Editing Number Nine Visual Technology (section)

== Products ==
{{Technical|date=May 2024}}
The first Number Nine graphics cards were [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA]] bus, pre-VGA standard cards that had no graphics accelerator chips. In the latter 1980s to early 1990s, Number Nine made ISA and [[Micro Channel architecture|MCA]] bus graphics cards based on Texas Instruments' [[Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture|TIGA]] coprocessors.

Beginning in the 1990s, Number Nine made [[Accelerated Graphics Port|AGP]] and [[Conventional PCI|PCI]] graphics cards with their own proprietary graphics accelerators (the Imagine line [[Graphics processing unit|GPU]]s). Contemporaneously, Number Nine made AGP, PCI, [[VESA Local Bus|VLB]] and [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA]] graphics cards using S3 Graphics' accelerator chips. Their very last AGP card used an Nvidia GPU.

=== Early pre-VGA video cards ===
Early cards (no co-processor, pre-1986, pre-VGA standard):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #9 Model !! Display Resolution !! Color Palette<ref>{{ cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzwEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Revolution+512x32&pg=PA41 |title=Manufacturers of Higher Resolution Graphics Boards |date=20 Oct 1986 |accessdate=Mar 14, 2011}}</ref> !! PC Bus !! Notes
|-
| Number Nine Graphics System || [[Color Graphics Adapter|CGA]] || CGA || ISA ||
|-
| Revolution 512x8 || 512×480 || 256 colors selectable from a palette of 16.7&nbsp;million || ISA || uses [[NEC μPD7220]]
|-
| Revolution 512x32 || 512×480 || 24bit || ISA || uses NEC μPD7220
|-
| Revolution 1024x8 || 1024×768 from 1024×1024 || 256 colors selectable from a palette of 16.7&nbsp;million || ISA ||
|-
| Revolution 2048x4<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Machover |first1=Carl |last2=Dill |first2=John |year=1985 |title=New products |journal=IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications |volume=5 |issue=10 |pages=71 |doi=10.1109/MCG.1985.276240}}</ref> || 1280×960 from 2048×1024 || 16 colors selectable from a palette of 4096 || ISA || Hitachi HD63484 Advanced CRT Controller
|}
The Revolution series were large, full-length cards that ranged in price from $1,995 to $3,995 at introduction.

=== TIGA cards ===
Number Nine graphics cards using Texas Instruments' [[Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture|TIGA]] co-processors were made from about 1986 to 1992. The Texas Instruments TMS-340x0 co-processors were coupled with custom Number Nine-designed application specific chips, which could only handle very primitive graphics functions such as clipping. Nevertheless, this was a major accomplishment. With the exception of the GXi Lite, all of the TIGA graphics cards were large, full length cards.

Cards using a TIGA co-processor were (in approximate order of introduction):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #9 Model !! TIGA co-processor !! Memory !! PC Bus Architecture
|-
| Pepper || TMS-34010 || ?? || ISA
|-
| Pepper SGT<ref>{{Cite web |title=Number Nine Pepper SGT |url=https://ardent-tool.com/video/Number_Nine_Pepper_SGT.html |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=Ardent Tool of Capitalism}}</ref>|| TMS-34010 + Intel 82786 || 1 MB, 4 MB? || ISA
|-
| Pepper Pro 1024<ref>{{ cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDAEAAAAMBAJ&dq=number+nine+computer+corporation+pepper&pg=PT25 | title=Number Nine Announces Series of Graphics Cards | date=20 Nov 1989 | accessdate=Jan 13, 2011}}</ref> || TMS-34010 || 1.5M, 2M || [[Micro Channel architecture|MCA]], ISA
|-
| Pepper Pro 1280<ref>{{Cite web |title=Famous Graphics Chips: Number Nine's Imagine 128 {{!}} IEEE Computer Society |date=13 May 2019 |url=https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/chasing-pixels/famous-graphics-chips-number-nines-imagine-128/ |access-date=2022-12-15 |language=en-US}}</ref>|| TMS-34010 || ?? || MCA?, ISA
|-
| Pepper Pro 1600 || TMS-34010 || ?? || MCA?, ISA
|-
| GX || TMS-34010? || ?? 1 MB DRAM? + 2 MB VRAM? || MCA?, ISA
|-
| GXi Lite || TMS-34020 || 1 MB DRAM + 1 MB VRAM || MCA?, ISA
|-
| GXi || TMS-34020 || 1 MB DRAM + 2 MB VRAM || MCA?, ISA
|-
| GXiTC<ref>{{Cite web |title=retronn.de Hardware Gallery |url=http://retronn.de/imports/hwgal/hw_n9_gxitc_front.html |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=retronn.de}}</ref>|| TMS-34020 || 1 MB? DRAM + 4 MB VRAM || MCA?, ISA
|}
The TIGA-based cards were very expensive in their day, ranging in price from $995 to $2495 at introduction.

=== Number Nine Video Cards using Number Nine GPUs ===
[[File:NumberNine Imagine128 1280 PCI.jpg|thumb|Imagine 128 (early original version, note old company name)]]
[[File:NumberNineImagine128II.JPG|thumb|Imagine 128 Series II]]
[[File:NumberNine Revolution3D PCI.jpg|thumb|Revolution 3D (Ticket to Ride), PCI bus]]
[[File:NumberNine RevolutionIV PCI.jpg|thumb|Revolution IV (Ticket to Ride 4), PCI bus]]

The Imagine series [[Graphics processing unit|GPU]]s (also called graphics accelerators) were Number Nine's own in-house designs. The Imagine series went through four generations:
# Imagine 128 (Imagine. Internal codename: "Blackbird").
# Imagine 128-II (Imagine2. Internal codename: "Silver Hammer").
# T2R (marked "Ticket to Ride"; sometimes marked "Imagine-3")
# T2R4 (marked "Ticket to Ride IV").
The Imagine 128 GPU introduced a full 128-bit graphics processor—GPU, internal processor bus, and memory bus were all 128 bits. However, there was no, or very little, hardware support for 3D graphics operations.<ref>Notes on Imagine 128 retail box.</ref>

The Imagine 128-II added [[Gouraud shading]], 32-bit [[Z-buffering]], double display buffering, and a 256-bit video rendering engine.<ref>Notes on Imagine 128 Series 2 retail box.</ref>

The Ticket to Ride (Imagine-3) supported WRAM and both the AGP and PCI buses, had a 3D floating point setup engine, [[bilinear filtering]] and perspective correction, Gouraud shading, [[alpha blending]], interpolated [[Distance fog|fogging]], [[Specular highlight|specular lighting]], double and triple display buffering, 16-, 24- and 32-bit Z-buffering, [[MPEG-1]] and [[MPEG-2]], and hardware [[mipmap|MIP mapping]].<ref>Notes on Revolution 3D retail box</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ebworld.com/news/articles/may/ticket.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970714055944/http://www.ebworld.com/news/articles/may/ticket.html|title=Number Nine Unveils 'Ticket To Ride'|website=ebworld.com|archivedate=July 14, 1997|date=May 15, 1997|accessdate=November 3, 2019}}</ref>

The Ticket to Ride IV included an integrated 250&nbsp;MHz [[RAMDAC]], support for up to 32&nbsp;MiB SDRAM, full scene anti-aliasing, per pixel fog, specular, and alpha effects, 10-level detail per pixel MIP mapping, bilinear and [[trilinear filtering]], 8 bits per [[Texel (graphics)|texel]], 8&nbsp;KB on-chip texture cache, hardware MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, and a full [[IEEE 754]] floating point pipeline 3D rendering setup engine.<ref>Notes on Revolution IV retail box.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/number-nine-launches-ticket-to-ridetm-iv-its-fourth-and-most-powerful-128-bit-3d2dvideo-graphics-chip-77974807.html | title=Number Nine Launches 'Ticket To Ride(TM) IV,' Its Fourth and Most Powerful 128-bit 3D/2D/Video Graphics Chip | publisher=PR Newswire | date=26 May 1998 | accessdate=Jan 13, 2011}}</ref>

Number Nine graphics accelerators were used on the following Number Nine model video cards:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #9 Model !! #9 GPU !! Memory !! PC Bus Architecture
|-
| Imagine 128 || Imagine 128 || 4 MB, 8 MB VRAM || PCI
|-
| Imagine 128 Series 2 || Imagine 128-II || 4 MB, 8M H-VRAM || PCI
|-
| Imagine 128 Series 2e || Imagine 128-II || 4 MB EDO DRAM || PCI
|-
| Revolution 3D || T2R || 4 MB or 8 MB (base), 12 MB, 16 MB WRAM || PCI, AGP
|-
| Revolution IV || T2R4 || 16 MB, 32 MB SDRAM || PCI, AGP
|-
| Revolution IV-FP || T2R4 || 32 MB SDRAM || PCI, AGP
|}
These 1990s video cards were Number Nine's flagship cards of their day (the Imagine 128 and 128 Series 2 were very expensive). None required a heatsink on the GPU. The original Imagine 128 was introduced in 1994. The Revolution IV was introduced in 1998.

In addition to a standard analog [[VGA connector]], the Revolution IV-FP (also called the Revolution IV-1600SW) had an [[OpenLDI]] digital interface connector for the [[Silicon Graphics| Silicon Graphics, Inc (SGI)]] 1600SW digital flat panel monitor. The Revolution IV-FP was one of only a few standard video adapters with the OpenLDI interface for [[SGI 1600SW|SGI's 1600SW]] digital flat panel monitor (some others were [[3Dlabs]] Oxygen VX1-1600SW, I-O DATA GA-NF30/PCI, and Siemens Nixdorf S26361-D964 cards in some Siemens Nixdorf computer). SGI's 1600SW video adapters were proprietary (on board) to their O2, 320, and 540 graphics workstations. Formac made a limited number of PCI cards with OpenLDI for Apple Macs.

The [[OpenLDI]] interface is neither physically nor electrically compatible with the modern [[DVI-D]] interface. This was the early days of digital video connections and there were several competing, incompatible standards. OpenLDI for stand-alone displays disappeared, but several aftermarket manufacturers made adapters to convert OpenLDI to DVI-D so more modern video cards would work with the 1600SW monitor.

The 1600SW monitor was far ahead of its time and was eagerly sought long after it was out of production. For this reason, for a time, Revolution IV-FP and Oxygen VX1-1600SW video cards commanded a premium price in the used market, long after they were out of production.

=== Number Nine Video Cards using S3 Graphics processors ===
[[File:Vision868.jpg|thumb|GXE 64 (Vision864) 2 MB DRAM]]
[[File:Number Nine Motion 331 video card.jpg|thumb|Motion 331 PCI (S3 Trio64V+)]]
Number Nine had a close business relationship with S3 Graphics throughout the 1990s. While the Imagine series GPUs and cards were Number Nine's flagship products, contemporaneously, Number Nine produced a series of less expensive video graphics cards using S3's GPUs. The S3-based cards were usually introduced in groups of three, at three price points below the Imagine cards. They carried the same model name, but different model numbers and GPUs. Except for the SR9, Number Nine's last, best S3 card, none of these video cards had heatsinks on the graphics processing chip (GPU).

The S3-based video cards were, in approximate order of introduction:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #9 Model !! S3 GPU !! Memory !! PC Bus Architecture !! Notes
|-
| GXE || 928 || 1 MB, 2 MB, 3 MB, 4 MB [[VRAM]] || ISA, VLB, PCI
|-
| GXE 64 || 864 (Vision864) || 1 MB, 2 MB DRAM || ISA?, VLB, PCI
|-
| GXE 64 Pro || 964 (Vision964) || 2 MB, 4 MB VRAM || ISA?, VLB, PCI
|-
| GXE 64 Trio || 764 (Trio64) || 1 MB, 2 MB DRAM || ISA?, VLB, PCI
|-
| Vision 330 || 764 (Trio64) || 1 MB, 2 MB DRAM || VLB, PCI
|-
| Motion 331 || 765 (Trio64V+) || 1 MB, 2 MB DRAM || VLB, PCI
|-
| Motion 531 || 868 (Vision868) || 1 MB, 2 MB DRAM || VLB, PCI
|-
| Motion 771 || 968 (Vision968) || 2 MB, 4 MB VRAM || VLB, PCI
|-
| Reality 332 || 325 (ViRGE) || 2 MB EDO DRAM || PCI
|-
| Reality 772 || 988 (ViRGE VX) || 2 MB, 4 MB VRAM || PCI
|-
| Reality 334 || 357 (ViRGE GX2) || 4 MB [[SGRAM]] || PCI, AGP
|-
| SR9 (SDRAM) || 394 (Savage4 LT, small heatsink on GPU) || 8 MB SDRAM || AGP || (some OEM)
|-
| SR9 (SDRAM) || 397 (Savage4 Pro, small heatsink on GPU) || 16 MB, 32 MB SDRAM || AGP || (retail)<ref>Notes on SR9 retail box.</ref>
|-
| SR9 (SGRAM) || 398 (Savage4 Xtreme, small heatsink on GPU) || 8 MB?, 16 MB SGRAM || AGP || (OEM only?)
|}

=== Number Nine Video Cards with heatsinks ===
[[File:Number Nine SR9 AGP SDRAM NLX 8MB S3 Savage4 LT (86C394).jpg|thumb|SR9 SDRAM NLX 8MB (heatsink removed) with S3 Savage4 LT chip]]
[[File:Number Nine SR9 SGRAM AGP 16 MB DVI S3 Savage4 Xtreme (86C398).jpg|thumb|SR9 SGRAM 16MB DVI (heatsink removed) with S3 Savage4 Xtreme chip]]

Number Nine's last two graphics cards were the only ones to require heatsinks on the GPU. Both outperformed the Revolution IV.

* The SR9 was Number Nine's last retail card. It used an S3 Savage4 GPU with a small heatsink on the GPU (the SDRAM one with VGA connector is Savage4 LT, the SGRAM one with DVI connector is Savage4 Xtreme).
* An OEM-only AGP card using an [[Nvidia]] TNT2-M64 GPU and [16 MB? or] 32&nbsp;MB SDRAM. The heatsink is larger than the one on the SR9. This Nvidia-based card has been variously called (probably unofficially) the "M64" or "Pepper M32," but it was never a retail, end-user product.

=== PixelFusion joint venture ===
On April 20, 1999, Bankboston Business Credit announced it had provided $15&nbsp;Million for Number Nine Visual Technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bankboston+Business+Credit+Provides+$15+Million+for+Number+Nine...-a054420753 |title=Bankboston Business Credit Provides $15 Million for Number Nine Visual Technology. |publisher=BUSINESS WIRE |date=20 Apr 1999 |accessdate=30 November 2017}}</ref>

On August 9, 1999, PixelFusion Ltd. and Number Nine Visual Technology Corp. announced they had entered into a relationship whereby Number Nine would use PixelFusion's FUZION 150 chip to design a very high-end 3D graphics accelerator card for AGP Pro-equipped PCs. The card would use 128M to 1024M Rambus RDRAM, while the FUZION 150 chip would contain 24 megabits of embedded DRAM. The product was to be delivered in the first half of 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nine.com/press/aug9_99.html |title=PixelFusion and Number Nine Announce Agreement to Jointly Develop Industry's Most Powerful 3D Graphics Solution |publisher=PixelFusion/Number Nine press release, SIGGRAPH |date=9 Aug 1999 |accessdate=1 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19991128051654/http://www.nine.com/press/aug9_99.html |archivedate=November 28, 1999}}</ref> However, no retail products were made following the announcement.