XGI Technology, a graphics company based in Taipei, Taiwan, who recently appointed new president, said it would produce graphics chips with PCI Express x16 interface in January, 2005.

The Asian graphics startup no longer intends to conquer the high-end market of graphics cards, but seems to concentrate on entry level and mainstream graphics products. The next breed of XGI’s chips, the code-named XG45, XG47 and mobile XP10 graphics processing units, will be fully and “natively” compatible with PCI Express x16 bus and will come out in early 2005, the company’s new president Jonathon Shyi told DigiTimes web-site.

Sampling of XGI’s PCI Express chips will begin in November and December this year, while commercial production is slated to begin in January, 2005.

Jonathon Shyi did not reveal any peculiarities or specifications of XGI’s XG45, XG47 and XP10 graphics chips, but stated that the new processors will feature “enhanced capability that will allow XGI to compete head-to-head with its market rivals”. The president did not reveal the kind of capabilities, but source close to the company suggested that the new products for XGI will support Shader Model 3.0.

XGI Technology recently demonstrated its PCI Express graphics cards with a special AGP-to-PCI Express bridge. Additionally, the firm is rumored to begin production of its own-brand graphics cards.