AMD FirePro™ 3D Professional Graphics

Introducing the New FirePro™ V7900   "The Red Devil"

Conclusions and Award

Within the introduction we stated that the initial impressions would appear that this is a card that could present itself to competition as a direct clear and present danger.   From current impressions and we have to take into account that the driver is a raw beta the FirePro™ V7900 does present itself admirably.   Therefore there is more to come yet we will surmise. 

Factually and on paper this new offering from AMD is one of the most significant technological advancements within the professional graphic card industry for quite some time.   So this is a product that has come kicking’ and screaming out the door gaining the desired immediate effect.   The clever bean counters and marketers at AMD have sat down and done their homework precisely. Which brings us next to our crystal ball readings. Paper figures, are just that, actually reality of current products out the door is fact, within 12 months AMD has gained a ground on market share in certain areas on its own merits.

Support from Tier 1 and 2 has been huge and notwithstanding the support from the S.I.'S and VARS.   Therefore this 160GB/s bandwidth, 2GB of GDDR5 on-board memory. Memory clocks as some now perceive this as an important point the AMD FirePro V7900 has a 725MHz core clock and 1250MHz memory clock, walking through the door with an MSRP of only $999 USD.   The new Cayman Pro GL graphics processor can also process over 1450 million triangles per second whereas the V7800 a meagre 700 million, once more significant hardware development.   One last important note is a TDP of only 150 Watts.

The new supported feature enhancements to these new cards include; AMD GeometryBoost, PowerTune, HD3D Pro,  Enhanced Quality Anti-Aliasing (EQAA) and last but by no means least Morphological Filtering (MLAA).  All these new features are designed to make life in the workplace for the professional much simpler though more productive.  

One important feature we note is the new AMD FirePro™ V7900 supports the new PCI Express standard V2.1.  An important but significant move forward to which means that final support for the long awaited PCI Express standard V3.0 is not far away.   There are mainboards out there that support the feature but you have to look very carefully into the manufacturers mainboard specifications.

Whilst supporting a raw beta driver the FirePro™ V7900 has leap up through the scales and we have successfully demonstrated the scalability of the card over its predecessor the AMD FirePro V7800 within SPECviewperf 11 as seen below.  Much of this performance improvement is down to the architecture of the new product, some down to the driver team, the unsung heroes that so many forget about. The results shown within have been extra-ordinary to say the least.

Within the all-important SPECapc's we did see a substantial leap up within SPECapcSM for Maya 2009 from the AMD FirePro™ V7900.   Therefore it does prove that the all-important work on these tremendously expensive ISV packages is to the fore of AMD both in the hardware and driver package.  Which does in turn mean at a glance an end-user can gauge more readily what to expect within their own viewsets.  It’s the first time in a while have we seen such good results in this extremely important sector from AMD.

The FirePro™ V7900 performance shown within is without a doubt on this platform superb, no more can the cry of we need more speed. It's here. We have more to show in the very near future covering much more of this remarkable piece of technology and not forgetting the importance now of AMD’s Eyefinity multi-display technology. This is a much needed advantage to the professional utilising multi monitor displays.    One card that drives four displays, a significant leap forward in technology and with the new DisplayPort technology standards – better outputs to the end-user.   Not to digress support for Stereo, Stream Computing and importantly ATI CrossFire™ Pro Support.  With these types of choice, you cannot argue here with a card that contains so much flexibility.

After many years of paying premiums for entry level high-end workstations we have solutions that are affordable and have the power within to provide the end-users a substantial stable workstation that will last for some time to come.   We have over the last few weeks completely stressed this card to its fullest without any complications.   This professional graphics card has to offer plenty of room for expansion in whichever way it is utilised; as a home gamer, SoHo Workstation.   Or, and more appropriate within the corporate market place as an upgrade to the standalone desktop unit as there is so much power within.   The studios, CAD/CAM and DCC market has obtained an important injection of technology which will further advance their current systems and once more reiterating, a sound solid fast system for productivity output. Consequently and once more we have to reiterate the objectivity of price performance.

Going to print we can advise readers that the cards will be in stock with their suppliers by the 24th May.   Therefore get the orders in quickly as the initial forecasts we are hearing are showing high demands. *Update* for those in the UK and Euro Land in Scan pricing has been confirmed at around £500.00 plus Vat and Delivery

Finally we return for one last recount. We have just skimmed over the iceberg of what really lays underneath, as the timescales shifted we had to work to meet the new deadline so a more in-depth article will follow soon covering much more than today’s brief appearance. We have fast affordable CPU's, Mainboards with a whole remit of functionality which will flummox many.  But importantly and upgrade path of a professional graphics card that will meet the needs of the many and, the "need for speed" is there now for everyone to enjoy.

An exceptional timely product release from AMD and generally AMD has surpassed itself with this technology upgrade allowing many to have what they could only read about or place on their wish lists. The AMD FirePro™ V7900 within this sector of GPU's aggressively priced and you get that superb performance and value for money.

EDITORS CHOICE

Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - The V7900 Part I
Page 3 - The V7900 Part II
Page 4 - The Differences and Pictures
Page 5 - System Set-up and Software Used
Page 6 - SiSoftware Sandra 2011  Part I
Page 7 - SiSoftware Sandra 2011  Part II
Page 8 - Miscellaneous Professional Benchmarks
Page 9 - SPECviewperf® 11.0 and SPECapc's
Page 10 - Conclusions and Award