Western Digital Sticks with 8514/A; New Cards for AT, MCA Buses
 
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
LAS VEGAS (Microbytes Daily News Service) --- Many graphics
boards using the Texas Instruments 34010 processor, and a few
using the newer 34020, are on display here at Comdex. Most 34010
boards are now in the range of $1000, and one even lists for
$695. But IBM's 8514/A isn't out of the picture: Western
Digital's Paradise line has been expanded to include several
8514/A cards, making it the first commercial supplier other than
IBM. (Last spring, WD disclosed the register definitions of
8514/A and then announced a VLSI chip set for the standard.)
 
The new Paradise 8514/A Plus card works in AT-bus machines. It
will be available next month for $999, the company said. With
512K of on-board RAM, it can generate 16 colors at 1024 by 768
resolution on interlaced or noninterlaced monitors. With an
additional 512K on a daughtercard, the Paradise board can
generate 256 colors at 1024 by 768.
 
WD also announced a version of the Paradise 8514/A for the Micro
Channel bus that will sell for $1099 and be available in
December. Then, in the first quarter of 1990, WD will ship the
Paradise 8514/A Plus Combo, a $1299 AT-bus board that
incorporates both 8514/A and VGA support. The Plus Combo will let
users access either VGA or 8514/A graphics through software and
even change from one to the other as though there were two cards,
the company said.
 
Contact: Western Digital, 800 E. Middlefield Rd., Mountain View,
CA 94043; (415) 960-3353.
 
                              --- Andy Reinhardt
 
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