Sun adds nVidia power to Java Workstations

Sun Microsystems has added nVidia Quadro graphics technology to the Java Workstations it detailed last month.

The vendor has included the technology in its W1100z and W2100z models, which are based on AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture.

A suite of nVidia products, including the Quadro FX 4000, FX 3000, FX 1100, FX 500 and NVS 280, are available as options.

Sun said that it is also committed to delivering nVidia technologies with future products, and the two companies are working together to tune and optimise the OpenGL implementation for Solaris on x86 and deliver an open, standards-based development environment.

The Sun Java Workstations are designed to support simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit computing with no compromises in performance.

This allows users to maintain existing x86 infrastructures while enabling a smooth migration to next-generation 64-bit operating systems and applications when required.

By adopting the nVidia Quadro technology, Sun claimed that it can deliver across the board 2D and 3D performance improvements, including higher bus bandwidth, increased memory bandwidth, higher rendering speeds and the ability to deploy large data-sets.

Both companies announced that they will target customers in the graphics and compute-intensive markets such as oil and gas, life sciences, defence, CAD/CAM, EDA, financial services, professional digital content creation and software engineering.