S3 Launches Energy-Efficient Graphics Chips

By Steve Seguin
published

S3 Graphics announced on Wednesday its new Chrome 400 ULP Series of low-power graphics solutions for ultra mobile devices.

A new energy-efficient graphics processor by S3 Graphics is looking to bring discrete graphics solutions to ultra mobile devices. S3 Graphics is claiming the new graphics processor delivers the highest performance-per-watt ratio ever for a new breed of energy-efficient desktops and portable notebooks. With a maximum power envelope extending below 7-watts, the graphics solution is claimed to produce significantly less heat than competing offerings, making it possible for even subnotebooks to feature dedicated graphics.

The Chrome 400 ULP series comes in three different flavors; the Chrome 430 ULP, the Chrome 435 ULP and the Chrome 440 ULP. The Chrome 430 ULP seems to be the variant that was developed specifically for subnotebooks, featuring a TDP of less than 7-watts, HD video acceleration and DirectX 10.1 support. The heftier Chrome 435 ULP has been designed for thin and light notebooks with claims it out-competes its competition in both energy-efficiency and performance. Lastly, the Chrome 440 ULP has been designed for desktop replacements systems, promising HD 1080p playback, dual-stream Blu-ray support and DirectX 10.1 gaming performance.

The Chrome 400 ULP series of graphics processors have already begun shipping, with Fujitsu being a known OEM customer. While this news may mean there are some new spiffy Fujitsu Lifebooks in the works, it should be interesting to see if future netbooks will also adopt these new graphics processors. Netbooks have been designed for low-cost and lean function, not gaming-capable performance. One area netbooks could use a boost in though is battery life, making a more energy-efficient graphics processor a possible consideration.

Steve Seguin
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • invisik
    dx10.1!!
    beat nvidia to it lol.
    xD
    Reply
  • smalltime0
    I'd like to see S3 come back as a major party in the discreet GPU market, I had a S3 something back when they were about 2 MB
    Reply
  • Camikazi
    Now let's see who gets to DX 10.1 next, Intel or nVidia.
    Reply
  • jaragon13
    invisikdx10.1!!beat nvidia to it lol.xDnVidia never was going to get Direct-X 10.1,as they never needed to,if they would not adopt it,Microsoft would not make it a required update(and specifically,as ATi had the advantage,as their graphics cards were designed for DX10.1 and not DX10)
    Reply
  • rocky1234
    yeah had the very first S3 virge back in the day that was smokin it worked with 1 game & that was the game that came with the diamond Viper
    it was 4MB wow those were the days. I can't remember what that game was that came with that card bit I do remember the card costing a lot...lol
    Reply
  • Master Exon
    where are my benchmarks?
    Reply
  • its crap, you would do better if you buy laptop with integrated in chipset graphic card from ati/amd or nvidia, no problems with drivers much less compatibility issues, besides probably you will get better performance with those integrated graphic cards.
    Reply
  • evilshuriken
    Do you have any proof to back your claims "no more s3"?
    It seems like you're just pulling that out of your ass.
    Reply
  • Aragorn
    Looks great. While these sub notebooks and netbooks were not designed for gamming there are certainly those who will want to watch HD videos on them and those that would like to game on them (light gaming, from time to time on the road) so if these GPUs don't raise prices to much they could be a huge boon to the designs that use them. Everyone wants their systems to be capable of doing anything even when they don't do everything with it.
    Reply
  • Pei-chen
    High end integrated GPU will smoke this.
    Reply