Pros: I was considering buying this for Maya 8.5 -2008. I read slimboX review and decide to email and find out for myself.

Here is the response they sent me.

We would like to advise you that the inquired cards/products would be the right choice with Maya 8.5 or May 2008. Here are a few facts to support our recommendation:

-ATI FireGL workstation graphics accelerators
are thoroughly tested and certified with Autodesk Maya to ensure optimized performance and compatibility
-ATI FireGL™ desktop and mobile workstation graphics accelerators with Avivo™ Technology
deliver ground-breaking features and performance for the most demanding Maya user.
-ATI FireGL™ cards are optimized and certified for Autodesk Maya
-Unified driver for ATI FireGL products simplifies system administration and maintenance
- AMD offers direct customer access to a dedicated workstation technical support team and provides certified drivers for Maya 8.5 or Maya 2008

Cons: No cons yet.

Other Thoughts: I will be purchasing this card for use in Maya 8.5 -2008.

Pros: easy hardware install, easy software install, works flawlessly in Windows XP x64, no issues in Softimage XSI x64, View ports are smooth as butter, quick renderings are near real time for moderately complex models (Human).

Cons: wish it could be put in crossfire mode, wish it had more ram, wished it was DDR5 ram...

Other Thoughts: computer is in a Thermal Take Armor case, Asus dsbf-d12 mobo, 16Gigs FBDIMM ram, (2) 500GB seagate 7500RPM HD, (2) Intel Xeon E5335 w/Swiftech MCX-VPro & Artic Cooling PWN fans. I do not notice the fan as much as other readers have but then again the computer is always has a soft buzz since there is 10 fans installed. The 250mm side fan makes more noise then the video card. Have not tried 3D studio max, Maya, or Zbrush yet. The drivers are the latest update from ATI and also using Catalyst 8.8

Pros: None for me.

Cons: Does not work well with Maya. The card/drivers have so many issues that it fails to work correctly with Maya 8.5 and 2008. Selection issues, drawing and refresh issues, unexplained crashes are the best it can offer. Customer support has regretfully informed me that this card does not support Maya. Don't buy it for Maya.

Also, it is very loud and hot. Not good for quite systems.

Other Thoughts: Don't buy this card for use in Maya. You will be sad.

Pros: If you're looking for a card that will only be used for 3D design. Max, Maya etc This could be the one. That's if you don't mind the extremely loud fan. I have a Nvidia FX 4600 in another system and the fan is very quiet in comparisons. The ATI comes in at around 70db easily. But make no mistake, its awesomely fast for 3D cad work.

Cons: This card does not support OpenGL in Adobe after Effects CS3. I was a little shocked to find that out. And off course it only has 512mb of ram. So I have to say compared to the FX 4600 you basically get what you pay for.

Just for kicks I tried some games even though this is not considered a gamers card at all. Crysis was basically unplayable at 1900x1200 with settings only on high while Unreal tournament had no issues on very high 2560x1600 resolution. Go Figure.

Other Thoughts: If you are a 3D / Photoshop / Illustrator artist with ear plugs or some loud music this card will make you very happy, but if you also do motion graphic design beware about the OpenGL issues in AE. My vote lies with the Nvidia FX 4600 for sure. It's more money but all games work great with 4600 and it runs super quiet. Nvidia also offers additional drivers for use with Adobe and 3dsmax.

Pros: Performance-to-price ratio is almost too good to be true. The board handles large loads of data exceptionally well - I played a textured & shaded OpenGL preview of a Blender animation with 2.1 million polys at realtime speed.

The auto-detect feature works like a champ, and the Vista x64 driver set appears thus far to be bug-free.

Cons: Loves its electricity. They recommend at least a 350W PSU, but I wouldn't install this board with less than a 650W.

Of course, anyone who's in the market for a workstation graphics board probably has a 1000W. :)

Other Thoughts: This board is superior to the Quadro FX 4600 in every head-to-head that has been done, and it costs nearly 40% less. Don't waste your money on nVidia's monopoly prices; these new FireGL boards can handle everything you can throw at them, and the price is unbeatable. If you need some SERIOUS horsepower, then opt for a V8650 instead of a Quadro FX 5600. You'll be glad you did.

Pros: The performance of this card is simply astonishing. If you are considering getting one of these or a quadro then hopefully you will understand what the following numbers mean. I scored a 227 in specviewperf 9. My previous card the quadro 3400 scored 45... Check out Hot Hardware, they have a full review of this card compared to a quadro 4500. I have not seen a direct comparison between the quadro 4600 and the firegl v7600, however when i compared results between different articles, this card still beat the quadro pretty bad.

Cons: ABSOLUTELY NONE

Other Thoughts: I have owned 3 generations of quadro's, the quadro 900 xgl, quadrofx 2000, and quadro 3400. All of which were great cards for their time, However I have never experienced the performance boost that this Firegl offers. If you are considering a quadro, forget it. The Firegl is bar none the best workstation video card on the market, especially considering the pricetag.