NVIDIA has decided to plunk down a big honking graphics system for professionals only, showing the rest of the world that it's not just playing games any more. The company's latest leap into the graphics stratosphere is Quadro Plex, a dedicated visual computing system that combines up to eight NVIDIA Quadro FX graphics processing units (GPUs) into one, giving its users more graphics power than they can shake a stick at.
The graphics units are available on a single configuration such as you see on the left above, or can be combined together in rack-mounted clusters and harnessed together for graphics Nirvana. All can be used for driving photorealistic graphics for scientists, oil explorers, flight simulators and other secret and scary purposes we won't get into here. Filmmakers will like using it to drive the highest-resolution 4K digital film displays. Pricing will start at $17,500, and the product is set to ship in September.
This is graphics territory formerly only occupied by the likes of SGI. And yes, we're assuming that it can indeed play Doom.
Read the press release after the jump.
NVIDIA Introduces The World's First Dedicated Visual Computing System: Nvidia Quadro Plex
Breakthrough New System Delivers A Quantum Leap in Visual Compute Density with Unprecedented Productivity, Flexibility and Performance
SIGGRAPH 2006—BOSTON, MA—August 1, 2006—NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, today ushered in a new era of advanced visualization for the professional graphics market with the introduction of the NVIDIA Quadro Plex 1000, the world's first dedicated Visual Computing System (VCS).
By delivering an order-of-magnitude increase in levels of productivity and capability for advanced visualization, the NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS offers advanced scalability in a sleek desktop or dense 3U rackmount configuration for demanding professional applications such as those powering multiple streams of 4K high-definition video, 3D styling and design, scientific and medical visualization, oil and gas exploration, or visual simulation and training.
NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS incorporates many groundbreaking innovations that remove the major graphics discontinuity in the professional visual industry, a market known for its innovation in 3D graphics. These revolutionary new features include:
Unprecedented Levels of Visual Compute Density—Combine up to eight NVIDIA Quadro FX GPUs in a single VCS node, which consists of two NVIDIA Quadro Plex systems attached to a certified SLI technology-capable host system, to take advantage of extremely high-density, graphics-intensive computing. NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS nodes can also be clustered to further scale visual compute density.
Breakthrough Visual Computing Capability—Scale NVIDIA SLI multi-GPU technology to deliver maximum performance supporting the highest image quality of up to 64X FSAA. Enable frame synchronization, genlock, and frame lock with NVIDIA G-Sync technology to extend scale performance, image quality and resolution.
Massively Scalable Performance—Available in three distinct configurations delivering maximum performance, resolution and image quality to visualize the largest seismic datasets, render photorealistic and interactive designs, or natively drive 4K projection systems.
Featuring NVIDIA SLI multi-GPU technology, the NVIDIA Quadro Plex dedicated VCS offers improved visual compute density of up to 20x over traditional GPU solutions, and can be deployed with any PCI Express x16 system for use with the most demanding professional CAD, DCC and visualization applications. Scalable enough to deliver up to 148 megapixels on 16 synchronized digital-output channels and eight HD SDI channels, including a fill rate of 80-billion pixels/sec and geometry performance of seven billion vertices/sec, the NVIDIA Quadro Plex visual computing system can operate as a single shared desktop unit or be clustered together to further scale performance and increase visual computing quality.
NVIDIA Quadro Plex 1000 VCS is compatible with an officially certified set of x86 32- and 64-bit Intel and AMD processors running Windows and Linux operating systems. See www.nvidia.com/quadroplex for a list of compatible systems. NVIDIA Quadro Plex is planned to be certified on all industry-leading applications and ship in September 2006, with prices starting at $17,500 (US).
What NVIDIA Partners are Saying
"The NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS addresses a real need for geoscientists as it allows standard workstations and servers to drive high-performance large-scale visualization configurations," says Nicholas Purday, Manager of Geological and Geophysical Technologies Solutions at Landmark, a brand of Halliburton's Drilling, Evaluation and Digital Solutions Division. "The combination of Landmark's GeoProbe software, which is configurable to take full advantage of multi-GPU/multi-display configurations, and NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS will enable geoscientists to interpret their data at its highest resolution, without losing sight of the regional context."
"Seeing the new NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS running Google Earth is an astounding visual experience," said Michael Jones, chief technologist, Google Earth, Maps and Local. "This extreme level of performance and resolution takes the viewer from visual simulation to emotional reality, showing the Earth in its full detail and glory. Google Earth and the NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS are a perfect pair—powering a new world of imagination."
"The new NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS is the ideal graphics enabling technology for Aechelon's flight simulator solutions," said John Quinn, CEO of Aechelon Technology. "Together, with unrivaled image quality and performance from NVIDIA, we can deliver advanced scalability on virtually any platform, enabling ultra high-resolution, eye-limiting displays, which are absolutely required for our most demanding users."
"The NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS offers unprecedented graphics power for advanced visualization on today's workstations," says Tom Coull, CEO of ModViz. "Our VGP software system combined with the Quadro Plex VCS lets professional 3D visualization applications take full advantage of the Quadro Plex multi-GPU architecture, achieving optimal performance through the transparent division and distribution of rendering tasks. NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS and VGP working together redefine professional 3D graphics on a workstation."
NVIDIA Corporation
NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies. The Company creates innovative, industry-changing products for computing, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit http://www.nvidia.com/page/quadrople….