FireGL X2-256t: ATI unveils an impressive and powerful graphics accelerator.

ATI has been producing the FireGL line of OpenGL graphics cards for quite some time. Starting with Diamond, and then continuing with ATI after a merger, the FireGL cards always have been solid performers. You can find them configured in high-end workstations from most of the major systems vendors. The FireGL X2 series of cards is the newest in the line and is incredibly fast. The cards are also reasonably priced, setting a new standard for price and performance in the high-end workstation market.

The FireGL line of cards has gone through several incarnations and different chipsets. The FireGL X2-256t is powered by the FGL 9800 Visual Processing Unit, the big brother of the chip that powers ATI's FireGL X1. Developed by ATI, the FGL chips are custom-made with four geometry engines and eight separate pipelines for pixel processing. The FireGL X2 has 256MB of DDR video memory with a 256-bit data path, which should provide plenty of room for geometry and textures.

Modestly sized, the FireGL X2-256t card shares a layout similar to ATI's popular Radeon cards. Because its back end extends only about three inches past the AGP slot, it should fit into almost any case. On the back of the card is a Molex connector to get extra power from the system's power supply. A massive heatsink with plastic ducting dominates the center of the card. While the fan is huge, it is thin enough that the FireGL does not require that the neighboring PCI slot be empty. Regardless, it's a good idea to keep this slot open, as the card needs lots of cooling. Like most high-end cards these days, this accelerator supports dual monitors. The back of the card is equipped with two DVI connectors, which can be used with analog monitors through the supplied adaptor.

The card is supported under Windows and Linux, but not Mac OS X. I tested it on a machine running Windows XP, and installation was easy. (Also supported are OpenGL and DirectX 9.) The Windows drivers provide a robust control panel that enables you to tweak just about every parameter of the card. Included with the software are drivers for Discreet's 3ds max, providing an extra performance boost.

Dual-display mode is configured with the use of the control panel. Once configured, ATI's Hydravision utility enables you to manage the placement of application dialogues between the displays. Hydravision also provides control over such features ...