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Founded in 1987, Trident Microsystems is a company that designs, develops and sells an array of display processors. Its system-on-chip solutions are designed for the fast growing consumer electronics market, mainly consisting of digital television and AV multimedia products. Though headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company has sales, support and development facilities throughout Asian locations that include China, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.

The company made a name for itself in the late 1980s with a line of low-end SVGA chipsets. In fact, many OEMs at the time built their add-in boards with Trident chipsets. With the PC graphics market shifting from basic color monitor output to more advanced multi-resolution acceleration, the manufacturer kept themselves afloat by focusing on modest performing chips at incredibly low prices.

Trident caught up with one of its main competitors in the 1990s when releasing the TGUI-9680, a chip with a feature set that rivaled the Trio64V+ by S3 Graphics. The rapid emergence of the 3D graphics card market forced the company to ramp up its offerings, leading to the release of the TGUI-9880 in the late 1990s. While the chip was competitive in terms of performance, companies such as ATI and SiS became dominant forces in the low-end market. Trident enjoyed success with its 3DImage and Blade3D series but that was all cut short as Intel’s entry into the PC graphics field marked the end of the low-end market. In 2003, the company’s graphics division was acquired by XGI.

Trident has been an early pioneer in both graphics cards and the semiconductor field with its embedded DRAM products. Today, the company is focused on manufacturing products that deliver genuine digital cinema quality to the masses of home entertainment displays. Trident video controller solutions are relied on by manufacturers such as Philips, Samsung and Sony as well as countless numbers of consumers across the world.

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Headquarter in Nettetal, Germany, TerraTec Electronics is a company that manufactures and sells a variety of multimedia products and computer hardware components. Its product line includes computer speakers, mice, webcams, video grabbers and TV tuner cards among others. The company is perhaps best known for its extensive of line of TerraTec sound cards, which offer solutions for the both the low and high-end markets. As of late, it has also focused on producing recording software for musicians as well as digital music converter devices. TerraTec’s achievements in the industry can be attributed to its team of expert R&D teams, highly skilled employees and unparalleled ability to provide market-ready products in response to the ever evolving market trends.

TerraTec was founded in 1994 by Heiko Meertz and Walter Grieger, both of whom remain on board as CEOs of the organization. The company was dominant in the 1990s, thanks to a massive line of high-performance sound cards for PC users. In a very short time, it quickly became the largest sound card manufacturer in Germany, positioning itself as a top-selling company with one of the most profitable brands in all of Europe.

The success of TerraTec sound cards led to the introduction of many new product lines including professional audio systems, graphics cards, multimedia players, internet radio products and home networking solutions. With proprietary innovations such as 4G Sound standards and EWS Technology, the company has demonstrated its ability to be a leader in what has proved to be a highly competitive market.

TerraTec has decided to focus on further strengthening its presence in the international market. The company says that these developments will begin with the expansion of its sales department in Nettetal, a move that will ultimately enable enhanced support for its worldwide partners. Though already established in various markets, the company still believes there is room for more positive growth.

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STB Systems Incorporated was an American company that manufactured and marketed a wide range of computer hardware and multimedia solutions. Based in Richardson, Texas, the company once had facilities throughout the United States as well as sales and support offices in London, France and Germany. Its product line included an array of 3D graphics accelerators and other products designed for workstations and desktop personal computers. Over the years, STB has been known for delivering a number of award-winning graphics controllers and developing specialized video device drivers that allowed customers to enjoy the utmost in performance and compatibility. At one time, the company produced products for industry-leading entities such as Compaq, Dell and Gateway.

Originally founded in 1981, STB graphics accelerators enjoyed the status as industry-leading products for quite some time. One of its most successful lines was released in 1994, the MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) series. Out of this line came the MYP3D, an innovative multi-monitor adapter. Like many of STB’s products, this one catered to workstation users in the video editing, industrial and healthcare sectors, offering the ability to drive up to four displays all from a single controller. Such high-performance solutions garnered STB graphics accelerators numerous awards and played a major role in the field of 3D computer technology.

In the late 1990s, the emergence of companies such as ATI caused STB Systems to lose its leading position. Involved in a heated legal dispute with 3DLabs for a breach of contract and various unethical allegations, the company endured financial hardship and appeared to be on the brink of extension. This all became apparent when it was acquired by 3DFX in 1999, which was subsequently acquired by NVIDIA in 2001.

As of now, STB graphics accelerators are no longer developed or officially supported. However, driver downloads for a variety of the brand products are available for download on the web.

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Originally established in 1994, PCChips is a well known supplier of motherboards and various PC components. At one time, it was highly regarded as the world’s number one motherboard manufacturer, having expert R&D teams in the Silicon Valley of Taiwan, as well as production facilities in Fremont, California and Miami, Florida. The company lost its position as global leader to ASUS when it started to cater to the entry-level market as well. Over the years, PCChips motherboards have become the preferred brand for markets in the United States and Europe, along with more underdeveloped markets such as South America. Aside from motherboards, the company is also known for product lines that include add-on cards, notebook PCs and backbone computers.

PCChips motherboards dominated the market from the mid to late 1990s. In 1998, it merged with Elite Group Computer Systems, essentially making ESG one of the largest motherboard manufacturers in the world. This merger allowed the PCChips brand name to become more widespread, which is one of the markets ESG had focused on previously. The company released a number of successful motherboards during the 2000s, including the M861G. This low-end socket 754 motherboard features on-board video on the VIA K8M800 chipset, which was often compared in performance to competing chipsets like the NVIDIA GeForce 6100 and SIS 760 760GX. PCChips also made waves with the innovative PC Chips M985G, a motherboard powered by Intel chips and processors.

Today, the PCChips name is mainly viewed as a division of Elite Group Computer Systems, who continues to be a major player in the motherboard and graphics card business. Despite a smaller share of the limelight, PCChips motherboards remain a highly successful brand. In fact, it is still heavily marketed and supported by Elite Group, as well as several third-party online vendors.

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PowerVR is a highly successful division of Imagination Technology, a leading provider of innovative solutions that provide for 2D/3D rendering, video encoding and decoding and image processing. In the late 1990s, Imagination Technology was in heavy competition with 3dfx in the graphics card accelerator market for PCs and game consoles. Both companies were eventually overcome by the emergence of ATI and NVIDIA products, graphics cards that proved to perform better in those markets. Today, PowerVR technology is mainly designed for the low-powered market, now frequently incorporated into cell phones and many other mobile devices. Its chips can be found in devices manufactured by Apple, Motorola, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, and several other companies.

Imagination truly established itself in the graphics card market with the second generation Power VR2 chip. This chip was very successful, as it powered the Sega Dreamcast console from 1998 and 2001. Its third generation, the Power VR3, was adopted in 2001 by STMicroelectronics for its STG4000 KYRO and STG4500 KYRO II chips. The latter was introduced as a low-end product set to rival the more expensive ATI Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce 2, which were dominating the market at the time. However, much like its successor, the Power VR4, this chip quickly lost its luster on the market and never achieved the commercial success the company hoped.

Although its market focus has shifted, Imagination Technology and its powerful line of graphics solutions are still are a formidable presence. The PowerVR line is backed by state of the art R&D facilities and a highly skilled team of more than 500 employees. Imagination maintains close relationships with global partners and customers, with sales office in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The company continues to maintain a reputable status through lucrative partnership programs and high quality products.

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Originally founded in 1989, Prolink Microsystems Corporation is a leading provider of high-end, multimedia solutions. It has a diverse portfolio with product lines that include graphics cards, motherboards and a wide range of multimedia products such as PCI TV cards, PCI expresses, USB TV cards and TV set-top boxes. Carrying out its operations in Taiwan, Prolink delivers products to customers and distribution partners in North America, as well as several countries throughout the continents of Asia and Europe.

The company became publicly listed in 2000, making waves in the industry with its popular Pixel View brand of home entertainment solutions. The Prolink Pixel View line consists of various products that allow users to enjoy television on their desktop or laptop PC. Some of the most successful products from this line have been the PlayTV Cinema and PlayTV Cinema BX2500, hybrid solutions that support both analog and digital TV. These products were beloved for providing users with the ability to watch TV, listen to FM radio, play video games and even capture or record audio – all from a single remote. Pixel View is just one of several of Prolink’s innovative products to perfectly couple artistry with the latest technology. It is such revolutionary solutions that have allowed the company to stay ahead of the competition in the fierce market of high-end multimedia products.

Moving forward, Prolink looks to continuously make improvements by leveraging evolving technologies and maintain its position as a global leader in the multimedia and PC hardware markets. The company is constantly investing in research and development, engineering and technological advancements to further enhance its world renowned brand of PC/TV solutions. Although competition is heavy in the industry, Prolink still aims for the same goal it has from the very beginning: to be the best in the business.

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Headquartered in Taiwan, Leadtek Research is a company that specializes in the designing and manufacturing of graphics cards and various types of computer hardware. The company’s products are essentially categorized into two distinct groups: Computer Group and Communications Group. Some of its most popular products include the WinFast Series of 3D graphics accelerators, which are based on the NVIDIA GeForce line of workstation and enthusiast solutions. Motherboards and multimedia cards are also a part of this group. The Communications Group is compromised of a portfolio that includes surveillance, video telephony and GPS solutions.

This company is known for much more than its high-performance Leadtek graphics cards. In fact, it has been a pioneer in the GPS industry since 1997 and was one of the first to introduce the technology in Taiwan. The millennium was all about innovation, as its Leaktek GPS module became the de facto standard for smart antennas. In 2002, Leadtek introduced the first Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver and the first SMD module in 2004. These innovations were made possible by its highly successful SiRF Star III chipset series, which featured an entire line of cutting edge solutions. The same year, Leadtek also launched the first GPS receiver with equipped with RDS/TMC functionality to the European market. The company continued to introduce revolutionary solutions in 2005 and 2006 with more advanced series of GPS receivers and antennas.

Leadtek is focused on improving the computer hardware and communications markets through the seamless integration of GPS and multimedia videophony technology. The company also intends on extending its portfolio to include broadband network solutions. Leadtek puts an emphasis on improving life in the home and business setting in an energy efficient manner. This has not only been displayed through its responsible manufacturing practices, but the company’s participation in many new green initiatives with respected environmental organizations.

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Tekram Systems Co. Ltd. is a company that specializes in a broad range of storage solutions. Based in Taiwan, its products are designed to simplify storage deployment and provide scalable solutions that allow businesses to easily upgrade their capacities, enhance performance and data protection to meet their evolving storage needs. An extensive line of SCSI/SATA/USB/1394 host adapters, RAID 6 disk array subsystems and SATA-II RAID 6 host adapters gives organizations a seamless migration path from internal to external storage. Technological innovations such as its S1040 SCSI controller equipped with a bus-mastering enhanced IDE chip have won the company numerous awards over the years. Though still specializing in Tekram controllers, it has recently set focus on other markets with solutions designed for Bluetooth and IrDA devices.

Tekram adapters and controllers are designed to compensate three different storage environments: internal and directed-attached storage, SANs (storage area networks) and NAS (network attached storage). Its largest product line, the internal and direct-attached storage products, include add-on cards, Fibre, RAID, SAS and SATA host adapters and disk array systems as well as high-performance VTL (Virtual Tape Library) storage solutions. The SAN line is geared towards demanding small to medium sized business environments that require storage consolidation for network servers. Its smallest line is targeted at the NAS market, offering solutions that are ideal for department, workgroup and distributed enterprise environments that require storage consolidation for client systems.

Products in the NAS line offer capabilities such as easy installation and administration, sharing of data over heterogeneous client platforms and faster network response times. Offering the best in performance and quality, Tekram storage solutions offer beneficial services to businesses of all sizes.

Moving forward, Tekram plans to continuously deliver innovative products to meet the demands of various storage environments. The company has been around since 1990, surviving the worst and most exciting times of the storage industry. From the looks of things, Tekram is poised to thrive in the market for years to come.

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Headquartered in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan, Silicon Integrated Systems, better known as SiS, is a semiconductor company that specializes in the manufacturing of motherboard chipsets and a wide range of computer components. The company currently leads the industry with its innovative core logic chipsets. For more than 20 years, its products have been implemented in various applications including desktop and notebook PCs, servers, embedded systems, wireless communications devices and digital entertainment products. SIS has demonstrated dominance in the market. In fact, their only serious competitors are industry-leading companies such as Broadcom, Intel and VIA Technologies.

SiS was originally founded in 1987. Thereafter, they established its U.S-based subsidiary in 1992. It was known for many firsts throughout the 1990s, including the SiS5110 Pentium Notebook Chipset in 1996. This revolutionary product was the first of its kind to integrate PCMICA, LCD and graphics chips into a core-logic chipset. In 1998, SiS launched the SiS530, which was the first to integrate 3D graphics into core logic and offer compliancy for the Socket-7 electrical specification. That same year, SiS introduced the SiS620, which was the first in the world to offer 3D graphics on top of compliancy for Celeron and Pentium II motherboards.

The company continued to set trends in the 2000s with the introduction of the SiS650 in 2001, the first Pentium 4 chipset in the world integrated with 256-bit 2D/3D graphics. SiS chipsets embarked on more history as the first to support AMD64 PCI Express platforms in 2005 and the first server reference board in 2006.

SiS is still releasing innovative solutions to the current day, just unveiling the SiS329H in April, 2009, the world’s first H.264 HDTV processor. The company plans to keep providing excellent value through technological innovations, high quality products and outstanding technical support.

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Based in Hong Kong, Sapphire Technology is a company that specializes in the production of graphics cards for workstations and personal computers. It also produces motherboards, TV tuner cards and a line of digital audio players. Sapphire graphics cards are based on industry leading ATI graphics processing units and ATI’s latest IGP chipset technology. As of now, it is the largest provider of ATI-based graphics cards in the world. The company is well known as the first to release cards equipped with an HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) connector.

Sapphire has been a pioneer in visual technologies for more than 10 years, helping to revolutionize how computer graphics are displayed. From the very beginning, it has stayed committed to providing customers with feature-rich, dynamically engineered products. Holding a firm position in the market, the company has been able to continuously achieve excellence with ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified production factories in Dongguan, China. Together, these two facilities manufacture an estimated 1.8 graphics boards each month. With more than 3,000 worldwide employees and offices in Asia, the Americas, Europe and South Africa, Sapphire is well equipped to ensure quality and fast delivery to its global partners and customers.

Every since ATI announced manufacturing and distribution partnerships with ODMs and AiBs in 2001, Sapphire has been the world’s major ATI graphics board supplier, a position it has yet to relinquish despite fierce competition in the industry. For years, Sapphire graphics cards and motherboards have received praise from enthusiasts in virtually every niche market, exceeding industry standards because of their enriched realism, enhanced stability and performance. Leveraging the most recent technological innovations from the ATI brand, the company aims to continue to deliver state of the art solutions for the audience that seeks the best in quality and performance for their mission-critical operations.

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