In the workstation graphics market, the name 3Dlabs carries considerable weight, and its Wildcat III series of OpenGL cards continues to be dominating in the high-end workspace. However, in the mid-range sector, NVIDIAs Quadro2 and Quadro4, and ATIs FireGL 8800 have made serious inroads. The new Wildcat VP870 looks set to redress the balance, thanks to a brand-new GPU that takes programmability to a new level.

Unlike the Quadro4 and FireGL 8800, which are based on consumer 3D cards, the Wildcat VP870 has been designed for the professional market from the outset. The VP870 is the mid-range product, using 3Dlabs new P10 VPU Visual Processing Unit) and a 256-bit DDR memory interface with 128MB of RAM. 3Dlabs claims that the P10 VPU is the first truly programmable graphics processor. Although the Quadro4 and FireGL 8800 feature Pixel Shaders, these are only programmable up to a point. The P10, on the other hand, features an array of texture processors, which are fully programmable using SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) instructions. The VP870 has fourpixel pipelines and can process eight textures per pass twice that of the Quadro4. Its also compatible with DirectX 8.1 Pixel Shaders, although its not DirectX 9-compatible. On the geometry front, the P10 has an array of fully programmable geometry processors.

These are more flexible than the Quadro4s Vertex Shaders, particularly for non-standard algorithms such as ray-tracing engines. The P10s geometry processors are compatible with version 1.1 Vertex Shaders.

The high level of programmability even extends to anti-aliasing, featuring programmable super sampling and multisampling modes including a Quincunx-compatible mode), as well as OpenGL line anti-aliasing. The P10 also claims to be the first real-time multithreaded graphics processor. This allows fast switching between multiple graphics windows using multiple virtual VPUs, potentially increasing performance. In addition, its also the first graphics card to make use of a virtual memory subsystem, using system memory to deliver up to 16GB of addressable space. In this situation, the cards onboard memory acts like a large Level 2 cache.

This should provide benefits to 3D designers, for example, working with huge textures that may not fit entirely into the cards frame buffer. Occlusion culling techniques are important to prevent rendering objects that arent seen, and the P10 VPU has a visibility processor that takes care of this. The VP870 also supports 16-bit RGB and higher colour depths and features dual monitor capabilities, with OpenGL acceleration on both screens.

To test the VP870, we used SPECviewperf 7, which is a synthetic benchmark that simulates a number of real-world applications. We focused on two of the six tests, which concentrate primarily on stressing the graphics card. These were PTCs Pro/ENGINEER 2001, an industry-standard 3D mechanical design application, and Discreet Products leading 3D animation package 3ds max. The third test we ran was SPECapc for Unigraphics 19, which calculates an overall score from a composite of graphics, CPU and I/O intensive tests. Unlike SPECviewperf, SPECapc uses the actual application to perform the test, providing a real-world performance gauge.

The test system was a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 (400MHz FSB) running on an Intel 850 motherboard with 768MB of PC800 RDRAM. We installed Windows XP Professional and tested at a resolution of 1,280 x 1,024 in 32-bit colour. We also ran the same tests on a Quadro4 750 XGL and a FireGL 8800 to provide a performance comparison.

As the results show, the VP870 significantly outperforms the FireGL 8800 in each test, in one case by more than 35%.The 750 XGL offers tougher competition, though, coming close in the SPECapc for Unigraphics test.

However, the VP870 has a clear lead in Pro/ENGINEER, which features high-detail models measuring around 100MB per frame.

The VP870 also performed well in 3ds max, which features detailed models with shading and complex lighting.

Since 3Dlabs parent company, Creative, also plans to use the P10 VPU in a consumer 3D card, we ran 3DMark2001 SE at 1,280 x 1,024 in 32-bit colour. The VP870s drivers arent optimised for Direct3D games, so 3DMark2001 SE returned a lowly score of 4,772, compared to 8,341 from the 750 XGL.

The Wildcat VP870 is a powerful tool for professional CAD/CAM designers and digital content creators. Features are unmatched and performance is superb, beating the similarly priced Quadro4 750 XGL. The lack of DirectX 9 support is a potential drawback, although support for OpenGL 2 is crucial. If you want uncompromising workstation performance, the VP870 should be top of your list.

Gareth Ogden