Who Says PCI Is Dead?

Graphics-card vendors have moved on to the higher bandwidths of AGP and, any day now, PCI Express, so why's Nvidia Corp. introducing a new professional 3D workstation solution that uses the old PCI bus? Because PC workstations for geospatial, medical imaging, or other applications don't have four AGP or PCI Express slots -- and the new Nvidia Quadro FX 600 PCI lets cartographers, radiologists, or other users stretch their workspace across as many as eight high-resolution, digital flat panels by using four video boards.

The Quadro FX 600 PCI, shipping in April from add-in card makers including PNY, Leadtek, and Elsa, combines a 256MB frame buffer with two single-link DVI-I outputs. If paired with one of Nvidia's Quadro FX AGP 8X products, the board can support multiple CRTs as well as digital LCD monitors. A stereo connector and full support for OpenGL quad-buffered stereo lets users create immersive environments with multiple stereo displays or a mix of stereo and standard resolutions, while full PCI Express compatibility ensures buyer investment protection.