Chicago (IL) - XGI's Volari graphics cards could become available on a broader base in the US as a result of a distribution agreement the manufacturer signed with US distributor D&H.

Although Volari had introduced its Volari line in November 2003 with much hype, the products so far don't live to their expectations in performance as well as market penetration. According to a report by Jon Peddie research, XGI's cards accounted for about 0.28 percent of all graphics cards sold in the fourth quarter of 2004.

One of the reasons the cards weren't able to find more buyers is simply that they are scarce in the US and in fact only had been available on Chaintech boards in visible numbers.

A few days ago, we heard that XGI was in negotiations with a number of US distributors to increase the pace of Volari products in North America. Today the company announced that it signed an agreement with Harrisburg-based D&H to market and sell the Volari series in the US market. According to XGI, D&H will distribute Volari board products to "a broad base of value-added resellers, system integrators and system builders." The product line will cover the models V3, V3XT, V5 and V8.

Pricing of the boards have not been announced yet, but we believe that Volari graphic cards will show their presence in the entry-level and mainstream market. Users however should expect the cards to surface in a range between $30 and $130, D&H said.