Desktop Engineering tests FirePro V8700 - smaller, greener, less costly with top performance

Desktop Engineering ran its own benchmarks on the FirePro v8700 (ulta high-end card with 800 stream processor, 1GB GDDR5 frame buffer, stereo, 2 DisplayPorts), and compared it to the previous top-of-the-line FireGL v8600.  They basically confirmed ATI’s own SPECViewPerf benchmarks (refreshing to hear for performance numbers).  Like the previous generation FireGL, the FirePro V8700 is CAD certified, has a 3-year repair/replacement warranty, features AutoDetect (optimizes the driver performance based on the user’s specific software application when running multiple programs simultaneously) and HDR. But the FirePro is smaller (but not small enough), significantly less power hungry, slightly faster than, the FireGL V8600/V8650, while costing significantly less (average US street price of $1,229).

Their conclusion “A board like the ATI FirePro V8700 is likely overkill for midrange CAD users. But for those who demand the utmost in performance, this board delivers significant speed at an affordable price.” (If you are one of those midrange CAD users and feel left out, check out the FirePro V7750 at $899 retail.)