HP Professional AP500 Graphics: The Workstation Difference - Page 3

Graphics: The Workstation Difference 3 Workstations and Graphics Graphics and multimedia are driving the evolution of workstations. Graphics have always been a fundamental part of a workstation. Today, they are one of the major differences between a workstation and a personal computer. User demands for higher resolution, more performance, greater realism, and new types of interaction -- such as video conferencing and voice input -- require the utmost performance from all parts of a workstation. To address these ever changing needs, Compaq offers a family of graphics products for Professional Workstations to meet diverse application requirements ranging from 2D and multiple display 2D to entry-level 3D to high-end professional 3D. Support for multiple displays and very fast 2D, including window and menu performance, are critical to applications in the financial markets as well as electronic design automation parts of the geographic information systems market. Compaq offers the Matrox Millennium G200 and Productiva 100 Quad Multi Monitor Series to meet the needs of professionals in these areas. Many applications require text, menus, and simple graphics. Applications in this area would include software development, personal productivity, databases, and networking. Users of these applications require low cost combined with good performance and high display quality. Compaq offers a variety of low cost, high-performance workstations that support the ELSA Gloria Synergy to meet these users needs. Other applications are graphics intensive, and demand highest graphics performance. These are often technical, Computer Aided Design (CAD), Digital Content Creation (DCC) or analysis applications. As these applications are often used by people in workgroups, cost effectiveness is essential. In this space, we encounter mechanical and electrical CAD users, Geographic Information Systems, and many science and research users. Compaq PowerStorm 300 and 350 graphics accelerators are designed to provide high performance and high value for these users. The high-end consists of applications where the highest level of performance and realism is required and cost is secondary. These systems are typically used for various types of visual simulation and scientific visualization. Perhaps the most familiar examples are flight simulation and virtual reality, but other examples include scientific visualization, assembly modeling, styling, and architectural walkthrough. Other high-end applications include assembly modeling, or electronic mockup, the technique of designing a product as a single unit -- an entire automobile, airplane, or ship, for example. This approach allows checking for mechanical interference and seeing how well parts fit together. It is a revolutionary approach for detecting many problems early in the design cycle. For example, if the entire engine compartment of a car is in a single model, you can see if you will be able to get a wrench on the bolts of an alternator bracket, or if the water pump or serpentine belt are in the way! In fact, you can see if you will be able to get the wrench (with your hand and arm) to the bolt and then turn the wrench by simulating this movement in the computer. Assembly modeling requires massive computing power to work with detailed solid or surface models, plus the graphics power to interactively work with these large datasets. High end Compaq PowerStorm graphics products are well suited to these needs. The combination of a Compaq Professional Workstation XP1000 with PowerStorm 300 graphics or Compaq Professional Workstation SP700 with PowerStorm 600 graphics delivers high performance rendering and texture mapping to meet the most rigorous demands. Like assembly modeling, styling uses large geometric models, but its goal is to produce visual realism by creating an image that is indistinguishable from a photograph of the finished product. 0054-0499-A