NVIDIA recently announced Model IV of its Quadro Plex visual computing system. The system incorporates a unified architecture and graphics processing unit (GPU) capability to boost

The Quadro Plex VCS Model IV boasts extreme capabilities for large scale visualization projects. (Image courtesy of NVIDIA)
workstation and cluster performance for a wide range of high-performance functions including oil and gas as well as scientific applications. With SLI multi-GPU technology, the system serves as an external, visual compute system that delivers increased density compared to traditional GPU technology.

The system combines hardware computing with its compute unified device architecture technology to solve complex, data-intensive challenges. It also provides vertex and pixel programmability that enables higher levels of performance with ultra realistic effects. Its 3-gigabyte frame buffer (1.5 gigabyte per GPU) delivers high-capacity, interactive visualization and real-time processing for full-screen antialiasing. It also uses accelerated 3-D texture performance to interact with visualizations of large volumetric datasets. In addition, the system allows frame synchronization to combine display channels from multiple workstations into a large visual display.