with availability happening late in the first quarter of 1998 (around the same time frame as the Voodoo 2 release).
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