Graphics chip leader Nvidia has introduced a pair of workstation chips that are expected to help propel high-end graphics out of the realm of custom million-dollar computing systems. The Quadro FX 3000 and Quadro FX 3000G, launched Tuesday, are intended to be used in high-end workstations, which are beefy PCs that handle tasks such as 3D animation and drafting. The new chips are designed to tackle heavy-duty applications such as mechanical design and medical imaging.

Until recently, the complex, highly detailed images produced by such applications could only be produced by custom visualization systems that typically cost $1 million or more, said Peter Glaskowsky, editor in chief of industry newsletter Microprocessor Report. But the new Quadro chips are designed to have enough horsepower to process such images, allowing the work to be done on workstations built with standard microprocessors and other off-the-shelf components. "It used to be that if you needed to run these kind of applications, you sent (workstation and supercomputer giant) SGI a million dollars and they built something for you," Glaskowsky said. "Now, everybody's working on these scalable, commodity-based architectures where they use commodity chips, add some intelligence and create a high-end visualization system. The old business of making million-dollar machines is pretty much gone." Graphics boards fitted with the new chips will sell for $2,300 to $3,000.