Anthony Frausto-Robledo EIC (info@architosh.com)

20 Oct 2005

Mac 3D: True Workstation Graphics Finally Arrive on the Macintosh

Apple and Nvidia Team on Quadro Card for Power Mac G5

In a recent feature article on Architosh, architect and IT manager, Stephane Laroye, of Vancouver-based Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects, expressed hope that "the use of Intel chips may finally allow us access to some of the high end graphics cards currently available only to PCs."

A Long Wait

Well, despite the fact that Stephane was probably very correct in that assessment, Apple isn't waiting until 2007 to deliver workstation graphics on its professional towers. And that's a very good thing. For years and years Macintosh 3d and CAD pros have been lamenting the lack of even one single choice for workstation graphics cards. The issue has been a major sore spot for many world-be and have-been 3d professionals who ultimately have had to adopt other platforms for their primary 3d pipelines.

One such case is with Akiko Ashley of Luminetik. The company is working on a new animated feature film which they presented at the recent SIGGRAPH LA 2005 show. Akiko, who is also a contributor editor to Architosh, has expressed many times that the Hollywood 3d shops she is familiar with love Apple but have not been able to fully embrace the platform due to performance issues primary centered on graphics card.

When asked what workstation card she liked earlier in the year she said the Nvidia FX 3000 card, which Nvidia list in the "high-end" product range. It's a card ideally suited for the type of work she is involved in in creating a full feature computer animated film.

Going Straight to the Top

Apple must have opted instead to go straight to the top. The company is offering the Nvidia Quadro FX 4500 card, which today is Nvidia's ultimate, "ultra-high-end" product offering. Such a decision makes sense for Apple. Steve Jobs prefers to deliver only products that are "best of class". With this new Apple Quad machine, consisting of dual, dual-core PowerPC G5 chips, the company is delivering a killer workstation. Coupled with the Nvidia Quadro FX 4500 this will be an absolute lust machine for power users regardless of what they do on their Mac.

However, such ultra-high-end graphics cards do not come cheap. Apple's cost to add this card to the Power Mac G5 comes at a big price of 1,700.USD. That's almost the cost of the entry level Power Mac G5 itself.

An Apple Power Mac G5 Quad with the Nvidia Quadro FX 4500 card and 1 GB of memory is going to set you back $5,049.USD. But if you need this type of power, more than likely it will mean savings of hours of time, thus the machine will pay for itself quickly.

So what are you waiting for?

Related Articles

New Power Mac G5 Quad Garners Industry Buzz

Architosh Marketplace

MacroEnter. is a CAD/AEC/Design, networking and large format printing solutions integrator, serving business, government and education customers. Reseller of VectorWorks, Microspot, HP and Encad product lines.

CAD Garage. is an online store dedicated to Architects, Engineers, Builders, Designers and Mac enthusiasts featuring ArchiCAD, formZ, Piranesi, Cinema 4D, HP and more product lines.

Lim Consultants, Inc. provides creative architects with practical solutions while incorporating cutting edge technology, pushing the art of structural engineering to new levels of excellence.

Place your text ad here and reach thousands of professionals each month for very affordable prices. (contact: karen@architosh.com)