Apr

NAB 09 : NVIDIA GPU monster for the Mac

NVIDIA Muscle
Mac Adobe Users can flex their video power.

NVIDIA QUADRO 4800 for Mac

At this year's NAB, there were many new announcements from both software and hardware companies bringing new workflow and process capabilities to be broadcast professionals in attendance. Adobe offered a glimpse at some of the upcoming solutions that will be coming out for its users later this year. On the other hand, NVIDIA was there to show off products currently shipping, including their newest cards for GPU processing.

In Adobe's After Effects, many of the plug-ins and that broadcast designers have come to rely on, and many of the new processes found in CS4 rely on GPU accelerated video processing. This is where the QuadroFX 4800 series truly shines. Not only in the Mac hardware, but in the PC hardware as well.

It's been four years since I first met Jeff Brown, and he told me about the potential of the GPU. There have been many major advances in the technology since Nforce 4's SLI. The Quadro Plex monsters notwithstanding, this is one of the most exciting desktop GPU computing announcements for Mac users.

Other key features in the Quadro FX 4800 GPU for Mac include:

- Interactive Visualization of Large Models - Offers a massive 1.5GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth up to 76.8 GB/sec. to deliver 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 (FSAA)

- High-performance Visualization - NVIDIA's CUDA parallel computing architecture for NVIDIA Quadro GPUs enables breakthrough application performance to enhance creative expression in areas such as video, animation, photography and production

- Dual Dual Link DVI and Stereo Connectors - Outfitted with a dedicated 3 pin min-din connector for stereo glasses support and up to two dual-link DVI digital connectors to drive the highest resolution digital displays available on the market.

Dual DVI allows for true stereo work without compromise

- Boot Camp Support - Access to native Quadro GPU accelerated professional Windows 3D graphics performance and features when using Apple Boot Camp.

The NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 GPU for the Mac will be available starting in May of this year through Apple resellers, including apple.com. You'll find it listing at about $1799. It may seem steep at first, until you realize the amount of time that you will be saving when rendering all of those GPU enhanced projects. I would love to see the new Mac offered with an option to upgrade from the current NVIDIA card to the 4800, which might bring a savings of $150.

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