GabrielT Posted May 13, 2009 Posted May 13, 2009 I have been wondering this for awhile but now I think I have found the write people to ask. Why are workstation graphics cards so expensive? an FX 5800 costs like 3 grand, thats insane. I could build a damn nice system for three grand. I know they suck for gaming but seriously, what makes them worth $3000? Honestly! Who buys these things! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardnrg Posted May 13, 2009 Posted May 13, 2009 Whereas consumer graphics cards are made by 3rd party manufacturers, the NVIDIA workstation cards are built by NVIDIA only, and are extensively tested with speed-binned parts to ensure the highest degree of accurate calculation. Workstation cards have a corporate level of support too, so you'd typically get on-site support and instant telephone/email support. Academics and professionals use systems like this to do engineering, movies/games, scientific research, etc... $3k isn't much in these fields at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GabrielT Posted May 13, 2009 Posted May 13, 2009 Hardnrg, that is the single best answer I could have hoped for, I think I love you... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardnrg Posted May 13, 2009 Posted May 13, 2009 I have somewhat of an advantage as I attended an NVIDIA Personal Supercomputer seminar earlier in the year, and some of the developers and engineers from NVIDIA explained the differences between workstation and consumer graphics cards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GabrielT Posted May 13, 2009 Posted May 13, 2009 Hey I was invited to one of those seminars, but didn't wanna travel to L.A. Maybe everyone who has CUDA was invited idk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardnrg Posted May 13, 2009 Posted May 13, 2009 Mine was just a 25 minute bus ride away, so it would have been rude not to go Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
n4mr3h Posted May 16, 2009 Posted May 16, 2009 I heard that some workstation and consumer graphic cards use same chips, so the ram and driver are the different? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now