SUN INTRODUCES GXi, A LOW-COST ACCELERATED GRAPHICS BOARD FOR SUN386i WORKSTATIONS All Users Benefit From Integrated Graphics Capabilities ANAHEIM, Calif. June 5, 1989 At the A/E/C Systems '89 conference today, Sun Microsystems introduced color accelerated graphics for its popular Sun386i TM workstation, boosting performance on graphics-related functions by three to ten times. The new GXi graphics accelerator fully integrates high-speed graphics into the Sun386i environment. A graphics-enhanced Sun386i offers benefits over personal computers that use third-party add-in graphics boards while also giving users the advantages of a workstation that runs integrated DOS and UNIX applications. The capabilities of the Sun386i graphics workstation improve performance on everyday tasks such as windowing, scrolling and text processing. In addition, the GXi board also accelerates 2-D graphics functions such as vectors and area fills for applications like computer-aided design. For example, zoom, pan and redraw in AutoCAD are now significantly accelerated. Based on Intel's 80386 microprocessor, the Sun386i is the first workstation to merge the DOS and UNIX operating systems, enabling users to run either type of application simultaneously in multiple windows and easily exchange information between programs. The GXi accelerates overall graphics performance for the hundreds of existing UNIX applications that run on the Sun386i. It also will support OPEN LOOK TM , an intuitive graphical user interface that utilizes graphic icons and pull-down menus. For DOS, the GXi boosts text processing speeds nearly two-fold for the thousands of DOS applications available for the Sun386i. This accelerated DOS performance is an additional enhancement of the Sun386i's DOS capabilities; Sun also recently announced a two-fold improvement in AT bus interrupt response on the Sun386i, along with enriched DOS keyboard, mouse and screen response. Graphics Accelerator Board The GXi accelerator is based on the industry-standard Texas Instruments TMS34010, a 5-MIPS graphics processor widely used in the high-end personal computer industry. Since the TMS34010 is supported by hundreds of PC graphics software vendors, Sun customers will be able to integrate future PC graphics functions and enhancements as they are developed. The GXi architecture augments the TMS34010 with a custom Sun ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) that speeds critical graphics functions such as vectors, fills, scrolls, BitBlit operations and shading. The custom Sun ASIC also increases the graphics output speed of the 16-bit TMS34010 by providing a 32-bit interface to the workstation's video RAM. This capability enables a GXi-equipped workstation to offer twice the drawing speed of competitive high-end PCs, which typically interface the video RAM directly to the TMS34010 chip's 16-bit bus. The GXi graphics accelerator interfaces to the Sun386i CPU through a dedicated 32-bit wide bus--instead of the 16-bit AT bus common to PCs--to provide much higher system throughput. The GXi board can accept up to 4 Mbytes of SIMM memory for code extensions, opening the GXi to future enhancements such as 3-D graphics, entire DOS display emulations and windowing interfaces. The GXi will co-exist with SunVGA TM , providing VGA compatible windows alongside accelerated graphics windows. Superior to PCs A Sun386i with a GXi board provides integrated graphics acceleration, while most competitive 80386-based systems must depend on third-party graphics board makers for compatibility and reasonable functionality. Because Sun offers the software environment -- including operating system, windowing system and software drivers -- applications are accelerated unmodified on a Sun386i graphics workstation. "In contrast, many third-party graphics board solutions do not provide the software drivers or level of integration necessary to run existing graphics applications," said Andrew Nilssen, product marketing manager for the Sun386i family. This product line is designed and marketed by Sun's East Coast Division, located in Billerica, Mass. The Sun386i graphics workstation is well-suited for the traditional Sun386i user community -- people who want the performance of a UNIX workstation but have DOS applications critical to their work. Specific applications such as electronic publishing, financial services and computer-aided design and drafting will particularly benefit from its expanded capabilities. Availability, Pricing The GXi, offered in both the 3-MIPS and 5-MIPS versions of the Sun386i, is available in 60 days. Sample configurations of the Sun386i graphics workstation: a Sun386i/150 (3 MIPS), including color display, 91-Mbyte hard drive, 1.44-Mbyte floppy disk and SunOS TM is priced at $13,990; a 5-MIPS Sun386i/250 with 8 Mbytes of memory, 16-inch 1150 x 900 color display, 155-Mbyte hard drive, 1.44-Mbyte floppy and SunOS is priced at $19,990. Existing Sun386i users can upgrade to the GXi graphics environment for $2,750. Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a leading worldwide supplier of network-based distributed computing systems, including professional workstations, servers and UNIX operating system and productivity software. ### Press contacts: Sun Microsystems, Inc., John Loiacono (415) 336-6424 Beaupre & Co. Public Relations, Debra Valentine (603) 436-6690