NVIDIA Unveils Quadro K5000 Video Card For Mac Pro Users

For the most part, PC enthusiasts still imagine Mac computers as closed platforms with hardware that you can't upgrade. Outside of upgrading RAM, that notion might be true for some Mac computers. However, Mac Pro users do have a few more options for upgrades. NVIDIA has announced a new video card for Mac Pro users that promises very impressive performance called the Quadro K5000.

The new video card is based on the Kepler architecture, which NVIDIA claims is the world's fastest and most efficient GPU design. NVIDIA says that the K5000 is the most powerful professional-class GPU ever created for Macintosh users and the video card is aimed at designers and digital content creators. The GPU supports Cinema 4K resolution of 4096 x 2160.

The video card has a new display engine that is capable of driving up to four displays at the same time. The Quadro K5000 is equipped with 4 GB of graphic memory promising faster interactivity when using design and content creation applications. NVIDIA's Kepler architecture promises to allow content creators to run key creation applications up to twice as fast and with lower power requirements than Fermi-based Quadro 4000 video cards for the Mac.

If a single Quadro K5000 isn't enough power, the design of the video card supports two of the K5000 GPU's in a single Mac Pro, sort of like SLI support for gamers. The GPU supports OpenGL, OpenCL, and CUDA. How much does all this power cost? The estimated retail price for the video card starts at $2249. Performance certainly has a price.