NVIDIA Releases Quadro CX GPU - Optimized for Creative Suite 4

[Rob Williams]

From our front-page news:

We found out weeks ago that a few select applications from Adobe's new Creative Suite 4 would take advantage of the GPU, and from the looks of things, it's NVIDIA who's out to push the message to the public. Although it appears that the new applications will take advantage of any GPU pipeline, ATI has kept mum for the most part - odd to say the least.

Well, for more proof that NVIDIA is taking things seriously, they've launched a new Quadro model that's touted as being the "ultimate" GPU for use with CS4. Compared to the desktop GPUs, the Quadro CX seems most comparable to the GTX 260, with 192 processors, but that's where the similarities end. The new card features 1.5GB of GDDR3 with a 384-bit memory bus (the GTX 260/280 have 448-bit), as well as a smaller TDP of 150W.

How the new card is truly "optimized" for Creative Suite 4 is unknown, and its features and product overview show nothing truly new that previous cards don't have. If anything, it could be the ability to utilize a 30-bit color mode, although finding out which modes the previous cards offer is difficult on NVIDIA's site, so it's hard to say. Regardless, if you want one of these puppies in your workstation, be prepared to part with $1,999. CS4 doesn't seem so expensive now, does it?

Creativity is not just your passion, it's your business. You are always under pressure to deliver more amazing content while working under tight deadlines. Now you can. The NVIDIA Quadro CX is the accelerator for Adobe Creative Suite 4-giving you the ability to create rich, stunning content in a faster, smoother, and more interactive way.

Source: NVIDIA Quadro CX Product Page
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[Kougar]

It looks Apple-esque for some reason...

 

[Rob Williams]

If it was pearl-white or something like that, I'd say that, but I dunno. Their notebooks are similar to that color, so I'm not sure what's up. I don't think that card works with Apple, so it'd be an odd move. It still looks a lot better than their other ultra-high-end workstation cards.

 

[Kougar]

Oh, I was just commenting on the similarity, not trying to make anything of it. And because it just looks odd to me to see it in white.

 

[Rob Williams]

It is odd, I agree. I think it's mostly a coincidence though, but either way, it still looks better than the coolers on their other cards. I still find it odd that they don't put a little more effort into their coolers though, since it's rather obvious that after-market coolers perform so much better. I think both NVIDIA and ATI feel that with such robust-looking coolers... it makes the product look better, and I guess in some ways they'd be right. It's still foolish though.