Pro Graphics: Seven Cards Compared

Features
By Uwe Scheffel
published

Nvidia Quadro FX 5600

The Quadro FX 5600 is regarded as the OpenGL computing monster par excellence. Equipped with 1,536 MB of GDDR3 memory, the Quadro FX 5600 has sufficient reserves for high resolutions and large textures. The card is powered by the G80 graphics chip, which you can also find on several GeForce 8800-series gaming cards.

Currently the card is priced as low as $2,700 from online retailers. In benchmarks, the FX 5600 scores well and earns first place in many categories. However, the ATI FireGL V7700, at $1,000, is right on its heels, often beating it in some categories. ATI manages this by using a more modern chip architecture at 55 nanometers.

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The add-on "Maxtreme 11" driver from Nvidia is also interesting. This plugin was developed specifically for 3D Studio Max, and leads to a significant performance boost in this program. In contrast to the previous versions, Maxtreme 11 supports OpenGL and also the DirectX API. The hardware shader operations of 3DSM especially benefit from it. But here we recognize that DirectX is slowly becoming acceptable in the workstation sector, which was previously reserved exclusively for OpenGL.

The 90 nanometer chip and large memory require a dual auxiliary power inputs, as you can see from the two Molex connectors (both 6-pin).

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The screen shot of GPU-Z shows the most important technical data for the FX 5600.

Uwe Scheffel
Uwe Scheffel
54 Comments Comment from the forums
  • zajooo
    Hi guys,

    I was allways wondering, how it would look with comparison of these cards with gamers cards, wheather the gamer ones did not give us as we say "Lot of music, for a little money". Whould we get simmilar results in the field of geometry transformation, without using any alliasing a any of the really not necessary features ???

    Thanx
    Reply
  • Evendon
    I would also like to know how these cards handle games. Especially im interested in how mobile versions of quodro fx work with games.
    I would also like to play with my work laptop with quodro fx-chip (fx 3600m)
    Reply
  • neiroatopelcc
    I was pretty much wondering how low a geforce 8800gt or ati 4750 would stack? given the lowest prices in denmark for a v3600 or fx570 start at 1150kr and a 8800gt256 costs only 680kr (4750 @ 1070kr), they're comparable in the budget department.

    We're only doing basic grid stuff mostly at work, but we're using intel 945 chipsets with onboard graphics for that - the pentium dualcore seems to do that okay, but it isn't happy about textures at all. However for those things we use old p4's with geforce 6600gt cards - not quadro anything, and I can't help to wonder if using gamer cards is the right or wrong choice (worked great for us so far).


    ps. we use inventor, mechanical desktop and revit from autodesk (newest and second newest versions only), so only the 3dstudio results are interesting for me.
    Reply
  • venteras
    Where's the Quadro FX 3700 and 4700?

    I don't see how you can do a review dated 13 August that seemingly cover all current main stream cards and not have 2 of NVidia's primary cards included?

    Was this paid for by ATI?
    Reply
  • sma8
    zajoooHi guys,I was allways wondering, how it would look with comparison of these cards with gamers cards, wheather the gamer ones did not give us as we say "Lot of music, for a little money". Whould we get simmilar results in the field of geometry transformation, without using any alliasing a any of the really not necessary features ???Thanx
    Pro graphic cards are different from gamers/consumer cards. Pro graphic cards are designed to be capable of handling workstations applications such as AutoCAD or 3D Studio MAX whereas gamers/consumer cards are designed for desktop pc apps or games. You can see the differences of both cards here:
    http://www.nvidia.com/object/builtforprofessionals.html
    That's a good example how both cards work in workstation application. That's why pro graphic cards cost very expensive
    Reply
  • anonymous1000
    Hello. Thank you for the interesting article. What is also interesting is the huge gap between Spec results and my day to day experiences with ATI pro cards. When the first spec results showed up, I started recommending my clients to buy FireGL 3600-8600 cards but nfortunately, they where VERY pour performers in 3DSMAX work... apart from the fact that you couldn't even use half of their strength with the first drivers, even now, comparing the FPS count on the V5600 card with that of 9600GT on 3DSMAX shows it is much more comfortable to work with the latest.. If you want to move a large project on your viewport it moves allot faster if you have a 9600GT card installed. THIS is a benchmark I would like to see here because IT REALLY MATTERS to animators. Thank you
    Reply
  • hixbot
    nobofy?
    Reply
  • bydesign
    sma8Pro graphic cardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit are different from gamers/consumer cards. Pro graphic cards are designed to be capable of handling workstations applications such as AutoCAD or 3D Studio MAX whereas gamers/consumer cards are designed for desktop pc apps or games. You can see the differences of both cards here:http://www.nvidia.com/object/built onals.htmlThat's a good example how both cards work in workstation application. That's why pro graphic cards cost very expensive
    Not true I can flash the bios on my 8800 GTX and it will run just like it's workstation cousin. They are using the same hardware but handicapping the consumer card.
    Reply
  • theLaminator
    Wish this article had been published about three days ago, it would've made my decision on which new laptop to get for school (i'm an engineering major, so i actually will use this). I finally decided on an HP with with the FireGL v5600, looks like a made the right choice based on these benchmarks. Guess we'll see when I actually get it and try it in application.
    Reply
  • "I would also like to know how these cards handle games. Especially im interested in how mobile versions of quodro fx work with games.
    I would also like to play with my work laptop with quodro fx-chip (fx 3600m)"

    I also have a Quadro 3600M in my laptop. In 3dMark06, I get a score of 8800. COD4 and UT3 run smoothly with all settings maxed out at 1900x1200. Quadro cards are as good or better at gaming as their Geforce equivalents.
    Reply