New $3,500 Nvidia GPU Carries 4GB of RAM

Setting records in the graphics business, Nvidia's Quadro FX 5800 graphics accelerator for professionals breezes past its consumer brethren, but its price does, too.

Pushing barriers even further in the realm of high-end 3D graphics chips, Nvidia released a new card with enough RAM to rival most desktop PCs on Tuesday. But sorry gamers, this one’s not for you. The Quadro FX 5800 with 4GB of onboard RAM has been designed for professional 3D applications.

The new accelerator is destined for workstations used by geophysicists, designers, scientists, engineers, and others that rely on 3D imaging for their work. For instance, radiologists might use it to render 3D data from CT scanners, while geoscientists might tap its power to render large-scale mappings that help them seek out natural gas and oil supplies.

“The challenge for today’s professional is to make sense of the mountain of data by distilling it into a form they can comprehend, analyze and use to make impactful decisions,” said Jeff Brown, Nvidia’s general manager of Professional Solutions, in a statement. “The Quadro FX 5800 has advanced features to allow massive datasets to be viewed beyond traditional 3D enabling professionals to make fast and accurate decisions.”

With 240 CUDA processors running in parallel and 4GB of RAM onboard – both more than any GeForce card – we also suspect it would make for a killer game of Crysis.

Unfortunately, it’s a little out of the price range for most gamers, too. Versions from PNY, Leadtek, and Elsa are currently available for $3,499.