ATI FireGL
Encyclopedia
The ATI FireGL range of video card
s, renamed to FirePro 3D in late 2008, is the series specifically for CAD (Computer Aided Design) and DCC
(Digital Content Creation) software, usually found in workstations.
in late 1995. The first FireGL board used the 3Dlabs
GLINT 3D processor chip.
The FireGL line is designed for multimedia content creation programs, such as 3DS Max, mechanical engineering design software such as Solidworks
, and civil engineering architectural software such as Chief Architect, whereas Radeon
counterparts are suited towards video games. FireGL drivers were built with maximum image quality and pixel precision, with CAD specific functionalities such as the recently introduced AutoDetection Technology to tune the parameters inside the driver to achieve maximum performance for predefined list of software. However, because the drivers are also based on the Catalyst drivers made for the Radeon line, it makes them suitable for gaming, at the expense of probable compatibility issues with the very latest games due to the age of the drivers, with FireGL cards in theory pushing more data than their Radeon
gaming counterparts.
Since the 2007 series, high-end and ultra-end FireGL products (based on the R600 architecture) have officially implemented stream processing
, which the Radeon line of video cards, although present in hardware, does not officially support.
stream processor.
The trend of soft-mods continued with the 2007 series FireGL cards, as follows:
Video card
A video card, Graphics Card, or Graphics adapter is an expansion card which generates output images to a display. Most video cards offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors...
s, renamed to FirePro 3D in late 2008, is the series specifically for CAD (Computer Aided Design) and DCC
Digital content creation
Digital Content Creation is a modern term denoting the creation and modification of digital content, such as animation, audio, graphics, images and video, as part of the production process before presentation in its final medium. This large field encompasses many segments such as 3D graphics,...
(Digital Content Creation) software, usually found in workstations.
History
The FireGL line was originally developed by the German company Spea Software AG until it was acquired by Diamond MultimediaDiamond Multimedia
Diamond Multimedia is a company that specializes in many forms of multimedia technology. They have produced graphics cards, motherboards, modems, sound cards and MP3 players, however the company began with the production of the TrackStar, a PC add-on card which emulated Apple II computers...
in late 1995. The first FireGL board used the 3Dlabs
3Dlabs
3DLABS was the name of the fabless semiconductor company that originally developed the GLINT and PERMEDIA high-end graphics chip technology that was used on many of the worlds leading computer graphics cards in the CAD and DCC markets, including its own Wildcat and Oxygen cards.In 2006 the company...
GLINT 3D processor chip.
Differences with the Radeon Line
SolidWorks
SolidWorks is a 3D mechanical CAD program that runs on Microsoft Windows and is being developed by Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, S. A. . SolidWorks is currently used by over 1.3 million engineers and designers at more than 130,000 companies worldwide...
, and civil engineering architectural software such as Chief Architect, whereas Radeon
Radeon
Radeon is a brand of graphics processing units and random access memory produced by Advanced Micro Devices , first launched in 2000 by ATI Technologies, which was acquired by AMD in 2006. Radeon is the successor to the Rage line. There are four different groups, which can be differentiated by...
counterparts are suited towards video games. FireGL drivers were built with maximum image quality and pixel precision, with CAD specific functionalities such as the recently introduced AutoDetection Technology to tune the parameters inside the driver to achieve maximum performance for predefined list of software. However, because the drivers are also based on the Catalyst drivers made for the Radeon line, it makes them suitable for gaming, at the expense of probable compatibility issues with the very latest games due to the age of the drivers, with FireGL cards in theory pushing more data than their Radeon
Radeon
Radeon is a brand of graphics processing units and random access memory produced by Advanced Micro Devices , first launched in 2000 by ATI Technologies, which was acquired by AMD in 2006. Radeon is the successor to the Rage line. There are four different groups, which can be differentiated by...
gaming counterparts.
Since the 2007 series, high-end and ultra-end FireGL products (based on the R600 architecture) have officially implemented stream processing
Stream processing
Stream processing is a computer programming paradigm, related to SIMD , that allows some applications to more easily exploit a limited form of parallel processing...
, which the Radeon line of video cards, although present in hardware, does not officially support.
Soft-mods
Because of the similarities between FireGL and Radeon cards, some users soft-mod their Radeon cards by using third-party software or automated scripts accompanied with a modified FireGL driver patch, to enable FireGL capabilities for their hardware, effectively getting a cheaper, equivalent, FireGL cards, often with better OpenGL capabilities, but usually half of the amount of video memory. Some variants can also be soft-modded to a FireStreamAMD FireStream
The AMD FireStream is a stream processor produced by Advanced Micro Devices to utilize the stream processing/GPGPU concept for heavy floating-point computations to target various industries, such as the High Performance Computing , scientific, and financial sectors...
stream processor.
The trend of soft-mods continued with the 2007 series FireGL cards, as follows:
| Radeon product | GPU | Corresponding FireGL soft-mod |
|---|---|---|
| Radeon HD 2900 XT (1 GB Gibibyte The gibibyte is a standards-based binary multiple of the byte, a unit of digital information storage. The gibibyte unit symbol is GiB.... GDDR4 GDDR4 GDDR4 SDRAM is a type of graphics card memory specified by the JEDEC Semiconductor Memory Standard. It is a rival medium to Rambus's XDR DRAM... version) |
R600 XT | FireGL V8600 |
| Radeon HD 2900 GT | R600 GT | FireGL V7600 |
| Radeon HD 2600 XT (512 MB Megabyte The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000... GDDR4 GDDR4 GDDR4 SDRAM is a type of graphics card memory specified by the JEDEC Semiconductor Memory Standard. It is a rival medium to Rambus's XDR DRAM... version) |
RV630 XT | FireGL V5600 |
| Radeon HD 2600 Pro | RV630 Pro | FireGL V3600 |
| Radeon HD 3850/3870 | RV670 | FireGL V77001 / FireStream 9170 |
| Radeon HD 4870 | RV770 | FirePro V8700 |
| *1 Radeon HD 3850/3870 products do not have the DisplayPort DisplayPort DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard produced by the Video Electronics Standards Association . The specification defines a royalty-free digital interconnect for audio and video. The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor... output presented on FireGL V7700 product. |
||
Original FireGL models
| Year | Manufacturer | Model | Chipset | Memory (RAM) | Bus Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | SPEA | FireGL | 3Dlabs GLINT 300SX + S3 86C968/86c868 | 8 MB VRAM + 8-12 MB DRAM | |
| Diamond | FireGL 1000 | 3DLabs Permedia + GLint Delta | 4/8 MB | ||
| Diamond | FireGL 1000 Pro | 3DLabs Permedia 2 | 4/8 MB | ||
| Diamond | FireGL 2000 | 3Dlabs GLINT 300SX + S3 86C968/86c868 | 8 MB VRAM + 8-12 MB DRAM | ||
| Diamond | FireGL 3000 | 3Dlabs Glint 500TX + Glint Delta | 8 MB VRAM+ 8/16/32 MB | ||
| Diamond | FireGL 4000 | Mitsubishi 3Dpro/2MP | 15 3D RAM/ 4-16 CDRAM | ||
| Diamond | FireGL 5000 | Mitsubishi iMPAC-GE | |||
| Diamond | FireGL 1 | IBM Oasis Rasterizer | 32 MB | AGP 2x | |
| Diamond | FireGL 2 | IBM RC1000 (120 MHz) + GT1000 (190 MHz) | 64 MB DDR (120 MHz) | AGP 4x | |
| Diamond | FireGL 3 | IBM RC1000 (120 MHz) + GT1000 (190 MHz) | 128 MB DDR (120 MHz) | AGP 4x Pro | |
| Diamond | FireGL 4 | IBM RC1000 (150 MHz) + GT1000 (205 MHz) | 128 MB DDR (150 MHz) | AGP 4x Pro |
ATI FireGL models
ATI Mobility FireGL models
See also
- Nvidia QuadroNVIDIA QuadroThe Nvidia Quadro series of AGP, PCI, and PCI Express graphics cards comes from the NVIDIA Corporation. Their designers aimed to accelerate CAD and DCC , and the cards are usually featured in workstations....
- NVIDIA's workstation graphics solution - Comparison of ATI graphics processing unitsComparison of ATI Graphics Processing UnitsThis page contains general information about the GPUs and video cards by Advanced Micro Devices , including those by ATI Technologies before 2006, based on official specifications in table form.-DirectX version note:...