Does Nvidia make their own Quadro Workstation Cards?

[xMax]

I need to get a quadro, and was wondering if Nvidia makes thier own Quadros, much like how ATI makes and sells their own built by ATI FireGl workstation cards.

I know Nvidia doesnt make their own desktop cards. The buyer has to go through a distributor, like eVGA or VFG, can cannot get it directly from Nvidia.

Does the same apply with workstation cards, or can i actually buy a built by Nvidia workstation card?

 

[Gstanfor]

Same applies to Quadro cards.

nVidia do have reference boards (ask ronin about them, he occasionally gets some), but even then I don't believe nVidia themselves build them.

 

[xMax]

Ok. So if i cant get a Quadro FX card from Nvidia, then the question is 'from whom'.

Who makes the best Nvidia workstation cards?

Im thinking PNY. Its only a guess. But i see them everywhere, so its only logical to assume they are one of the big guns.

God damn these cards are expensive.

Sorry, i had to throw that in there.

 

[Gstanfor]

I like Leadtek myself. They always use extremely high quality components on their cards, and they developed the heatsink you see on their Quadro & GF7800GTX 512.

EDIT: PNY are nothing special, quality is decent, but certainly nothing outstanding. You can definitely do better than that.

 

[Ronin]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
Same applies to Quadro cards.

nVidia do have reference boards (ask ronin about them, he occasionally gets some), but even then I don't believe nVidia themselves build them.

They have them, but it's very difficult to get them out of Santa Clara unless you have access to their Board Store, or you happen to know someone that allows you to purchase them that way.

 

[xMax]

Well thats very interesting. I will talk to my guy at the computer store. Although its very unlikely that he will be able to get them.

So perhaps before going in that direction, i think it would be wise of me to first figure out if they would really be better than the offerings by their ditributors. I mean, would the nvidia reference boards really be better than ones from leadtek or PNY.

That is tough question to find an answer to.

 

[elpres05]

Originally posted by: xMax
Well thats very interesting. I will talk to my guy at the computer store. Although its very unlikely that he will be able to get them.

So perhaps before going in that direction, i think it would be wise of me to first figure out if they would really be better than the offerings by their ditributors. I mean, would the nvidia reference boards really be better than ones from leadtek or PNY.

That is tough question to find an answer to.

Why should Nvidia reference boards be any better unless you believe NVIDIA adds the highest quality components and partners don't. Who makes these high quality components? Taiwan, China, Japan, and thats where most of the partners produce cards.

I would go for Leadtek, thats the only company loyal to Nvidia and for such a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time too.

 

[hans007]

nvidia reference boards are usually subcontracted out for production anyway. i think MSI made a lot of them (those reference boards in dells are made by MSI).

that said, any reference based design is probably equivalent. maybe the really really cheaper brands could possibly use a cheaper capacitor or something who knows. doubt it makes a difference. and seeing as EVERY board is reference design now, there isnt that much to differentiate brands, outside of bundles , coolers, and warranties.

as far as i know pny and leadtek are the only official retail box producer of quadros now. ELSA used to make them back in the day i think they only sell in japan now.

 

[xMax]

Excellent. Those are some nice replies.

But why in gods name are workstation cards so much more expensive than desktop cards.

The only reason i can think of is supply and demand.

 

[Topweasel]

Originally posted by: xMax
Excellent. Those are some nice replies.

But why in gods name are workstation cards so much more expensive than desktop cards.

The only reason i can think of is supply and demand.

Severe OpenGL tweaking for CAD development. They hold back some of the workstation only CAD capabilities on the desktop model and open them up on the workstation cards. So the very same card (like the 512 GTX and the 4500) will preform about 1/3rd as well as the workstation card. Most of the time you can get the desktop model and flash the firmware for the Workstation model (and remove the OpenGL muzzle).

 

[xMax]

Are you sure. If getting the firmware for the workstation was that simple, then wouldn't everybody do it?

I also recall that workstation cards tended to have better DVI signal integrity and DVI compliance in the days where cards were having problems with DVI signals. I recall the exact quote from toms hardware guide itself saying that Nvidia doesnt take chances with their professional cards and uses external(not on the chip itself) TMDS transmitters, which are these components that outputed the final digital video signal from the graphics card to the monitor. The point is that the desktop cards didnt have this and had problems with higher resolution DVI connected LCDs. So if there was a difference in quality back a few years ago, then maybe there is also much more to workstation cards than what you claim. After all, right now the only thing im interested in is the graphics card with the cleanest possible DVI signal to produce the minimal amount of digital noise, or to be 100% compatible since DVI, in principle, should not have quality, but be either correct or incorrect. If correct, then its 100%. If its not correct, then it could be any strange screen artifact.

Anyhow, i think i have to call somebody up here. Maybe Nvidia or maybe Eizo.