High-end graphics cards

[Chankama]

Source: wikipedia.org
The Quadro series of video cards by NVIDIA Corporation is a set of AGP and PCI Express video cards targeted at the professional workstation market. These cards are essentially identical to the company's popular consumer GeForce cards. Unlike those cards, however, the Quadro cards are certified by companies such as Autodesk for use with their workstation applications in fields such as computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering. The Quadro line relatively closely tracks the GeForce line, though some cards, such as the Quadro MVS series, are tuned specifically for 2D applications and have no direct GeForce counterpart. In general, a Quadro card has the same designation as its GeForce counterpart; for instance, a Quadro4 is equivalent to a GeForce 4 Ti series card. This similarity means that GeForce drivers, which are newer and more advanced than the Quadro drivers, can be used to drive Quadro cards. Doing so voids the card's certifications but often results in higher performance and better features.

The certification processes to which the Quadro cards are subject, combined with their targeting at the professional workstation market, make them significantly more expensive than GeForce cards.

Guess it explains why these cards cost more. I also thought that the high end cards have a lower probability of making an error than the gamer cards - at the h/w level. Might or might not be true. Anyone have info on this? Not talking about s/w drivers.

 

[uzi9mm]

They are really expensive due to the fact that they are more efficent in OpenGL enviroments. I wonder if you can use workstation cards to play Doom 3 on Ultra settings?

 

[Dark_Sniper*]

i dont think your really could play for Doom3 i may be wrong.

 

[Chankama]

They are really expensive due to the fact that they are more efficent in OpenGL enviroments.

That doesn't say much man. Why do you think it's expensive "BECAUSE" it's more efficient in OpenGL. Granted, the circuitry might be a little bit more complex, but I don't feel it's sufficient to explain the huge price difference.

Originally posted by uzi9mm I wonder if you can use workstation cards to play Doom 3 on Ultra settings?

I would imagine it could .. It should have the proper h/w capabilities. But would prolly need new drivers.

 

[uzi9mm]

Well those cards are meant to be used in professional settings. They will be used to make money. So that is why they cost so much.

Well here is some more reasons.

* It is geared for accuracy and performance (in that order).
* Special tools or drivers specific to application (i.e. special Max drivers, or AutoCAD add-ons).
* Level of technical support for professional users much higher.
* The cards are capable of very high resolutions.
* They have enhanced cores, and memory subsystems.

BTW, If they can play doom 3......... 1 word: ownage.

 

[Dark_Sniper*]

LOL very true

 

[gaara]

They look to be the same as those Wildcat cards, which are built for better precision and accuracy rather than performance. They work well in crap like autocad but they are not for gaming, mostly due to drivers