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HP's 8440 and 8540 EliteBooks ready to ship with Core i7 inside
HP promised us a mobile workstation refresh in February, and sure enough, today we are staring down the retail pages for its quartet of upgraded business laptops. The new top of the line EliteBook models come in 14- (8440p/w) and 15.6-inch (8540p/w) varieties, with the w-appended models sporting appropriately beefed up NVIDIA Quadro FX graphics with up to 1GB of dedicated GDDR5. If you want to grab one for under a grand, you'll have to make do with the reasonably powerful Core i5-520M / 2GB DDR3 RAM combo, but we're most excited by the future customization options, which include a low-voltage Core i7-820QM CPU with 8MB of internal cache, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 256GB in SSD storage. Course, we can't put prices to these spectacular beasts just yet, as HP is still only offering preconfigured rigs, but we think it'll be less than five figures. [Thanks, Jared]
NVIDIA rolls out Quadro FX 4800 graphics card for Mac Pro users
Been itching to add an $1,800 graphics card to your shiny new Mac Pro? Then you're in luck, as NVIDIA has now finally made its high-end Quadro FX 4800 graphics card available to Mac users, just a few short months after PC folk first got their hands on it. Of course the core specs of the card remain unchanged, and include a 1.5GB frame buffer with memory bandwidth up to 76.8 GB/sec, a pair of dual-link DVI connectors with some added support for 3D stereo glasses, 192 stream processors, a maximum power consumption of 150W, and some Boot Camp support right out of the gate. You'll still have to wait a tiny bit longer to check out all that for yourself, however, as the first cards apparently won't be available until some time next month.
NVIDIA revs up pro graphics lineup
Squabbles with Intel aside, NVIDIA's engineers have been keeping busy, and the company's got a whole slew of new high-powered workstation graphics chips to talk about this morning, along with new SLI virtualization support. The new gear ranges from the Quadro NVS 295, which'll drive two 30-inch displays for under $100, all the way up to the monster 4GB Quadro FX 5800, which packs 240 CUDA cores onto a PCI Express x16 card for $3150. The 5800 and baby brothers Quadro FX 3800 and 4800 all support SLI Multi-OS, which allows workstation users to tap into the cards using multiple OSes in Parallels -- the HP Z800 is the first machine off the line to offer the capability, but more will follow. Pretty geeky stuff, head to the read links for more info. Read - Workstation graphics press release Read - SLI Multi-OS press release
NVIDIA delivers 1.5GB QuadroFX 4800 workstation graphics card
NVIDIA's Quadro FX 4800 might not be nearly the beast that the 5800 is, but it'll only run you an arm and three-quarters of a leg versus every limb you've got. The GPU gurus over at HotHardware were able to grab hold of the 1.5GB monster, complete with a GT200 graphics processor and a sticker price around half of that shown on the aforesaid 5800 ($3,499). The board features a 602MHz GPU clock speed, 192 stream processors, an 800MHz GDDR3 clock speed, 384-bit memory controller and a PCI Express 2.0 x16 connector. So, how does the $1,999 workhorse stack up? Hit the read link for the full report, but the gist of it is this: it's a stellar piece, but ATI's FirePro V8700 was found to provide "similar performance (and in some cases, more) with a roughly 25% lower price." Choices, choices.
NVIDIA's Quadro FX 5800 with 4GB graphics memory is 'the most powerful graphics card in history'
That's some serious boasting by NVIDIA, but this is some serious graphics horsepower. The Quadro FX 5800, already seen in NVIDIA's Quadro Plex D data cruncher, replaces the 5600 at the top of the NVIDIA heap with 240 CUDA-programmable parallel cores and the industry's first card with 4GB of graphics memory. MSRP? Just $3,499 for you big spender -- pennies for the companies who can harness the power for the purposes of oil and gas exploration, 4D modeling, and graphics design.
Dell's 17-inch Precision M6400 powerhouse breaks loose for retail
Well, hiddy ho Dell Precision M6400, nice to finally meet you all retail-like. The 17-inch (LED back-lit 1,920 x 1,200 pixels covering 100% of the RGB color gamut) Mobile Workstation capable of playing host to 16GB of memory, a Core 2 Duo Quad Core Extreme processor, and up to 1TB of data (2x 500GB disks in RAID 0 or RAID 1 configs) is now up on Dell's website. Other specs include up to 1GB of NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M Graphics, Bluetooth 2.1, Ultra-wideband, WWAN, GPS, 802.11a/g/n WiFi, stereo speakers and dual-array mic, 8-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard 54 and PCMCIA slots, Firewire, 4x USB 2.0, DisplayPort, eSATA, and more. All that in a 15.4 x 11.0 x 1.35-inch chassis weighing 8.5-pounds with a biggie 9-cell battery. The only thing missing is Blu-ray and that shuttle controller spotted in the teaser video. Starts at $2,599 with an October 22nd ship date.Update: Ah, we get it: the track pad "works like a jog shuttle" -- it's not a physically distinct device. See it pictured after the break.%Gallery-32564%[Thanks, M.Luczak]
NVIDIA releases new Quadro Plex D CUDA desktop rigs
NVIDIA's really pushing the GPU-as-CPU angle at SIGGRAPH this year -- we've already seen the PhysX and CUDA-powered GeForce Power Pack for consumers, and the company is also updating the Quadro Plex series of visual co-processors for workstation customers. The new Quadro Plex 2200 D2, designed for large datasets and models, crunches data through two Quadro FX 5800 GPUs (totalling 480 CUDA cores) and 8GB of RAM, while the Quadro Plex 2100 D2 is optimized for large multidisplay rigs with four Quadro FX 4700 GPUs and support for up to eight monitors. Sounds fun -- and we're guessing the people who can justify the $10,500 starting price for these rigs think so too.
HP gets official with EliteBook 8730w, 8530w and 8530p
Not that these units are a complete surprise or anything, but HP's taking the time to get really, really official with its minty fresh EliteBooks. Up first is the beastly EliteBook 8730w (that's the 6830s pictured), which packs a 17-inch DreamColor display, a quad-core Intel CPU, 8GB of RAM and one of NVIDIA's 1GB Quadro FX graphics cards. Keeping things going are the EliteBook 8530w and 8530p, both of which boast a 15.4-inch display, 8GB of RAM, a Core 2 Duo chip (8530w supports optional quad-core) and HP's own brushed anodized aluminum DuraCase. As for pricing and release information? Good luck on the guessing.[Thanks, Christopher]
Alienware slaps NVIDIA's Quadro FX 3600M into Area-51 m15x
Some five months after NVIDIA took the Saran Wrap off of its professional-oriented Quadro FX 3600M, along comes Alienware patting itself on the back. Why? Because its Area-51 m15x is the first 15.4-inch laptop on planet Earth to offer said card, giving users who practically live in CAD, DCC or other visualization applications an option to still look 1337 (and tap into the occasional 3D game) on their lappie. Unfortunately, such graphical prowess will add $600 to the cost of your rig over the standard 256MB GeForce 8600M GT, but no one ever said that dancing on the cutting edge was cheap.
NVIDIA unveils Quadro FX 3600M for laptops
Desktop gamers weren't the only ones scoring a little love from NVIDIA today -- the company also rolled out the Quadro FX 3600M laptop graphics GPU, which it says provides professional workstation-level performance on the road. The CUDA-capable chip is designed to be mounted on a standard mobile graphics board, and the stock configuration sports 512MB of RAM, power-management features, and a 256-bit memory interface that opens up 51.2GB/s of graphic memory bandwidth. Sadly, there's no word on price, but the first machine out the gate with the new GPU will be the 17-inch HP Compaq 8710w, which currently runs in the $2,500 - $3,000 range.
HIPerSpace visualization system takes the crown with 220 million pixels
For AV freaks enamored with their own HDTV and hardcore gamers who doubt anyone's ability to unleash more graphical firepower than that found in their rig, prepare to be humbled. As part of the HIPerSpace visualization system, engineers at the University of California, San Diego "have constructed the highest-resolution computer display in the world, with a screen resolution of up to 220 million pixels." The system, which links between UCSD and UC-Irvine (responsible for the mighty HiPerWall) via dedicated optical networking, contains a "graphics super cluster" that relies on 80 NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 GPUs. Reportedly, scientists dealing with large-scale applications involving "Earth sciences, climate prediction, biomedical engineering, genomics, and brain imaging" will be able to make use of the newfangled setup in order to better digest the information they're dealing with. Sheesh, all we want is a solid day with this thing, infinite Doritos, and Halo 3.[Via MedGadget]
NVIDIA stuffs four Quadro FX 5600 GPUs into 1U server
Yeah, we all agreed that the Quadro Plex 1000 was hot stuff in its heyday, but NVIDIA's latest GPU server blows away prior iterations by cramming four Quadro FX 5600s into a 1U enclosure. The Quadro Plex VCS Server packs a "record number" of GPUs into a 1U form factor, and its 6GB frame buffer (1.5GB per GPU) and mind-boggling computational abilities should please those interested in remote graphics / offline rendering. Additionally, it's built to "dynamically allocate compute, geometry, shading, and pixel processing power for optimized GPU performance," and while there's no mention of a price, those actually in the market for this beast probably aren't concerned.[Via MacsimumNews]
NVIDIA's CUDA turns GPUs into high-powered CPUs
NVIDIA's been dancing around the general-purpose processor market for a while now -- we've heard reports that the company is developing an x86 chip, and it bought PortalPlayer last year for $357 million. Well, at this year's Microprocessor Forum the company took another small step by announcing that the final release of CUDA, its framework for utilizing high-end NVIDIA GPUs as CPUs, which will be available to developers in the second half of the year. While the idea of using a GPU as a secondary high-performance processor isn't a new one -- Folding@Home already runs on NVIDIA and ATI chips, and the Peakstream system already leverages GPUs -- CUDA should make it easier for developers to tap into high-performance graphics devices whenever they're available, without having to specifically tailor their apps to do so. CUDA, which stands for "compute unifed device architecture," currently only supports the GeForce 8800 and 8600 and Quadro FX 4600 and 5600, so it's of limited appeal right now, but here's hoping the next gen of NVIDIA chips supports CUDA from the get-go -- the Engadget Folding@Home team is looking for a few new recruits.
NVIDIA rolls out monster QuadroFX graphics cards
NVIDIA may be best known for its consumer-level graphics cards, which are impressive enough in their own right, but the company of course also caters to some users even more demanding than gamers (rare as they are), who look to be in for a treat with its latest high-end offerings. According to NVIDIA, its new QuadroFX 4600 and QuadroFX 5600 graphics cards represent the company's biggest generational leap evar, bringing hereto unheard of GPU power and up to 1.5GB of frame buffers to tasks like automotive design, medical imaging, scientific research, and visual effects. If that's not enough, you can also double 'em up for some SLI action. Of course, the cards also come with some equally jaw-dropping price tags, with the QuadroFX 5600 demanding a cool $3,000 and the slightly lower-powered QuadroFX 4600 a comparative bargain at an even $2,000.
Nvidia Quadro Plex 1000 goes nuts with 80 billion pixels-per-second
Maybe Nvidia's recent tough talk following the acquisition of ATI wasn't just talk. They're backing up those words with some serious graphics muscle: a unit called the Quadro Plex 1000 that can pump 80 billion pixels per second for pro graphics needs. Like, really pro graphics needs. Before we hurt ourselves trying to figure just exactly how many Marios that is, we'll run the rest of the specs by you. The Quadro Plex comes in a desktop (pictured) or 3U rackmount configuration, and is designed for working with 12-megapixel HD video, 3D graphics, scientific visualization, simulations and whatever else needs that type of GPU power. One node involves eight Quadro FX cards, jammed into two Plex 1000 systems and paired up via SLI, all of which is hosted by a 32-bit Intel or 64-bit AMD machine running Windows or Linux. All that juicy Quake II power (we keed! we keed!) can be yours starting at a mere $17,500, and should be available beginning next month.
