AMD trims down business graphics cards

AMD's FireMV 2260 cards consume minimum energy and generate little heat

AMD is launching a series of enterprise graphics cards which are not built for high-end 3D rendering or video editing work.

The FireMV 2260 cards are low-power 2D graphics accelerators designed to consume minimum amounts of energy and generate little heat while still supporting graphics on multiple monitors.

"ATI FireMV 2260 enables financial institutions and corporations in general to reduce energy consumption," said Janet Matsuda, senior director of AMD's professional graphics business.

Financial institutions commonly require users to view multiple screens while working in a confined space.

AMD is marketing the offerings as a "trader density" product which will allow users to run smaller PCs and maximise space in crowded offices.

The cards offer two DisplayPort connections and use a heat sink for cooling, rather than a fan. The half-size cards will load into standard PCI slots, as well as PCI Express 1.0. 16 X and 2.0 systems.

The cards will be powerful enough to support streaming 2D and 3D video feeds, and will be compatible with Windows Vista.

AMD plans to ship the new FireMV cards in April. Retail cost is expected to be around $249.