14 DAY TRIAL // Autodesk University will see some new additions to NVIDIA's line of Quadro graphics cards, each of which, despite not supporting DirectX 11, will supposedly improve productivity and creativity of 3D design operations by providing an acceleration, while in AutoCAD, 10 times better than that of consumer graphics adapters.
The full lineup consists of three new models, out of which one is aimed at desktops (Quadro FX 380 LP) and the other two, namely the Quadro FX 3800M and FX 2800M, at mobile platforms. The Autodesk University will have PNY demonstrating Seneca's Data's Nexlink workstation running Autodesk AutoCAD while using the NVIDIA Quadro FX 380 LP.
"Seneca Data prides itself on delivering the most powerful and cost-effective CAD solutions in the market. With the introduction of the entry-level NVIDIA Quadro FX 380 LP by PNY graphics solution, our Nexlink systems can deliver performance, stability, ISV certification and display quality at an affordable price," said Mike Smith, VP of OEM and Engineering Services, Seneca Data.
The entry-level Quadro FX 380 LP is a low-profile card which features only 16 processing Cores and 512MB GDDR3 memory which runs on a 64-bit interface. The card supports DirectX 10.1 and only consumes 28W (EnergyStar compliant). Outputs include DVI and DisplayPort connectors. The card will perform very well for 2D professional business applications in multi-monitor scenarios and also has certification for leading 3D CAD and DCC applications with its 2560 x 1600 at 60 Hz resolution and support for Shader Model 4.1.
"Autodesk University is a great venue for PNY to demonstrate the powerful capabilities of this low-profile form factor, high performance graphics board, which when combined with a low cost workstation like Seneca Data's Nexlink delivers an outstanding price performance CAD solution," said Jeff Medeiros, director of Marketing, PNY Technologies Inc.
The other cards in this series, the Quadro FX 3800M and FX 2800M have 128 and 96 Processing Cores respectively and are already being used by Dell in its Precision M6500 workstations. Their memory interface is 256-bit and both have 1GB GDDR3 memory capable of 30-bit color accuracy (they can render over a billion colors).
More information on each graphics adapter may be found on Nvidia's official website.