AMD has just announced a couple of new graphics cards designed to help professional users boost their productivity by delivering support for multiple high-resolution monitors.
The 512MB FirePro 2270 is an entry level solution that's all about flexibility. The DMS-59 connector on the rear of the card can support DVI, Display Port and VGA outputs, and is capable of driving up to two 30in monitors at a time. The card also has a single-slot, low-profile design, passive cooling and a maximum TDP of 15W, meaning that it should fit into almost any existing PC.
In addition, AMD is going to ship the board in PCIe x1 and PCIe x16 flavours to fit different users' needs.
While the 2270 should be more than enough for the vast majority of professionals working across a multi-screen workstation, the company is also launching the 1GB V5800 DVI for those in need of a little more horsepower. The GPU is ostensibly the same as the already-available V5800, except that it replaces the Display Port outputs with two dual-link DVI ports, allowing users to run two 30in, 5MP displays simultaneously.
The card is full-height, but still comes with a single-slot cooler and won't draw more than 75W under load. It also features full 30-bit display pipelines and support for CrossFire Pro.
Both GPUs are built around the Evergreen/Radeon HD 5000 architecture, so they also get the benefit of DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1 support. The V5800 is based on the 800 core Juniper/HD 5700-series GPUs, while the 2270 appears to use the 80 core Cedar/HD 5400 chip, although detailed specs of the latter aren't listed.
The new cards should be available immediately, with the 2270 shipping for around $150 (£115 inc VAT) and the V5800 costing $469 (£365 inc VAT).
