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Hardware

PNY QUADRO4 980XGL

31 Jan, 2003 By: Ron LaFon

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PNY TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

5 stars out of 5
Nvidia's current top-of-the-line graphics card powered its way to great performance scores in this round of benchmark testing, falling slightly off the top place in only the SPEC ViewPerf 7.0 proe-01 benchmark. With the release of the first graphics cards based on the new Nvidia NV30GL chipset imminent, it's likely that the reign of this speedy AGP 8X graphics card will be brief, but it will remain an enduring performer.

PNY Technologies’ PNY Quadro4 980XGL is a speedy graphics card that combines great performance for both 2D and 3D.

The results from our group of benchmark tests show that Nvidia has produced a speedy graphics card that provides an excellent combination of great performance in both 2D and 3D.

As is true with all graphics cards produced by Nvidia and marketed by PNY, the Quadro4 980XGL includes many utilities and drivers, perhaps most notably the excellent POWERdraft performance driver for AutoCAD and the speedy MAXtreme driver for discreet 3ds max. Both of these drivers are among the best in their class and offer great value to anyone purchasing Nvidia graphics cards. Also notable is QuadroView, a workstation application that consists of several modules, including the viewer module, which renders 3D models in real-time.

On the topic of drivers, Nvidia regularly posts updated drivers and utilities on its Web site for its past and current lines of graphics cards. Nvidia expends a tremendous amount of effort on its drivers, which is part of why its performance figures are as high as they are. In fact, since we completed our benchmark tests, the company released new system-level drivers and a new version of MAXtreme.

The 980XGL has two digital connectors and easily drives two monitors, either digital or analog, with included adapters. Once registered, the midlength Quadro4 980XGL is covered by an industry-standard three-year warranty. Highly Recommended.