NVIDIA Corp. announced that its GeForce 6800 series graphics processing units (GPUs) will equip the competition PCs featured at the rendering invitational worldwide finals of the Imagine Cup 2004, a multi-faceted technology competition sponsored by Microsoft Corp. The Imagine Cup challenges student teams of programmers and digital artists from around the globe to extend their artistic affinity beyond the classroom using the latest software development tools from Microsoft.
Following a weekend of competition and judging in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil student teams will convene from July 4-6 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to present their entries to a panel of judges from academia and the greater technology industry. NVIDIA-equipped PCs will be used for the live rendering and advanced graphics competitions at which teams will create -- on the fly -- a screensaver based on Microsoft DirectX 9.0 technologies, designed to render in realtime.
"NVIDIA is proud to support the Imagine Cup as it honors the bright young minds that will push the evolution of 3D content forward," said David Roman, vp of corporate marketing at NVIDIA. "Student teams will be able to test drive the GeForce 6800 series GPUs and really show their stuff on the only graphics hardware platform designed to unleash the full range of features enabled by DirectX 9.0. We can't wait to see what they come up with."
"The programmability and precision of NVIDIA GPUs will give Imagine Cup competitors the opportunity to fully exploit the capabilities built into DirectX 9.0 -- a particularly exciting proposition for the pioneering and creative spirit embodied by this competition," said Morris Sim, senior director of the Academic and Developer Community Group at Microsoft.
In addition to providing hardware support, NVIDIA representatives will also lead a classroom-style session focusing on 3D rendering techniques and tips. For a complete schedule of presentations and competitions taking place at the Imagine Cup 2004, log onto www.imaginecup.com. For more information about the NVIDIA GeForce 6 series of GPUs, please visit www.nvidia.com.
NVIDIA Corp. of Santa Clara, California, is a market leader in visual computing technology dedicated to creating products that enhance the interactive experience on consumer and professional computing platforms. Its graphics and communications processors have broad market reach and are incorporated into a wide variety of computing platforms, including consumer PCs, enterprise PCs, notebook PCs, professional workstations, handhelds and videogame consoles.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
