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The ATI FireGL range of graphics cards are a series fabricated by ATI for use with CAD (Computer Aided Design) and DCC (Digital Content Creation) programs, usually found in workstations. They are very similar in hardware to the Radeon range.

Differences with the Radeon Line

The FireGL line is designed for multimedia content creation programs, such as 3ds Max and CAD programs such as Solidworks, whereas Radeon counterparts are suited towards video games. FireGL drivers were built with maximum image quality and pixel precision, with CAD specific functionalities such as the recently introduced AutoDetection Technology to tune the parameters inside the driver to achieve maximum performance for predefined list of softwares. However, because the drivers are also based on the Catalyst drivers made for the Radeon line, it makes them suitable for casual gaming, at the expense of probable compatibility issues with the very latest games due to the age of the drivers, with FireGL cards in theory pushing more data than their Radeon gaming counterparts.

Since the 2007 series, high-end and ultra-end FireGL products (based on the R600 architecture) have officially implemented stream processing, which the Radeon line of video cards, although present in hardware, does not officially support.

Soft-mods

Because of the similarities between FireGL and Radeon cards, some users soft-mod their Radeon cards by using third-party software or automated scripts accompanied with a modified FireGL driver patch, to enable FireGL capabilities for their hardware, effectively getting a cheaper, equivalent, FireGL cards, often with better OpenGL capabilities, but usually half of the amount of video memory. The trend of soft-mods continued with the 2007 series FireGL cards with the Radeon HD 2900 XT (1 GiB GDDR4 version) soft-modding to become a FireGL V8600 card, also the RV630 XT/Pro cards to become FireGL V5600 and V3600 respectively.

List of Cards

Original FireGL models

FireGL Model	Based on chipset	Memory (RAM)	Bus Type
FireGL 1000	3DLabs Permedia + GLint Delta	4/8 MB
FireGL 1000 Pro	3DLabs Permedia 2	4/8 MB
FireGL 2000	3Dlabs GLINT 300SX + S3 86C968/86c868	8 MB VRAM + 8-12 MB DRAM
FireGL 3000	3Dlabs Glint 500TX + Glint Delta	8 MB VRAM+ 8/16/32 MB
FireGL 4000	Mitsubishi 3Dpro/2MP	15 3D RAM/ 4-16 CDRAM
FireGL 5000	iMPAC-GE
FireGL 1	IBM Oasis Rasterizer	32 MB	AGP 2x
FireGL 2	IBM RC1000 (120 MHz) + GT1000 (190 MHz)	64 MB DDR (120 MHz)	AGP 4x
FireGL 3	IBM RC1000 (120 MHz) + GT1000 (190 MHz)	128 MB DDR (120 MHz)	AGP 4x Pro
FireGL 4	IBM RC1000 (150 MHz) + GT1000 (205 MHz)	128 MB DDR (150 MHz)	AGP 4x Pro

ATI FireGL models

External links

ATi FireGL page

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 ==Differences with the Radeon Line==
-The FireGL line is designed for multimedia content creation programs, such as [[3ds Max]] and CAD programs such as [[Solidworks]], whereas [[Radeon]] counterparts are suited towards video games.  FireGL drivers were built with maximum image quality and pixel precision, with CAD specific functionalities such as the recently introduced AutoDetection Technology to tune the parameters inside the driver to achieve maximum performance for predefined list of softwares.  However, because the drivers are also based on the Catalyst drivers made for the Radeon line, it makes them suitable for casual gaming, at the expense of probable compatibility issues with the very latest games due to the age of the drivers, with FireGL cards in theory push more data than their [[Radeon]] gaming counterparts.
+The FireGL line is designed for multimedia content creation programs, such as [[3ds Max]] and CAD programs such as [[Solidworks]], whereas [[Radeon]] counterparts are suited towards video games.  FireGL drivers were built with maximum image quality and pixel precision, with CAD specific functionalities such as the recently introduced AutoDetection Technology to tune the parameters inside the driver to achieve maximum performance for predefined list of softwares.  However, because the drivers are also based on the Catalyst drivers made for the Radeon line, it makes them suitable for casual gaming, at the expense of probable compatibility issues with the very latest games due to the age of the drivers, with FireGL cards in theory pushing more data than their [[Radeon]] gaming counterparts.
 Since the 2007 series, high-end and ultra-end FireGL products (based on the R600 architecture) have officially implemented stream processing, which the Radeon line of video cards, although present in hardware, does not officially support.