NVIDIA unveils $1800 Quadro FX 4800 card for Apple's Mac Pro
Filling a void for a true professional video card on the Mac platform, NVIDIA on Monday announced plans to begin shipping its Quadro FX 4800 ultra-high-end solution for the Mac Pro next month.
The $1800 card boasts 192 parallel processor cores and a massive 1.5GB frame buffer with memory bandwidth of up to 76.8 GB/sec. NVIDIA says this architecture delivers high throughput for interactive visualization of large models, high-performance for real time processing of large textures and frames, and the highest quality and resolution with full-scene antialiasing.
Each Quadro FX 4800 also features a standard 3-pin stereo connector for true 3D stereoscopic imaging in modeling applications requiring 3D glasses, as well two dual-link DVI digital connectors capable of driving a pair of 30-inch Apple Cinema Displays.
"With its sophisticated GPU architecture and industry leading features, the Quadro FX 4800 delivers a substantial boost in graphics performance and capabilities, allowing users to continue to push the boundaries of realism and performance in markets such as: architecture, content creation, science and medicine," NVIDIA said.
The Quadro FX 4800 also support's NVIDIA's CUDA parallel computing architecture and will offer full GPU acceleration for Windows when using Boot Camp to run the Microsoft operating system. Attendees at the NAB conference in Las Vegas this week can check out the card in action at booth SL 7906.
NVIDIA says the Quadro FX 4800 will be available through Apple.com and select Apple resellers and workstation integrators in May. It will also be available through NVIDIA channel partners PNY Technologies (US and EMEA), Leadteck (APAC) and Elsa (Japan).
The $1800 card boasts 192 parallel processor cores and a massive 1.5GB frame buffer with memory bandwidth of up to 76.8 GB/sec. NVIDIA says this architecture delivers high throughput for interactive visualization of large models, high-performance for real time processing of large textures and frames, and the highest quality and resolution with full-scene antialiasing.
Each Quadro FX 4800 also features a standard 3-pin stereo connector for true 3D stereoscopic imaging in modeling applications requiring 3D glasses, as well two dual-link DVI digital connectors capable of driving a pair of 30-inch Apple Cinema Displays.
"With its sophisticated GPU architecture and industry leading features, the Quadro FX 4800 delivers a substantial boost in graphics performance and capabilities, allowing users to continue to push the boundaries of realism and performance in markets such as: architecture, content creation, science and medicine," NVIDIA said.
The Quadro FX 4800 also support's NVIDIA's CUDA parallel computing architecture and will offer full GPU acceleration for Windows when using Boot Camp to run the Microsoft operating system. Attendees at the NAB conference in Las Vegas this week can check out the card in action at booth SL 7906.
NVIDIA says the Quadro FX 4800 will be available through Apple.com and select Apple resellers and workstation integrators in May. It will also be available through NVIDIA channel partners PNY Technologies (US and EMEA), Leadteck (APAC) and Elsa (Japan).
Comments
DVI is soooooo last year......
Also, can miniDP support 2,560 x 1,600 resolution? It appears that technically it can but I've seen threads about difficulties with that setup.
Hmmm..an $1800 graphics card with no mini display port? Guess that leaves any LED Cinema owners SOL! Not all Mac Pro owners have 30" displays. Makes you wonder if Apple is going to ever make the 30" Cinema with a mini display port?
If you can afford to shell out for a Mac Pro along with a 4800 Quadro FX, then my guess is you wouldn't be using a 24" screen anyway.
Umm, and besides, who cares? The card comes with DisplayPort (two ports actually, and it should for that price). Just buy a measly adapter, end of story.
This is 'pro' card, therefore it has to support as many 'pro' displays as possible. Display Port is not ubiquitous in that space therefore Dual/Dual DVI is the correct choice.
At least for now. Presumably Apple will update the 30" to use MDP, in which case NVIDIA may offer an equivalent version of this card with MDP ports instead. In theory it should even be less expensive to do so.
The card comes with DisplayPort (two ports actually, and it should for that price). Just buy a measly adapter, end of story.
Your stories have funny endings. The card has DVI connectors, not DisplayPort. It can still be adapted, but not as cleanly.
This is 'pro' card, therefore it has to support as many 'pro' displays as possible. Display Port is not ubiquitous in that space therefore Dual/Dual DVI is the correct choice. Obvious I would have thought.
Nah, this is a bad choice or at best a calculated bet on NVidia's part.
Apple could come out with a 30" display tomorrow, they've certainly telegraphed their intentions of doing so in a very short time frame. A consumer could buy one of these things, have their 30" display go belly up next week and if the new monitor is out be stuck buying a stupid adapter. Given the space and the price, I don't see why they shouldn't also include mini-display port. They are just betting that Apple won't come out with new monitors very soon or that the adoption of same will be slow enough for them not to get caught.
If you can afford to shell out for a Mac Pro along with a 4800 Quadro FX, then my guess is you wouldn't be using a 24" screen anyway.
Umm, and besides, who cares? The card comes with DisplayPort (two ports actually, and it should for that price). Just buy a measly adapter, end of story.
I stand corrected. Seems the Mac version does in fact not come with the dual DisplayPorts. Why on earth would Apple trade a dual DisplayPort configuration for Dual-DVI? Odd.
Also, can miniDP support 2,560 x 1,600 resolution? It appears that technically it can but I've seen threads about difficulties with that setup.
Wikipedia sez "Mini DisplayPort is capable of driving resolutions up to 2560x1600, commonly used with 30-inch displays." (And if you don't trust the Wikipedia, there are sources at the MiniDisplayPort page.)
So yes, it looks like they should be able to make a 30" MiniDisplayPort Cinema Display.
I stand corrected. Seems the Mac version does in fact not come with the dual DisplayPorts. Why on earth would Apple trade a dual DisplayPort configuration for Dual-DVI? Odd.
I think this one was NVIDIA's call, not Apple's. (Not to be snarky, but... NVIDIA is making these things, after all.)
I'm not worried about anyone who can afford this card not having high end monitors to use them on. most likely they won't be investing on the consumerish 24" Apple monitors anyway. Maybe a pair of Eizos or something.
Also, can miniDP support 2,560 x 1,600 resolution? It appears that technically it can but I've seen threads about difficulties with that setup.
It can support 4k, or about twice that.
Your stories have funny endings. The card has DVI connectors, not DisplayPort. It can still be adapted, but not as cleanly.
ATI already has pro cards with Displayport.
While it's easy to support DVI monitors from Displayport, so far it's not possible to go the other way. The reason is that Displayport monitors don't need the processing chips inside that DVI monitors require. So going from Displayport is easy, just allow the signal to go to the processor in the monitor.
But, as Displayport has the processing on the board, and no processing in the monitor, you can't send a DVI signal to it so that it will work. At least not now. If it's possible, we will see somewhat expensive cables for that, but I'm not sure if it's practical.
That's a nice card. Has it been confirmed that the mini display port can handle a 30 inch screen? I mean can you imagine a Mac Mini and a 30 inch display? 30 inch displays are still really rare and sure you can hook up your Mac/PC to a TV but the resolution isn't that great.
Yes. The new Mac mini can run a 30" display.
http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html
I stand corrected. Seems the Mac version does in fact not come with the dual DisplayPorts. Why on earth would Apple trade a dual DisplayPort configuration for Dual-DVI? Odd.
This isn't an Apple board. I'm assuming you're talking about this board.
It can support 4k, or about twice that.
It all depends on the GPU I guess.
Check out the ventilation on that card though! fapfapfap
edit:
Hmmm..an $1800 graphics card with no mini display port? Guess that leaves any LED Cinema owners SOL! Not all Mac Pro owners have 30" displays. Makes you wonder if Apple is going to ever make the 30" Cinema with a mini display port?
Your post is so shockingly stupid I can hardly believe it.
First of all, anyone doing the kind of professional work that would require this card would not be using the doubly glossy piece of garbage that is the 24' LED Display. Enjoy your consumer level hardware.
Second, the card does not require 30" displays. It is DVI-D so it can support two 30", but it can also support any DVI display or adapter.
It all depends on the GPU I guess.
Of course. That's the Displayport spec. But just like the bus for a HDD, the drive may not saturate the bus. The same thing here.
And, more possible news from http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/
Read the page for today about this, and even MORE interesting news, a bit of which I'll quote (I'm sure Mike won't mind):
I talked to an Nvidia contact on the product and asked if the above was a sign there may be more Nvidia Mac graphics card offerings (i.e. more affordable/consumer models) in the future - for instance some of their GTX 2xx series available for PCs...
- a short reply (he's at the NAB show) was "yes - this is a sign of more to come ...