reader comments
36
with 26 posters participating, including story author
Share this story
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Reddit
After some false starts, the Fermi Quadro 4000 Mac Edition was officially announced today. Since this is a Mac version of a card that was launched at SIGGRAPH 2010, not much about it is secret. The card is almost identical to the PC version: 256 CUDA cores, 256-bit memory interface, 2GB memory and the same suggested retail price of $1,199.
The only physical difference is that the PC version has two DisplayPort outputs.
For programs like Maya that support quad-buffered stereo, a 3D output is available via an optional adapter. Despite its sporting a DisplayPort output, 10-bit per channel output is not currently supported, according to NVIDIA. It should be doable with a future driver update, since
Mac OS X is capable of it
with qualifying displays. The 4000 also lacks the optional ECC mode of the Quadro 5000 and above, so it's of debatable value to scientific users, since results could contain errors.
CUDA, not games
This is the only Mac card available from NVIDIA, marking a full exit from the consumer Mac space (if you could have ever called a Mac Pro a consumer machine). NVIDIA is clearly hoping to combine the popularity of the Mac Pro in video with the F
ermi's impressive GPGPU power to move these cards. CUDA has made some remarkable gains in professional video over the last couple years, thanks in part to Adobe's use of CUDA in programs like Premiere Pro CS5’s Mercury Playback Engine, and high-end video plug-ins like Genarts Sapphire and The Foundry’s Kronos:Advertisement
?
The increased proliferation of
GPU-based 3D renderers
should also make this appealing to users of CUDA applications like
Octane Render
and
Bunkspeed Shot
. Now that 64-bit versions of CUDA are available for OS X, there’s little reason to doubt these cards are going to scream for these types of GPU applications.
While it remains to be seen when NVIDIA will address the poor GLSL performance that
plagued the Quadro FX 4800 Mac Edition
and still
hampers its cards today
, it doesn't help that this is an
OpenGL 4.1 certified card
and Apple's still stuck at the now-geriatric OpenGL 2.1. If you were thinking this card would pave the way for
The Foundry's Mari
on the Mac, don't hold your breath. It requires OpenGL 3.0. We know this is becoming a problem for other 3D developers, so hopefully Lion has some GL surprises for us.
Otherwise, if you’re in need of a CUDA or OpenCL powerhouse for your Mac Pro, this card should deliver the goods.
