It’s hard to define what an ideal workstation laptop should be like as the professional requirements of the modern office-goers are too much diversified. But, workstation laptops have the same tag line for years – power-packed performance. Anytime. Anywhere. Yes, a workstation is an office away from the office or inside it. So, how powerful a workstation should be to get the work done? Any idea?
We bet NVIDIA had the idea and they made the Quadro GPU for the future of computer graphics. Back in 2018, on the SIGGRAPH conference, NVIDIA launched three Turing architecture-based Quadro GPUs. Namely, Quadro RTX 8000, Quadro RTX 6000 and Quadro RTX 5000. All of them are infused with the hardware acceleration for the ray tracing technology which offers three basic tech advancements:
- AI-enhanced advanced shading
- AI-enhanced advanced simulation
- Real-time rendering of photo-realistic scenes
Now, the chief goal of this article is to find out how NVIDIA is integrating sheer computing power to the workstation laptops like the ThinkPad P72 with their Quadro Graphics. As we know that the latest graphic related workflows pose a real challenge for animators, designers, and architects. A set of futuristic GPU attributes is needed to deal with these challenges and NVIDIA has the simplest yet strongest answer for them through its RTX technology-powered Quadro graphics. It’s for sure that they brought innovation infused with the dexterity of a set of AI tools.
The result?
As NVIDIA rightly seized their moment in this ever-transforming world of computer graphics. Engineers, 3D animators, graphic designers and others who toy with computer graphics for professional creativity, Quadro is their perfect weapon. If we do segmentation of the workstations that deal with computer graphics then we will find these core areas:
- Computer-aided Design which is useful for the industrial designers
- Digital Content creation which is useful for future marketers/analysts
- Computer-generated imagery which is useful to many scientific researches and Media houses
- Enhanced Scientific Calculations
- Machine Learning sectors
So, what are the new features in the Quadro that make this GPU to stand out from the rest of the NVIDIA’s popular GPU series?
For the versatile workstations, there are many.
- NVIDIA incorporated different driver software and firmware along with new features like two-sided lighting and anti-aliased lines to specifically cater to different workstation market segments
- It offers higher security as it’s enhanced by a set of AI-powered tools
- Quadro GPUs carries the best display attributes as they support quad-stereo technology which enables it to easily work with 3D graphics modules
- Quadro got the ECC or error-correcting code support and this feature is essential to detect and correct absurd memory chunks that get generated due to intensive interference. That’s the reason behind the fact that Quadro is less prone to computational error segments.
Ok. Now, it’s time to dig a bit deeper with the key features of the Quadro GPUs.
Contents
Real-Time Ray Tracing with Razor-sharp Accuracy
Yes. For the first time, real-time ray tracing on your computer is not a fiction anymore. Thanks to the dedicated built-in IP feature in NVIDIA Quadro GPUs, which made it possible. Before NVIDIA, computer hardware was not fast enough to produce real-time ray tracing. Film rendering was dependent only on rendering farms for time-elapsing ray-tracing jobs, but not anymore. The firmware and driver software embedded with Quadro GPUs enhance the installation base of the ray-tracing-supported computers.
The Quadro RTX platform promises 6-10 GigaRays/second of the ray-tracing rate. The better processing ability and extra memory power of the Quadro cards provide smooth experience in neural network training, CAE simulations, or film animations. Moreover, the special RT and Tensor cores of the latest Turing mechanism sharpens the photorealistic accuracy of the images along with the brilliant reflection and refraction of the same, pushing designers to create the unthinkable ant that too within a much slashed time.
Further, Quadro is also capable of measuring the right amount of scattering and dispersion phenomenon of a graphical object and put all those brilliance into any versatile simulation workarounds. Now, it’s time for the visual-reality or visual realism to take over the virtual reality.
The compatibility level of the Quadro cards with the professional APIs for the AEC industry is accepted by the worldwide independent software vendors (ISVs). They count on Quadro chips to test the reliability of their programs. Also, these APIs perform better in the Quadro environment based on their higher dependency on the graphics chips. As in the case of SOLIDWORKS, it runs almost two-times better with these chips. Also, NVIDIA offers more security on Quadro as it’s the brainchild of their own.
Artificial Intelligence is Powering Up Data Science Workstations with Quadro
Let’s start with the news. The Quadro RTX powered Data Science workstations helped MIT students to kick the high gear level in self-driving mini cars. How? The answer is AI. The modern NGX SDK infusion in the RTX platform weaponizing these workstations with high-end AI-enhanced abilities in visual applications. These advanced processes help the students to enjoy learning in the best possible ways. These computers are doing the heavy-lifting of data collection to command autonomous cars for the sake of the students. Now, you tell me about the possibilities these machines can offer in Turing-optimized Quadro platforms.
Not only students but the creativity of the designers and artists also fly on the higher sky when time and resources are no challenge. That is because they don’t need to bother much over the authenticity of the Quadro RTX chips on outstanding image conversion, optimization of calculation-rich processes, and automation of repetitive jobs.
When data is the largest demand in modern businesses, the challenge is climbing high with complex workflows. These days, more memory powered GPUs like Quadro are the right choice for every data scientist to reign on the field of massive amounts of data faster than ever. To run the data processing pipelines in the end-to-end approach easier than before, the Quadro RTX cards shook hands with CUDA-X AI software to provide the best possible performance for data science professionals.
It Makes Rasterization A Walk In The Park.
Are you tired of creating a blunt VR experience? It’s ok. You didn’t have the Quadro then. Now, you can do the impossible with it. What’s that?
Quadro got an enhanced level of programmable shading attributes such as texture space shading, variable-rate shading, and multi-view rendering. You got more control over the visuals that you create. This programmable multi-view rendering enables you to add the required richness into your already stunning visuals and you can inspect them through different viewing angles.
Further, these RTX features add life to your visuals by melding a higher level of fluidity to your created scenes and graphic models. So, it’s time to go more interactive with your visuals and establish a strong relationship with your viewers.
Empowering Simulation To Reach New Heights
Simulation is like product literature. Like the rest of the computer graphics areas, Nvidia Quadro also does magic with the simulation process. The reason behind that? Yes. It’s advanced shading again.
The next level of simulation is not how an object looks like but how it behaves with the real world. This Quadro GPU can break down complex simulations into a simpler one with its support of Turing CUDA cores. Whether it’s a scientific research visual or simply, film and video making, in every application of simulation Quadro is making virtual reality more real. Added to that, dedicated RTX APIs like FleX, CUDA 10 are enabling smart simulators to model the behavioral pattern of the real-world objects and dope the same into games and VR environments.
Last Words:
Lastly, if you think that your workstation needs to be on the cutting edge of the transforming technology and the complexity of the modern professional demands then, NVIDIA Quadro GPU is the answer for you. Now, if you think that it’s too much for your gaming needs only then sticking with other NVIDIA GPUs like GeForce is going to do it for you. But, as a hardcore professional, we will always guide you to stay with Quadro for your workstation as it needs the perfect balance of right feature, reliability and power-packed performance.
