COMDEX: ATI's MOBILITY FIRE GL 7800

While I continue to maintain the belief that it's unlikely you'll be doing finite element analysis and 3D CAD fly-throughs on a laptop in your hotel room, both ATI and, as we saw earlier today, NVIDIA, are doing their best to put workstation graphics processing into your mobile unit. ATI says its new OpenGL-compatible MOBILITY FIRE GL 7800 is "certification-ready" for CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) and other workstation apps. The chip incorporates ATI's RADEON technology, along with 64MB of 128-bit DDR memory and support for resolutions up to 2048 X 1536 pixels in rich, 32-bit colour. The MOBILITY FIRE GL 7800 also includes HYDRAVISION for multi-monitor management in case you happen to have an extra display packed amongst your socks and undies on a road trip. The chip also incorporates ATI's POWERPLAY voltage and frequency scaling technology to modulate clock speeds and voltage settings when you switch between AC and battery operation and lets you choose your preferred voltage and frequency. Since NVIDIA just announced its new NV17M Mobile GPU today, it's safe to say that competition between the two graphics giants has escalated beyond one-upmanship to the point where they are running in parallel with their graphics advances and announcements. Now, we can only hope that they move on to competing on price. A graphics chip or card shouldn't cost as much as a television.