Just one month after releasing the FirePro V5700 and FirePro 3700, AMD on Thursday announced upgrades of new video cards for workstation PCs. The all-new FirePro V8700 and the FirePro V3750 will be available for purchase later this year.
The V8700 is the high-end card that provides up to 40 percent performance gain over the previous model for memory intensive applications, such as those used in computer-aided design or digital content creation. The V3750, on the other hand, is an entry-level professional graphics accelerator.
ATI FirePro V8700 graphics accelerator is designed for people who work with large models and shader-intensive applications offering a large frame buffer for complex and large data sets. Plus, it has a 30-bit display pipeline for accurate color reproduction and superior visual quality. The card features 1GB of GDDR5 frame buffer memory with 800 shader units, allowing engineers and designers to focus on project work without concerns for memory limitations. The FirePro V8700 graphics accelerator features two DisplayPort connectors and a Dual-Link DVI-I display output.
ATI FirePro V3750 is a 3D workstation graphics accelerator that offers an average of 30 percent performance improvement over the previous generation. It, too, features DisplayPort and dual link DVI outputs but comes with only 256MB of frame buffer memory with 320 shader processing units.
The two new cards will begin to ship in the fourth quarter of this year with the estimated prices to be $1,499 for the FirePro V8700T and $199 for the FirePro V3750.
As I've written about previously, we're starting to move beyond the familiar keyboard and mouse/touchpad, and two-handed game controller as ways of interacting with our computer systems. In the gaming world, the motion-sensing Nintendo Wii remote is the most obvious innovation. Elsewhere, multi-touch screens, either on the large scale (Microsoft Surface) or small scale (Apple iPhone) have been garnering a lot of attention.
(Credit:
3Dconnexion)
Another interesting category is the six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) controller. These aren't particularly new but, until recently, they've been targeted primarily at 3D CAD professionals and have been priced in line with relatively expensive engineering software. If you're spending thousands of dollars for a CAD package, spending a few hundred for a piece of hardware that lets you use it more easily is pretty much a no-brainer. (Devices of this type are also a good match for controlling robotics.)
However, more recently, 3Dconnexion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Logitech, has pushed down the price point considerably with its SpaceNavigator line. The SpaceNavigator PE is $59 (MSRP) for a non-commercial use license with online support and the SpaceNavigator SE is $99 (MSRP) for a commercial use license with full support. (The two differ only in licensing and support; they're otherwise physically identical and support the same software.) The company has now updated its lineup with the SpaceNavigator for Notebooks, priced at $129. It's a bit smaller than the standard SpaceNavigator and, at .55 pounds, weighs about half as much. It also includes a small case.
I've been a fan of the original SpaceNavigator for a while now. It makes a huge difference to navigating through Google Earth or Microsoft Virtual Earth. I tried out the new SpaceNavigator for Notebooks with these applications. All other things being equal, I marginally prefer the larger size and greater heft of the desktop model. However, if I were regularly using a 3D application on my notebook while traveling, the new device's design strikes me as a reasonable tradeoff for the weight and bulk savings.
The company calls the SpaceNavigator a "3D mouse" but that's a misnomer. It's only a mouse in the sense that it's roughly the same size as a mouse and you operate it with one hand. If anything, it's closer to a trackball. However, it's really its own class of input device and does not, in any case, replace a mouse except for navigation (specifically) within about 120 supported 3D applications. But it's understandable that "6DOF controller" might have been a wee too geeky for the general population.
6DOF refers to the fact that you can use the controller to generate six different motions. Pressing it front/back and left/right are the two motions that correspond to moving a mouse around the desktop. Pressing down and pulling up translate you vertically ("z" dimension for the mathematically inclined); this corresponds to altitude or zooming in Google Earth. The other three motions are those familiar to joystick users: rotation around the three perpendicular axes, i.e. yaw, pitch, and roll (or spin, tilt, and roll as 3Dconnexion calls them).
At least for me, actually using the controller feels intuitive even if it's a bit hard to explain how it works. It's a fun toy even if you don't have a serious need for one. (One hint. For Google Earth, I prefer to turn off tilt in the controller's customization panel. The tilt rotation is the one that lets you look at the surface of the earth from an angle. I typically prefer to keep the view from straight over head and, if tilt is on, it's hard not to shift it a bit while you're moving around the surface of the globe.)
Want the house of your dreams? Soon, it may be possible to design it on your computer and have it delivered to you in customized, Lego-like pieces.
Your dream home (some assembly required).
(Credit: 0lll.com)That's the idea behind a collaboration between Bell Travers Willson Architects and Facit. The concept was showcased at the 1:1 Making the Digital House exhibition at The Architecture Foundation in London.
Using 3D modeling programs, an entire home or building can be designed on a computer. All the dimensions and screw-hole placements for the building materials are then relayed to a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine that cuts out the customized components needed.
Essentially, you print out your dream home--in lumber--and have all the parts sent to you.
More information and photos about the exhibition are available at Core77 Design Blog, TreeHugger, and Inhabitat.
Related links:
Just when you've mastered PowerPoint, something like this comes along to burst your productive bubble.
The ultimate project tool, as evidenced by Ministry of Tech, is a 3D printer that can produce physical objects. The printer, manufactured by Massachusetts-based Z Corp., uses CAD programs and a highly specialized inking system to construct models of everything from skyscrapers to running shoes.
But at prices in the neighborhood of $20,000, don't expect to find these machines at Office Depot on the way to work for a last-minute presentation. And even if you can afford them, they're not exactly capable of quick-turnaround Kinko's projects: It takes about an hour just to produce a 1-inch part.
(Photo: Ministry of Tech)
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