S3 Graphics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Via Technologies, has unveiled the highest-performance graphics card in its S3 Chrome 5-series to date. Besides offering better performance compared to predecessors, the S3 Chrome 540 GTX features a wide array of connectors for various display types.

“S3 Graphics has continued to introduce new visualization technologies to the market by adding another feature-rich product to our growing portfolio of key graphics and display processors. Our new Chrome 540 GTX card brings features usually found only in enthusiast grade products to mainstream users, making the latest innovative technologies available to all,” said Dr. Ken Weng, general manager for S3 Graphics.

S3 Graphics Chrome 540 GTX graphics chip supports DirectX 10.1/OpenGL 3.0 functionality and features built-in audio core with 7.1 output support via HDMI. The chip also features high-definition video decoder that supports hardware acceleration of H.264 (MPEG4 AVC), MPEG2 HD and VC-1 formats as well as high-def video post-processing capabilities. Besides, the Chrome 5-series graphics processing units feature PowerWise technology for reduction of power consumption.

S3 Chrome 540 GTX graphics card clocks chip at 800MHz and has 256MB of GDDR3 memory connected using 64-bit bus operating at 1900MHz. The graphics board is equipped with dual-link DVI, DisplayPort and HDMI connectors, which puts it inline with ATI Radeon HD 4550 graphics card in terms of connectivity options. Meanwhile, performance-wise the new Chrome 540 GTX is comparable to ATI Radeon HD 4350, which has fewer connectivity options and usually costs less than $50.

S3 Graphics-branded add-in cards featuring the Chrome 540 GTX, bundled with WinDVD8 for Blu-ray disc playback, are now available on S3 Graphics GStore for $69.95.

Tags: S3 Graphics, Chrome