$839 videocard!

[Mark Asher]

I've never seen one priced this high. And this is at Newegg!

ATI FIRE GL X2-256MB DDR II 8X AGP Dual DVI-I Out - RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset: FGL 9800 Visual Processing Unit (VPU)
Memory: 256MB DDR II
Bus: AGP 4X/8X
256-bit high bandwidth memory architecture
Dual integrated 10-bit per channel 400 MHz DACs
Eight parallel rendering pipelines
Four parallel geometry engines
Programmable pixel and vertex shaders
2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes
Maximum resolution of 2048x1536 per display
OS Support: Linux, Windows XP, and Windows 2000
Ports: Dual DVI-I connector

Are these the videocards they use on the Enterprise to power the Holodeck?

[Timemaster Tim]

Are these the videocards they use on the Enterprise to power the Holodeck?

Can't possibly be. The specs don't list an 8x Heisenberg compensator.

[nutsak]

I have seen ones priced higher for that... but they're for pure 3d rendering... is this a games card or a 3d artists wet dream?
(oh, and if you think it sounds "wow" try converting it to Australian.. that's like $1600 .. WOW)

[Gunmetal]

Fire GL boards are for 3D artists
I've never tried one for gaming (the craziest I ever got was 2 Voodoo2s running in SLi mode at a cost of about $1000 CDN). Back in the NT days it used to be a total pain to get drivers for the Fire GL boards that'd run games properly

[Midnight Son]

The New Radeon 9800XTs have a retail price of $499. A measly $200 over my self imposed "Like Hell!!" price.

[Case]

I've never seen one priced this high. And this is at Newegg!

ATI FIRE GL X2-256MB DDR II 8X AGP Dual DVI-I Out - RETAIL
Specifications:
Chipset: FGL 9800 Visual Processing Unit (VPU)
Memory: 256MB DDR II
Bus: AGP 4X/8X
256-bit high bandwidth memory architecture
Dual integrated 10-bit per channel 400 MHz DACs
Eight parallel rendering pipelines
Four parallel geometry engines
Programmable pixel and vertex shaders
2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes
Maximum resolution of 2048x1536 per display
OS Support: Linux, Windows XP, and Windows 2000
Ports: Dual DVI-I connector

Are these the videocards they use on the Enterprise to power the Holodeck?

No, this card is targeted for professional graphics artists and CAD users. The OpenGL drivers are more robust, and it adds some additional features, like antialiased lines (not the same as FSAA), two sided lighting and so on. It's not a gaming card, though it could certainly be used as one.

[mystery]

Fire GL boards are for 3D artists

Interestingly, there used to be a Diamond Fire GL card that came as part of a standard build on Micron boxes. I only know this because an old company for which I used to work had these in every office, and saying it was "a bitch" to find drivers for them is an understatement.

I think I may have just dated myself by mentioning 2 companies that are no longer in business in the same sentence.

[Gunmetal]

Heh, I remember seeing the Diamond Fire GL boards when I was buying my Voodoo 2s. "$1400! They must be really awesome!"

[Brad Grenz]

The high end professional stuff use to be built on exotic, expensive 3D chips. These days ATI and nVidia use their high end consumer GPUs (the R350 and NV35 for example) and tailor the OpenGL drivers for professional apps. More whizbang features, slower gaming performance.