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Nvidia Quadro FX 5800 Claims Most Powerful Graphics Card Ever, Probably Handles Crysis OK
Posted by John Mahoney at 12:45 AM on November 11, 2008
Nvidia has released what it describes as "the most powerful professional graphics card in graphics history"--the Quadro FX 5800, which packs up to 240 of Nvidia's CUDA independent graphics cores for shouldering some of the load normally handled by the main processor as well as 4GB of graphics memory, another claimed first. The 5800 is intended mostly for scientific and medical visualisations, as well as crazy complex 3D rendering. One might imagine it would also play most of your video games at a decent FPS. Price? $US3500.
New NVIDIA Quadro FX 5800 Graphics Card Featuring CUDA Massively Parallel
Processing Architecture; Offers Most Robust Performance and Features to
Date for Oil and Gas Exploration, Medical Imaging, and Styling and Design
ApplicationsSANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ — Professionals searching
for oil, diagnosing illness or styling the next high-performance luxury
vehicle all have one thing in common, the need for advanced visual
computing solutions. NVIDIA Corporation, the world leader in visual
computing technologies, today unveiled the most powerful professional
graphics card in graphics history — the NVIDIA(R) Quadro(R) FX 5800."The size and complexity of data is growing at an exponential rate. The
challenge for today's professional is to make sense of the mountain of data
by distilling it into a form they can comprehend, analyse and use to make
impactful decisions," said Jeff Brown, general manager, Professional
Solutions, NVIDIA. "At stake can be billions of investment dollars, or even
people's lives. The Quadro FX 5800 has advanced features to allow massive
datasets to be viewed beyond traditional 3D enabling professionals to make
fast and accurate decisions."The Quadro FX 5800 graphics card offers unprecedented performance and
scalability to rapidly visualize and interpret massive datasets that until
now were unattainable on a workstation graphics board. Offering up to 240
CUDA(TM) programmable parallel cores and the industries first 4GB of
graphics memory, the Quadro FX 5800 graphics card is ideally suited for oil
and gas exploration, medical imaging, styling and design, and scientific
visualization. Other advanced features of the Quadro FX 5800 graphics card
include:— Interactive 4D modelling with time lapse capabilities
— Massive memory bandwidth of up to 102 GB per second
— Fill rates that exceed 52 billion texels per second and geometry
performance of 300 million triangles per second
— Support for next-generation OpenGL and Microsoft DirectX 10
applications
— Advanced multi-system and multi-device visualization environments with
Quadro G-Sync II"Landmark's recently launched GeoProbe(R) R5000 software empowers
geoscientists with an unprecedented ability to visualize large-scale
regional datasets at full resolution from a standard Linux(R) workstation,"
said Nicholas Purday, manager of Geophysical Technologies at Landmark. "The
NVIDIA Quadro FX 5800 graphics card has a more powerful GPU and superior
triangle performance, which make it possible for the GeoProbe application
to quickly render large surfaces, and allow us to move many
computing-intensive processes to the graphics card, significantly enhancing
the overall user experience." Landmark is an industry leading software and
technology services brand of Halliburton, one of the world's largest
providers of products and services to the energy industry."The advanced textured graphics capabilities of the Quadro FX 5800 are
enabling CyberHeart to provide 3D radiosurgical target visualization and
definition tools for the purpose of treating cardiac arrhythmias," said
Thilaka Sumanaweera, CTO, CyberHeart. "Our applications are processing very
large data sets acquired by the state-of-the-art 64-slice CT scanners using
respiratory- and cardiac-gating. The Quadro FX cards provide us with the
extreme bandwidth necessary to support our cutting-edge technology, and
essentially, save lives." CyberHeart, Inc., is a medical device company
developing a non-invasive radiosurgical system for cardiac applications.The Quadro FX 5800 GPU features true 10-bit colour enabling billions
rather than millions of colour variations for rich, vivid image quality with
the broadest dynamic range. Professionals now benefit from viewing their
models with higher degrees of precision and realism never before possible."Our customers are making important decisions about future products on
the basis of RTT-powered 3D real-time models," said Ludwig Fuchs, cofounder
and CEO of RTT. "The new Quadro FX 5800 will be the platform of choice to
bring that arena to the next level. Higher levels of realism, physical
correctness and large models are now made possible through a double number
of cores and a generous frame buffer." Realtime Technology AG, is a leading
supplier of real- time visualization technology and virtual prototyping
solutions to the automotive, aerospace, industrial and consumer goods
design industries.Pricing and Availability
NVIDIA Quadro solutions are widely available through leading PC
manufacturers and workstation system integrators and NVIDIA channel
partners PNY Technologies (US and EMEA), Leadtek (APAC) and Elsa (Japan).
The Quadro FX 5800 graphics board has an MSRP of $3499 USD. For more
information about the full lineup of NVIDIA professional solutions please
visit http://www.nvidia.com/quadro.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Denver_80203
Posted 3:24 AM 11/11/08
What's more, your 32 bit gaming machines would choke on 4GB of video RAM. Memory address space is SHARED between motherboard RAM and Video card RAM.
Denver_80203
Denver_80203
Posted 3:21 AM 11/11/08
These are NOT gaming cards, will NOT work well with games. I have a Quadro 4600 at work and tested it against at 8800. There's no comparison. These cars are aimed a rendering engines specific to AutoCAD or in my case Seismic 3D maps. very different beast from gaming cards.
Denver_80203
Citizen Kang
Posted 3:14 AM 11/11/08
@Traumahead:
Isn't it a bit ridiculous to call someone an idiot when you can't even use the proper form of "your"?
Your = possessive
You're = You are
Maybe it's the trauma to your head that's causing all that confusion.
Citizen Kang
Echostrike
Posted 3:14 AM 11/11/08
Guys guys guys,
This is nothing more than a rebadged GTX 280, but with 4gb of ram (and a different bios). Why does it have more memory? B/c in medical applications and others (as specificed in the article) they use crazy high resolutions (for brain imagining etc.) so that extra bit of frame buffer helps. The avg user playing on a 1980x1200 or less would not notice a difference b/t this card and a gtx280, except of course for the gaping hole in their bank account with this model.
Echostrike
Stang70Fastback
Posted 3:13 AM 11/11/08
@BigRocket: I didn't know Avogadro worked for nVidia...
Stang70Fastback
shinchan
Posted 3:12 AM 11/11/08
This card is used for professional tasks only. So I do wonder if it's even capable of running crysis; as it's not optimized for games. Maybe someone with some money to spare can do a test sometime ;)
shinchan
Traumahead
Posted 3:05 AM 11/11/08
Your an idiot. Not only do nVidia and ATI have to actively campaign against each other to say "We have the better equipment", but this card IS the most powerful card to date. Unless they stole this cards architecture from ATI (I wouldn't be surprised). It has to be a competitive market between 2 powerhouse company's. How else are you going to get people to buy your crap?
Traumahead
FuzzysFriedChicken
Posted 3:02 AM 11/11/08
We have a few of these in my office. My school is one of NVIDIA's pilots for the new CUDA offerings.
FuzzysFriedChicken
clearbox
Posted 3:01 AM 11/11/08
I think I know what I want for Christmas...
clearbox
gilt1234
Posted 3:00 AM 11/11/08
"At stake can be billions of investment dollars, or even
people's lives. The Quadro FX 5800 has advanced features to allow massive
datasets to be viewed beyond traditional 3D enabling professionals to make
fast and accurate decisions."
which means- buy this or people will go bankrupt and DIE
gilt1234
Joseph
Posted 3:00 AM 11/11/08
Mac Version? I'm sure this would be awesome for Motion/After Effects and things of that nature.
Joseph
evangelistc01
Posted 2:58 AM 11/11/08
@CarlosLopez: Jesus christ, if you can plop down 3.5 grand just like that, would you buy me one please?
evangelistc01
hexydes
Posted 2:58 AM 11/11/08
I hate it when companies like NVIDIA say they've released "the most powerful card in history!" I mean...are they going to make a new high-end card that ISN'T more powerful? Like, did they have a corporate meeting where they decided "more powerful" was not the right direction anymore, and instead they'd be pursuing a strategy of "less powerful" in the future?
"NEW CARD ABLE TO PLAY QUAKE III ARENA AT 23FPS, 1024 x 768 RESOLUTION!"
hexydes
BigRocket
Posted 2:58 AM 11/11/08
@getabetterpic:
6.02 x 10^23 FPS
BigRocket
getabetterpic
Posted 2:56 AM 11/11/08
I know it will play Crysis, but how many FPS will you be able to get out of it?
getabetterpic
theirishcreme
Posted 2:53 AM 11/11/08
@CarlosLopez: bite your tongue!
theirishcreme
CarlosLopez
Posted 2:49 AM 11/11/08
$3500? two to go please....
Man, so much power, it would be missused of it was only for gamming
CarlosLopez
taking_this_easy
Posted 3:43 AM 11/11/08
@hexydes: remember that this is a quadro card, probably optimized for opengl, not directx...
taking_this_easy
Ibelieveinsandwitches
Posted 3:40 AM 11/11/08
So powerful that they transcend normal 3D graphics, and bring you the future of computer interfaces 4D graphics!
most experts in the field are calling this breakthrough, "Pretty neat."
Ibelieveinsandwitches
Earthslide
Posted 3:40 AM 11/11/08
Gaming or Workstation, show me a link with graphics at its highest capacity and I can say that it'll look like my 360 or ps3. I'm telling you, we're close to reaching that breakpoint in graphics and paying over $100 for a card (just for a lil more speed) is ridiculous.
Earthslide
TonyTriple
Posted 3:32 AM 11/11/08
You gotta me yanking us. That's not a graphics card, that's a modified 1st Gen Zune. Seriously, how many of you out there have enough space in you towers for a graphics brick?
TonyTriple
EvilPaul
Posted 3:28 AM 11/11/08
@Traumahead: PWN'D
EvilPaul
Denver_80203
Posted 3:27 AM 11/11/08
@shinchan: Done tests. You're correct. 3D Mark test showed the Quadros perform at about 50% performance in a game (compared to an 8800)
Denver_80203
Joseph
Posted 3:26 AM 11/11/08
@shinchan: Hopefully they fixed all of the bugs that wree in the 5600. I heard people saying that the stock ATI card that came in the Mac Pros actually ran as fast as the Nvidia 5600. Here is a quote from Barefeats.
Joseph
Slartibartfast
Posted 3:50 AM 11/11/08
@BigRocket: I have a red-headed cousin who is covered in moles.
Slartibartfast
the_Sleepwalker
Posted 3:49 AM 11/11/08
There is another version that they built specifically for Adobe products that is a slightly less ridiculous but equally as impractical $2000.
[arstechnica.com]
the_Sleepwalker
Eruanno
Posted 4:23 AM 11/11/08
We are not worthy...!
Eruanno
jdickson87
Posted 4:23 AM 11/11/08
@Joseph: No, it would be complete and total overkill for things of that nature. 240 streams is absurdly powerful, and not really designed for use in consumer applications, quite simply.
And Mac Version? They're called standards for a reason- PCI Express x16, in this case. If you want drivers, then you might have a problem, because I don't think there are any- you want serious number crunching, you use linux or windows.
jdickson87
jrlcopy
Posted 4:18 AM 11/11/08
@Denver_80203: I was about to insult the post writer for making that comparison as well.
Ugh, just another stupid gizmodo writer.
jrlcopy
WaffleTeamStrike
Posted 4:12 AM 11/11/08
You can say what you want about different BIOS, RAM, and price but I am happy to daydream having one of these babies for bragging rights. **sigh**
WaffleTeamStrike
secretmanofagent
Posted 4:35 AM 11/11/08
Jesus, does it require its own power supply?
secretmanofagent
Kharnellius
Posted 4:55 AM 11/11/08
@hexydes: I think you are confusing the phrase, "the most powerful card made in history" with "the most powerful card that will ever be produced". Those two mean completely different things.
See other post.
Kharnellius
Kharnellius
Posted 4:53 AM 11/11/08
@hexydes: Notice how it says "in history". It is completely accurate to use that line, even if something faster comes out tomorrow, because at the moment it was said, it was THE fastest card in history (history covers past...not future).
I don't see what your qualm is about especially when businesses have been using this line (completely legitimately I might add) for probably centuries.
Kharnellius
hexydes
Posted 5:23 AM 11/11/08
@Kharnellius: Right guys, but what I'm saying is, every single card that gets released says that it is the "most powerful/fastest video card evar!" It's stupid, and should be considered self-evident to the point of redundancy. Obviously it is the fastest ever, or it would not have been made. Every top-end video card is going to be faster than the last top-end video card, or it wouldn't have been made.
hexydes
Lache
Posted 5:16 AM 11/11/08
You editors really need to find out the differences between mainstream graphics cards and professional series ones. I run a Quadro 4600, the most basic of the "ultra-high end" cards that nVidia puts out - Crysis is a slideshow for me with all the settings cranked. I've only gotten it to run well on high setting with reduced res. A far less expensive card would run the game better, and why? Surprise surprise, it'd be a card made for games, not 3D development environments.
$3500 for this monster is highway robbery for the small gains to be seen in most current applications though.
Lache
FrankenPC
Posted 5:33 AM 11/11/08
Thank god I purchased a 4000watt thermo nuclear power supply. I mean, 10,000$ for a PSU seemed a bit pricey at the time.
FrankenPC
Poon
Posted 5:25 AM 11/11/08
ANY card that vents its heat INTO the case is a FAIL in my book.
Poon
BeautifulAgony
Posted 5:50 AM 11/11/08
The Quadro cards are explicitly NOT for gaming. They are for high-end realtime rendering of 3D development assetts, medical research displays and things of that nature.
They (and their drivers) are highly optimized for different tasks and not optimized for the types of shaders and effects used in games.
Comparing consumer-level 3D gaming cards to the Quadro product line would be like comparing a high-end sports car, like a Ferrari, to a high speed mag-lev bullet train. Both are powerful types of vehicles, but have vastly different purposes; the former being single user high-speed excitement, and the latter being multi-user, high-speed transport for massive projects.
BeautifulAgony
lolwut?
Posted 6:11 AM 11/11/08
pls stop this BS about Crysis.
I have E8600 + 4gb ram + good old GF9600 and I run Crysis on the max settings in 1024x768 at very very good framerates.
lolwut?
4c74f001
Posted 6:42 AM 11/11/08
@TonyTriple: erm.. have you been living under a rock for the past year or so? cause pretty much all high-end video cards are that big now.... hell that card probably has the same physical dimensions as a regular gtx 280 (and uses the same cooler too by the looks of it...)
4c74f001
ara
Posted 6:40 AM 11/11/08
@jdickson87: It's not that absurdly powerful, this is no revolution in Quadro series, just evolutional step. For example the Quardo CX, which is specifically marketed for Adobe CS4 work has 192 stream processors, the 240 of FX 5800 is not giant leap that makes it "too powerful" for professional graphical work. The 4GB of RAM on the other hand can turn out out be hard to fill.
ara
se7a7n7
Posted 6:39 AM 11/11/08
@lupin_iii: That's why you just buy 2. Duh!
se7a7n7
lupin_iii
Posted 6:29 AM 11/11/08
Whats with the single hdmi output? Shouldn't I be able to use dual hdmi monitors for $3,500 bucks???
lupin_iii
planetarian
Posted 7:45 AM 11/11/08
@jdickson87: the FX 5800 uses the GTX 280's core. the GTX280 also has 240 stream processors. the main difference between this and the GTX280 is that this card has 4GB RAM, a hardware stereo 3d output, firmware that prioritizes accuracy over speed, and special drivers.
planetarian
Kakkoister
Posted 7:35 AM 11/11/08
The only difference between this card and a GTX 280 is that is has more RAM, and it has different software.
Yeah, that's right.. It's not more powerful because of hardware, but because of mere software.
Some of the older Quadro software could be installed into the high end gaming cards, and those hell of a lot cheaper gaming cards would perform just as well. (Unless memory was a factor of course.)
So what your paying for here is actually software, not some super duper uber graphics card.
Kakkoister
planetarian
Posted 7:57 AM 11/11/08
@secretmanofagent: one each of six-pin and eight-pin PCI-Express connectors, just like the GTX280.
planetarian
planetarian
Posted 7:55 AM 11/11/08
@4c74f001: indeed, aside from the extra video memory, different firmware, and new paint job, it is more or less the exact same card.
planetarian
planetarian
Posted 7:52 AM 11/11/08
@Denver_80203: this is due to the special firmware in the quadro series which prioritizes accuracy over speed. in desktop graphics cards, speed is considered top priority, and so when rendering a scene, it aims for an *approximation* of the scene instead of a perfect representation... it will be a less accurate image, but the speed will be adequate for high-performance tasks (i.e. gaming). quadro cards aim for rendering perfection at the cost of performance. To that end, for many businesses, a card like this would easily pay for itself in rendering time.
planetarian
aec007
Posted 8:33 AM 11/11/08
Yes, nice.... But will it 3-way or 4-way SLI ?
You know you can't just stop with one dinky little video card....
How are you going to keep Nehalem busy?
aec007
jdickson87
Posted 8:19 AM 11/11/08
@ara: Sorry, I wasn't too specific. It's absurd for someone to drop $3500 on a quadro for the express purpose of after effects unless you're a pro studio, as far as I'm concerned. And notice, I did say "consumer." "Professional" is another thing entirely. And yeah, 4GB of ram is a bit excessive, but why the heck not? :) As the mythbusters say, If it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing, right?
Just not for $3500 if you're not a professional.
jdickson87
SmritiHaerk
Posted 3:41 AM 11/11/08
Ok, come on. I would seriously hope for better knowledge As stated by Denver, this is NOT for gaming. It is for 3D professionals, Rendering, Modelling and simulation. For what it does, it is top notch. It is not a rebadged 280. The quadro line is not geared towards fast action, rather by fast calculation. Simulating deformation, current and other variables is NOT something a gaming card can do well, hence the cost. Hell, for $3500 with those specs, it is a bargain for a company that does sims.
SmritiHaerk
rton20s
Posted 9:46 AM 11/11/08
@Joseph:
Mac version... aka Mac drivers will be released in 18 months. Pricing will be a reasonable $4800.
rton20s
Poon
Posted 1:50 PM 11/11/08
@lolwut?: 1024 x 768? Barbarian.
Poon
UniComp
Posted 5:03 PM 11/11/08
Let's see how well it works after I drool all over it. I bet it works perfectly.
UniComp
I'm a PC
Posted 5:36 PM 11/11/08
i know what i want for x-mas lol
I'm a PC
goatiiee
Posted 8:06 AM 12/11/08
greatness aside, it looks like it came from the 80's.
goatiiee
kacper
Posted 5:58 AM 11/11/08
Remember Nvidia Quadro like ATI FireGL are optimized for openGL and don't work that well with DirectX so nope no Crysis yet
kacper