512MB Graphics Boards To Be Widespread?

2 May, 2005 at 2:08pm ET Article published in Tech

Comments

1. 
   2 May 2005 ~ 4:18pm csimon interesting ...almost as interesting as 512bit becoming mainstream!
2. 
   2 May 2005 ~ 6:24pm Spinner

   csimon wrote:

   interesting ...almost as interesting as 512bit becoming mainstream!

   Just trying to cater to everyone's interests bud.
   
   Besides, it was a slow news day.
3. 
   2 May 2005 ~ 10:55pm csimon I know ...and you do a great job of posting the news!
   It just seems that graphics need a boost and a price drop.
4. 
   2 May 2005 ~ 11:12pm profdlp

   csimon wrote:

   I know ...and you do a great job of posting the news!

   I second that.
   
   The same goes for KingFish and andfitchandyou.
   

   It just seems that graphics need a boost and a price drop.

   The two always seem to go hand-in-hand. Even though I can't afford the latest-and-greatest, every time there's a significant advance in the technology the second-tier stuff drops into my price range.
5. 
   2 May 2005 ~ 11:42pm HeartSmasherElite Talking about price range have you guys checked out ATI Fire GL graphics cards.
   The price on this think wil blow a hole in your wallet so deep you'll have to kill yourself just to make the minimum credit card payments for one year. Or pay it off in ohh say forever.
   
   $17,980!!!! US dollars Ouch
   
   Graphics Chip-FGL 9700 Visual Processing Unit (VPU)
   Memory Configuration-128MB Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM)
   Memory Interface-256-bit
   Bus-Connector: AGP Speed: 8X/4X/PCI Express x16
   HDTV Capable-No
   Number of Rendering Pipelines-8
   Number of Geometry Engines-4
   Geometry Rate-300 million triangles/sec
   Pixel Fill Rate-2.6 Gpixels/sec
   Engine Clock-325 MHz
   Memory Clock-620 MHz
   Multiple Display Configuration-Dual (DVI-I, VGA)
   Display Resolutions-Max Resolution: 2048 x 1536 @ 85 Hz
   Max Refresh: 1920 x 1200 @ 100 Hz
   
   Independent resolution and refresh rate selection for any two connected displays
   
   Analog Monitors
   640 x 480 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   800 x 600 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1024 x 768 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1152 x 867 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1280 x 960 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1280 x 1024 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1600 x 1000 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1600 x 1024 @ 76 Hz
   1600 x 1200 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1792 x 1344 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1920 x 1080 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   1920 x 1200 @ 60, 75, 85, 100 Hz
   2048 x 1536 @ 60, 75, 85 Hz
   
   Digital Monitors
   640 x 480 @ 60, 75 Hz
   800 x 600 @ 60, 75 Hz
   1024 x 768 @ 60, 75 Hz
   1280 x 1024 @ 60, 75 Hz
   1600 x 1000 @ 60 Hz
   1600 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
   1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
   1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
   Connectors-Computer
   VGA: 15-pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
   DVI-I: 29-pin combined DVI
   ADC: None
   FireWire: None
   FM Tuner-No
   TV Tuner-No
   Hardware MPEG-Yes
   System Requirements-Windows/Linux
   Processor: Intel Pentium 4, Xeon, AMD Athlon, Opteron
   Slot: 8x/4x AGP/PCI Express x16
   Operating System: Windows XP (Home or Professional)/2000/Linux
   System Memory: 128MB
   Warranty:3-year limited
6. 
   2 May 2005 ~ 11:48pm profdlp I suspect that's for the pack of twenty cards...
7. 
   2 May 2005 ~ 11:59pm csimon I'd like to see benchmarks comparing the gaming cards to the professional cards. I don't think we'd be very dissappointed really.
8. 
   3 May 2005 ~ 1:34am profdlp My understanding is that the pro cards are great for CAD applications and video editing, but give you little or no boost as far as things like framerate, etc.
9. 
   3 May 2005 ~ 9:32am csimon

   profdlp wrote:

   My understanding is that the pro cards are great for CAD applications and video editing, but give you little or no boost as far as things like framerate, etc.

   Sure ...you understand correctly. They do well at what they're made for.
   I'll give you an example.
   I bought a 900xgl in it's hayday for nearly $1500. It worked great with its production utility feature for AutoCAD 2002. Then Autodesk upgraded as they always do the 2004 in less than a year of the time that I had bought the card. The utility hasn't been compatible with my AutoCAD since.
   Also ...there hasn't been any driver upgrades relative to this card since except once way back then.
   On the other hand I could give you success stories with other vpu's.
10. 
    4 May 2005 ~ 5:44pm JSKILL Well I just popped over to ign.com and they said that Ati is releasing the ATI's Radeon X800 XL 512MB and it was supposed to be sub $500. Thats not that expensive compared to the rest of the high end cards.
11. 
    4 May 2005 ~ 5:48pm entropy For the professional cards, I may be wrong, but the majority are the exact same thing. I remember somewhere you could softmod your 9800pro into a FireGLsomethingorother.