NVIDIA, ATi Bring Five OpenGL Workstation Graphics for PCI Express to Market

ATI FireGL V3200

The essential specs for the ATI FireGL V3200 are the same as for the V3100. There are two geometry engines and four pixel pipelines on this card too. Only the production process is just a bit older, based on 130-nm low-k process versus 110 nm for the V3100.

However, the higher performance cannot be explained by the production process, but rather by the higher clock speeds. The X600 processor (RV380GL) hums along at 500 MHz, whereas the DDR memory has to get by on 350 MHz, physical, and 128-bit. In comparison, the processor clock rate on the V3100 is 390 MHz.

At 12.8 GB/s, the memory bandwidth is not particularly great, but adequate for the performance category of this 128 MB card. After all, the V3200 is set to cost an acceptable $399/€319 in the stores.

The FireGL V3200 is fitted with two DVI-I sockets - both wired up for analog or digital. But the TDMS transmitters on this card only support the single-link process. It is not possible to use this card with ultra-high-resolution flat panels, in contrast to the V7100. There is also a stereo connector available for 3D glasses.