AMD Launches Its FirePro S9000 and S7000 Server GPUs

AMD launched its FirePro S9000 and S7000, dual-slot and single-slot, server graphics cards for compute, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and workstation graphics deployments in data centers.

Equipped with next-generation Graphics Core Next architecture and intelligent AMD PowerTune and ZeroCore Power technologies, the AMD  FirePro S9000 and S7000 reduce power consumption by up to 95% at idle, meaning greater savings and reduced operating costs in the data center.

The FirePro S9000 and S7000 server graphics offers Information Technology (IT) managers a solution to address a number of daily data center challenges, while empowering IT professionals to manage intense workloads securely from virtually anywhere in the world at virtually any time. Having the flexibility to set up multiple virtual desktops, end-users can gain access to accelerated productivity suites, including computer aided design (CAD), and media and entertainment (M&E) applications, which offers them workstation-class performance in a scalable network environment.

The cards offer a flexible and scalable solution capable of supporting remote desktop deployments; render farms, traditional workstation graphics applications, and high performance computing (HPC) implementations that require massive floating point calculations. With a single unified driver, deploying the FirePro S9000 and S7000 server graphics in the data center can enable IT groups to reduce operating costs and time spent on servicing individual systems, increase asset utilization density, improve user experience and ultimately secure critical data.

Key Features of AMD FirePro S9000 Server Graphics:

• Unmatched Compute Power: By providing 3.23 TFLOPs of single precision compute performance, AMD FirePro S9000 server graphics are up to 2.4 times faster than the competing solution, effortlessly processing the most demanding computations and graphics workflows.
• Memory Performance: Equipped with 6GB GDDR5 frame buffer, AMD FirePro S9000 server graphics deliver up to 1.49 times more memory bandwidth than competing products, meaning outstanding precision and accuracy when computing complex graphics workloads.
• Optimized Power Management: AMD FirePro S9000 server graphics allow IT managers to implement high-performance solutions that can help reduce operating costs via intelligent power saving and monitoring technologies unique to AMD.

Key Features of AMD FirePro S7000 Server Graphics:

• Powerful Single-Slot, Passively-Cooled Performance: Featuring 154 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 2.4 TFLOPS of peak single-precision floating-point performance, AMD FirePro S7000 is the most powerful single-slot, passively-cooled multifunctional server graphics card on the market. In fact, AMD is the only graphics manufacturer offering a passively-cooled, single-slot server graphics card today.
• Low Operational Costs: Consuming only 150W max power, AMD FirePro S7000 server graphics card help to reduce costs and system complexity in server environments.

The AMD FirePro S9000 and S7000 server graphics bring improved VDI densities, while supporting virtualization technologies from Citrix, Microsoft and VMware, making it possible to install multiple graphics cards in a server and support multiple users remotely. Users can also access their desktops from virtually any device of their choosing, from thin clients to laptops, to tablets to smartphones – with outstanding graphics performance. With Corporate Desktop Replacement running on AMD FirePro S9000 and S7000 server graphics and Microsoft RemoteFX, IT professionals can power multiple end users running common office applications from one GPU installed in a server. In addition, the cards support direct GPU pass-through for Citrix XenServer.

The AMD FirePro S9000 server graphics card is available at a MSRP of $2,499 USD and the AMD FirePro S7000 server graphics card is priced at an MSRP of $1,249 USD.

Doug Crowthers is a contributing editor and freelance writer for feature articles and news at Tom's Hardware.

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