Hanover/Starnberg, March 19, 1998 - Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc., (Nasdaq: DIMD), a leader in Internet multimedia acceleration, has announced the addition of the FirePort 40 dual channel PCI Ultra/Ultra Wide SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) Host Adapter to its award-winning FirePort SCSI line. Designed for PC users operating a Pentium or Pentium Pro system under Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0, the FirePort 40 Dual combines two 40 Mbyte/sec channels and UltraSCSI speed to meet the growing demands of multimedia applications and entry-level server applications. Available today through Diamond Multimedia's extensive distributor, value-added reseller and system integrator channels, the FirePort 40 Dual PCI Ultra/Ultra Wide SCSI Host Adapter kit sells for an estimated retail price of $299.95 and includes the Dual Host Adapter, Diamond Multimedia's advanced UltraEasy Diagnostic Utility and UltraEasy Tools 2.0 CD, two SCSI ribbon cables and Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, DOS and Novell NetWare 3.12. and 4.11 drivers.

"As desktop workstation requirements for faster and larger hard drives continue to grow, SCSI clearly becomes the best choice for high-performance I/O, especially for multitasking operating environments such as Windows NT 4.0 running intensive multimedia applications such as professional graphics and video editing," said Ken Comstock, general manager for Diamond Multimedia's SCSI product line.

FirePort 40 Dual Offers Performance Advantages over Single Channel SCSI Adapters

The FirePort 40 Dual PCI Ultra/Ultra Wide SCSI Host Adapter's dual channel design allows slower speed devices, like CD-ROMs and tape drives, to be connected to one channel and high-speed devices, such as Ultra Wide hard drives, to be connected to the second channel and operate at full speed without performance degradation.

Supporting up to 30 devices (15 per channel) and using only one PCI slot and one IRQ, the FirePort 40 Dual outperforms existing multi-channel devices due to its advanced single integrated RISC script controller from Symbios Logic. While other dual designs utilize two individual SCSI controllers, which is more costly, the SYM53C876 controller provides two Wide Ultra (Fast-20) SCSI interfaces.

"Users who want to expand their systems can replace their single-channel solutions with the FirePort 40 Dual SCSI Host Adapter and realize the benefits of a true multi-function device," said Tom Lagatta, vice president of marketing and business development at Symbios Logic. "In an increasing number of applications, from high-performance desktops and personal workstations to entry-level servers, the number of PCI slots is limiting users' performance and ability to upgrade. Diamond Multimedia's dual channel card frees slots and system resources to accommodate other required multimedia features, such as video, sound and communications, providing flexibility that end users now need."

FirePort 40 Dual Features

The FirePort 40 Dual PCI Ultra/Ultra Wide SCSI Host Adapter combines two UltraSCSI channels with a synchronous data rate of up to 40 MByte/sec per channel on a single card. Advanced features include a full, 32-bit PCI DMA bus master interface with support for both 5V and 3.3V only slots, flash BIOS upgradability and active termination. Full support for SCSI-1, SCSI-2 and SCSI-3 narrow and wide devices on each channel make the FirePort 40 Dual SCSI adapter an ideal solution for supporting both slower, legacy devices such as scanners and tape drives, as well as newer Ultra Wide SCSI drives.

The FirePort 40 Dual is software compatible with Diamond's line of SCSI Host Adapters including the FirePort 40 and the FirePort 20, and can be easily upgraded to accommodate external wide peripherals with Diamond Multimedia's External Wide Upgrade kit.

Novell NetWare Supported

Diamond Multimedia has added Novell NetWare to the list of operating systems supported by the FirePort line to meet the needs of the growing entry-level server and web server markets. Certified drivers for NetWare versions 3.12 and 4.11 are available for download on Diamond Multimedia's website.

Robust Software Suite Included

Diamond's new dual UltraSCSI adapter comes bundled with a comprehensive suite of utilities and applications designed to easily manage a SCSI peripheral system.

• UltraEasy Diagnostics, developed by Diamond, allows users to easily see, test and manage SCSI devices installed in their systems and provides complete graphical feedback on the features and capabilities of installed devices.

• UltraEasy Tools 2.0 combines applications from several software vendors, including Diamond Multimedia, to help users maximize the usability of their SCSI devices. Other applications include Electroson's Gear 4.02, GEAR Replicator, and Webgrabber 2.0; Drive Toolkit Express Setup by FWB; Seagate's Direct Tape Access 2.0 and Backup Exec; Floppy CD by Smart Storage; ArcSoft's PhotoStudio 2.0; and BackWeb from Back Web Technologies.