AMD is promising workstation graphics professionals a 300 per cent improvement in performance compared with previous 3D products following the introduction of five graphics accelerators.
The graphics processing units (GPUs) are targeted at CAD, DCC and medical imaging professionals and come with a new unified shader architecture featuring up to 320 individual stream processing units. The boards that are based on the new GPUs are the ATI FireGL V8650, V8600, V7600, V5600 and V3600. They are being touted as the first to sport 2GB of onboard memory.
ATI has claimed that when running DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1-based professional applications, the cards are 300 per cent faster than the previous professional ATI products.
The proprietary AutoDetect feature automatically optimises the graphics driver based on the user's specific software applications, particularly when running multiple programs. This means that professionals no longer have to manually adjust application-specific settings when switching between applications.
Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager of AMD graphics products group, said: "The rich feature set of these latest ATI FireGL boards represents AMD's GPU engineering excellence and provides unprecedented power for design professionals.'
Analyst Jon Peddie, principal at Jon Peddie Research, said: "ATI FireGL products from AMD are known for bringing key advancements to the workstation graphics market. With first-to-market features such as 2GB memory and AutoDetect, AMD should continue to gain traction in the high-end and ultra high-end segments of this market to complement its solid showing in the entry-level and mid-range."
Mark Schoennagel, 3D evangelist and hardware certification manager at software vendor Softimage, added: "In a production environment, when 3D artists or technical directors are running a variety of software tools, the ATI FireGL accelerator automatically configures to provide maximum compatibility with Softimage/XSI 3D software for screaming graphics performance, and an automatically streamlined production process."
The new series of ATI FireGL workstation graphics accelerators are expected to start shipping next month and will appear in cards and systems from workstation OEMs, system integrators and channel partners.
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