People under the age of 25 are too young to be able to afford cynicism - Diogenes the Pseudo Pesky Cynic
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AMD unleashes a six display workstation graphics card
GPU DESIGNER AMD has released what it is calling its "most powerful professional graphics card".
The ATI Firepro V9800 could well be one of the last cards released by AMD to carry the ATI branding and the specifications certainly make it sound like a scorcher, with a price tag to match. The $3,500 workstation graphics card will sit atop its Firepro range, offering those lucky enough to afford one six display support through its Eyefinity technology.
As this is a Firepro card, there's no mention in AMD's marketing of anything as humble as immersive gaming, rather the outfit talks about 1,600 processing cores coupled with 4GB of GDDR5 memory for use in munching through large high performance computing datasets and massive graphics rendering operations. There is also 3D stereo sychronisation for those who want to indulge in 3D displays.
AMD stresses the importance of having large amounts of on board memory, enlisting StudioGPU's chief scientist Yoni Koenig to say, "MachStudio Pro software uses this memory to deliver the real-time cinematic-quality results 3D artists demand. Add together the 4 GB of memory and the native support for up to six monitors with ATI Eyefinity technology, and the combination of the V9800 and MachStudio Pro provide artists with the tools they need to effortlessly produce a visual feast."
AMD is also pitching the card as a workstation GPGPU board for those who do not have access to banks of dedicated GPGPU servers. The card itself is reported to consume less than 225W and takes up two slots.
Still, if you have $3,500 burning a hole in your pocket, why leave it in the bank? A Firepro V9800 will likely brighten your life no end. µ
Tags: Amd
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Nice card, but nVidia has the market cornered on workstation graphics still, as old and as outdated as their stuff may be. Designers and content creators of all types have found out that even the latest and greatest programs are faster and better with a few generations old nVidia card even when compared to the most recent ATi offerings. This is especially true for anything Adobe related. There are a few programs out there that will make good use of this, but not many. It's a shame really, as competition in the workstation graphics segment would really help, even if it only makes the prices at the budget level slightly more bearable.