RAD LPX display controller boards from Matrox Graphics

Sep 10 2009

Matrox Graphics Inc., the leading manufacturer of specialized graphics solutions, is pleased to announce the introduction of the new "Low Power, Low Profile, eXtended function" RAD LPX Series display controller boards for space, budget and energy sensitive healthcare enterprises and medical imaging professionals.

Designed to extend the life of the long serving RAD Series, the RAD LPX line offers several additional key features:

• Low profile PCBs with a bracket change to fit into small form factor or ATX-style workstation PCs
• Fan-less by design, power consumption has been reduced compared to the original RAD Series
• All the features available from its predecessor RAD Series, including Legacy 8-bit grayscale modes
• RAD PCI for 32/64-bit and -X slots allows easy upgrade for PCI system users
• RAD PCIe x16 version provides a higher performance solution
• 256MB of onboard high speed memory for image caching and acceleration
• Dual output, color and/or grayscale support for analog or single link digital displays
• Mix any analog up to 2.3MP and any digital up to 3MP displays with independent GAMMA LUTs
• New PowerDesk 2.x driver architecture with "Boot-Free" UI preference selections
• Replicate Mode allows Display 1 to be replicated to Display 2
• Multi-board RAD LPX supports combinations of PCI+PCI, PCI+PCIe, or PCIe+PCIe

"We were given a challenge -- how do you better the popular RAD Series line which has been around for more than 5 years?" says George Rigas, business development manager for medical imaging, Matrox Graphics Inc. "This new RAD LPX Series must supplement our offerings for the medical imaging community to embrace it for more years to come."

Customer and Partner input were used to address a variety of needs. PCI is still use globally, and many customers would prefer to swap out the display subsystem board than change their computer which has an already licensed PACS application. Many asked for flexibility to transition from analog to digital displays.

"Many small form factor PCs are still in demand, so we need to support those as well with both PCI and PCIe compatible solutions," says Rigas. "While we are designing a small form factor board, we might as well take the opportunity to design it without the need for a fan to further reduce power consumption. This has environmental benefits overall, since a low power board uses less energy and emits less heat. Let's also not forget that many mobile carts use small form factor PCs, and this is a huge advantage for cart designers."

For many customers currently deploying the RAD Series, they can now enjoy two new, low power, low profile solutions to open up new opportunities for form and fit challenges, without abandoning their prior experiences using Matrox.

"With the new RAD LPX Series, we added a desired feature unavailable in our original RAD Series design -- the ability to replicate one output to another and change display settings without rebooting the computer," continues Rigas. "Evolving the Matrox ONYX driver architecture over to the RAD LPX Series gives our customers new options, such as pairing a medical display with a projector for staff meetings. The ability to install two RAD LPX boards in a single PC, slot availability permitting, allows combinations which customers did not previously have. The RAD LPX low profile board combinations are exciting."