AMD has unveiled a new remote graphics option for IT managers seeking to replace existing desktop workstations with energy-efficient thin-client offerings.
The company claims that the new ATI FirePro RG220 graphics card delivers a wide-ranging compute experience from the datacentre, and is designed to help IT managers reduce local power and cooling costs per user while limiting the amount of physical hardware at users’ desks.
According to AMD, the ATI FirePro RG220 features include, a max power consumption of 35-watts per card; 512 MB of on-board graphics memory for graphics intensive applications that need to run on two displays at once; small form factor measuring half the length of PCIe slot within a server.
In addition, the ATI FirePro RG220 stores user data behind the firewall and within the confines of the data centre, helping to ensure that customer or corporate information is protected. It supports compression of information residing in the data centre for transmission over regular IP networks to the end user’s thin client system, AMD said.
Utilising Parallels Workstation Extreme (PWE), ATI FirePro RG220 offers a traditional graphics experience in a virtual environment, with the flexibility to also support multiple operating systems at each user’s desk, the company claims.
Janet Matsuda, senior director for professional graphics at AMD, said: “Power consumption restrictions in crowded office buildings cause headaches for IT managers trying to find the right balance between energy efficiency, system performance and IT spend for the work environments they manage.
“The ATI FirePro RG220 can be part of a secure, easy to manage solution, and is now available to enterprises that need to deploy updates to multiple users simultaneously, while still giving the end user the full PC experience they’re accustomed to.”
