[ARSTECHNIA]ATI hopes to ignite pro graphics market with FirePro cards - Overclock.net

kilrbe3 · 08-08-08

Quote:

AMD/ATI launched a new series of professional graphics cards today under the brand name FirePro. So far, the company has announced two card models. The V3700 is an entry-level solution for CAD/CAM users on a budget, while the V5700 is a $599 midrange card that drops into the sizable gap between the $199 FireGL V3600 and the $999 FireGL V7600. Going forward, the FirePro product series will serve as a midrange complement to the already established FireGL line, but in this case, ATI has equipped the V5700 with a few features that were formerly only to be found on its highest-end solutions.

At $599, the FirePro V5700 is some $400 cheaper than the FireGL V7600 but carries a comparable—and potentially superior—feature set. Both cards are 512MB solutions backed by 320 stream processors, and while the 5700 lacks the double set of DualLink DVI outputs that the FireGL card carries, it offers two DisplayPort outputs instead. The DisplayPort interface's very existence is somewhat controversial, as HDMI offers many of the same features and is already well established in the marketplace, but DisplayPort-compatible monitors have already appeared on the market, courtesy of Dell and HP.

Full story here:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...pro-cards.html

Enjoy fellas

bowman · 08-08-08

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The DisplayPort interface's very existence is somewhat controversial, as HDMI offers many of the same features and is already well established in the marketplace, but DisplayPort-compatible monitors have already appeared on the market, courtesy of Dell and HP.

Spare us. Free and open standard as opposed to DRM-ladened license-requiring Sony standard? I know which one I want (and which one I definitely don't want).

Now bring on those DisplayPort outputs for the regular desktop cards.

{core2duo}werd · 08-08-08

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Originally Posted by bowman

Spare us. Free and open standard as opposed to DRM-ladened license-requiring Sony standard? I know which one I want (and which one I definitely don't want).

Now bring on those DisplayPort outputs for the regular desktop cards.

i don't get why we would switch to either of those though... what do they offer over DVI? other than sound, but i have speakers for that.

dieanotherday · 08-08-08

regular card of the same specs is cheaper and can probably do the job in the same time.

nathris · 08-08-08

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Originally Posted by {core2duo}werd

i don't get why we would switch to either of those though... what do they offer over DVI? other than sound, but i have speakers for that.

It offers 2560x1600 at 75Hz instead of DVI's 60 and its much simpler to plug in (you don't have to worry about damaging pins or using thumbscrews).

Also theres some other specs that relate to image quality too.

bowman · 08-08-08

Yep, they have better bandwidth. Dual-link DVI doesn't scale further, to get higher resolutions without getting horrid refresh rates we need a new standard. Also, the cable and connector is so much nicer than the big fat unwieldy DVI cable which is a nice bonus.

LudaMan · 08-08-08

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Originally Posted by dieanotherday

regular card of the same specs is cheaper and can probably do the job in the same time.

I don't know much about the FireGL cards, maybe you should admit it too.

trueg50 · 08-08-08

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Originally Posted by dieanotherday

regular card of the same specs is cheaper and can probably do the job in the same time.

Nope.

These cards have drivers optimized for engineering, and other software (I think OpenGL and Maya). These cards will then of course play miserably in games.

These are also given much better support through Nvidia/ATI, and they are binned to be much more reliable than their desktop counterparts.

SyncMaster753 · 08-08-08

from what i understand

they're like the "server binnings" of the graphics processor market with special drivers and minor hardware differences

ChielScape · 08-08-08

Quote:

Originally Posted by nathris

It offers 2560x1600 at 75Hz instead of DVI's 60 and its much simpler to plug in (you don't have to worry about damaging pins or using thumbscrews).

worry about damaging DVI? you eiher have GREAT strength you dont know about, or are extremely clumsy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowman

the big fat unwieldy DVI cable

i really liked that...
just like D-Sub VGA

but in the name of progress, bring on the DP (yeah, pun intended)

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[ARSTECHNIA]ATI hopes to ignite pro graphics market with FirePro cards

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