AMD is once again raising the stakes when it comes to personal computers after the company recently unveiled a graphics card with a built-in solid state drive (SSD). The purpose of the SSD is for users to bulk up the graphics card's flash memory by up to 1TB.
AMD claims that its newest Radeon Pro SSG will allow large datasheets to be worked on locally without the need to use the computer's system memory. In turn, this will provide faster computing power even when under heavy rendering tasks.
According to Forbes, AMD unveiled the Radeon Pro SSG at the Siggraph computer graphics conference where it was demoed to render a raw 8K video smoothly at a steady 30 frames per second refresh rate. AMD added that the graphics card is also capable of running the same resolution at 90 frames per second.
AMD said that the targeted users of the Radeon Pro SSG are those working in medical, scientific, and virtual reality industries. These industries usually require powerful and high-end renders which AMD promises in can deliver thanks to the Radeon Pro SSG's large frame buffer.
The Radeon Pro SSG is not exactly tailored for video game enthusiasts, even though it is a lucrative business for video card manufacturers. The hefty price tag of $10,000 for the beta developer kit is already a deterrent for gamers to get their hands into this powerful piece of hardware. Moreover, experts believe that a cheaper commercial version of the card is highly unlikely.
According to The Verge, AMD is now accepting applicants who want to purchase the Radeon Pro SSG dev kit. AMD said that the card will be commercially released before the end of the year.
Along with the Radeon Pro SSG, AMD also debuted the Radeon Pro WX lineup which will serve as replacement for the FirePro range of graphics card.
