The V7900 Part I

The AMD FirePro™ V7900 is AMD’s latest high-end workstation professional graphics card, addressing the same segments of the CAD/CAE, DCC and other professional markets as the ATI FirePro V7800 launched in 2010. Some of the key facts, differences and improvements relative to the older generation include:

• A ‘Cayman GL’ GPU with 1280 Stream Processors, and 2 GB GDDR5 memory.

• A single-slot form factor, with a power consumption of under 150 Watts

• Four DisplayPort connectors supporting DisplayPort 1.2 – a first in professional graphics

• PCI Express 2.1 Standard

• AMD technologies including PowerTune and GeometryBoost that deliver significant improvements in performance
   over previous generation graphics adapters.

AMD Eyefinity technology and new Workflows

AMD Eyefinity technology, introduced to professional GPUs with the ATI FirePro ‘Vx800’ series (ATI FirePro V9800, ATI FirePro V8800, etc) in 2010, represented a revolution in terms of GPU capabilities, delivering three, four or six display outputs from the entire range of AMD professional graphics products (with the exception of the ATI FirePro V3800 which maintained two outputs to maintain a half-height form factor).  

The ability to drive additional displays (beyond the traditional two of older and competing GPUs) is far more important than simple numerical comparison (‘three is better than two’): the workflows of today’s professionals are unquestionably becoming more complex, particularly in the CAD/engineering world, where workflows have migrated from being simply about parts design and increasingly about entire assemblies, including various forms of analysis (mechanical, stress, fluid), and even into full product lifecycle management (PLM). In the digital content creation world, complex production pipelines have been the norm for a number of years, but the tighter integration between applications makes the workflows more seamless. The increasingly workflow-driven nature of professionals’ work has been difficult to miss; nothing exemplifies this new reality like the recognition of industry giants such as Adobe® and Autodesk®, who have moved toward providing their applications in suites. Adobe is presently in their fifth generation of suites with the recently released Adobe Creative Suite 5.5, and Autodesk announced their shift to a similar model of suites for their applications, announcing a total of seven different workflow-based suites for users of their tools from DCC to engineering.   AMD Eyefinity technology is exceptionally well placed to meet the needs of users with these new workflows, allowing them to display the different applications (and the dense user interfaces they present). The AMD FirePro V5900 offers three display outputs, enabling users to work without the burden of continuously having to switch between applications, and the AMD FirePro V7900 offers four outputs for the most highly complex workflows, and for other advanced multi-display scenarios such as those in event and digital signage.