EVER SINCE WE saw the first results of the FireGL V3600, entry-level workstation card from ATI we saw that ATI had created a OpenGL monster with its R600 series of GPUs.
On a reasonable workstation powered by Intel dual-core processor and a ton of memory, the V5600 with 512MB GDDR-3 memory mounted a serious challenge for current high-end Quadros, the FX from 4000 and 5000 series. Keep in mind that this is a mainstream card, not one of the high-end ones and is powered by a GL version of the RV630 graphics chip - that's the same one that is getting its rear well and truly served in consumer applications by the 8600GTS. In the professional world, the situation is exactly the opposite.
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