nVidia unveils new Quadro FX chips
Family of processors raise standard in graphics sector
NVidia has upped the ante in the professional graphics sector by introducing a new family of Quadro FX processors.
Targeted at the workstation arena, the new family comprises four PCI Express-enabled chips, including the high-end Quadro FX 4400, FX 4400G, FX 1400 and FX 540.
NVidia has claimed the new FX 4400 offering is the fastest in the professional sector, thanks to its Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology, which enables two FX 4400 graphics boards to operate in a single workstation.
SLI is based on a communication protocol embedded in the GPU and a high-speed digital interface on the graphics board to facilitate data flow. It can be used with cards based on the 4400, 4400G and 1400 processors.
The FX 4400 comes with 512MB of G-DDR3 frame buffer memory, a 256bit memory interface, 35.2Gbps of memory bandwidth, three-pin stereo support and dual DVI display connectors.
The FX 4400G adds genlock and framelock capabilities, the latter allowing professionals to link multiple systems in a cluster to boost power for life-sized visualisation.
"The nVidia Quadro FX 4400 board is the most valuable product in a new family of distinct PCI Express workstation graphics solutions," claimed Jeff Brown, general manager professional graphics at nVidia.
"This new family delivers everything users could hope for: record-setting performance; cutting-edge features, such as Shader Model 3.0 and fp32 support; high quality; and even investment protection with upgrade options for genlock, framelock, and dual-GPU mode."
NVidia distributor and card maker PNY Technologies has just released four cards based on the new processors, as well as one of the first cards based on nVidia's FX 4000 SDI (serial digital interface) for the film, video and broadcast industries.
"PNY's nVidia Quadro FX 4000 SDI addresses the emerging need for high-definition content by bringing high-quality graphics to video," said Laurent Chapoulaud, product manager for professional graphics at PNY Europe.
"Competing solutions are expensive, inflexible and offer limited bandwidth. This board leverages mainstream professional graphics solutions to offer a contemporary approach to traditional real-time editing, compositing and colour grading preview tasks."