AMD Radeon Pro Duo Preview: Dual Fiji Unleashed

Name: Radeon Pro Duo
Brand: Radeon

by Marco Chiappetta — Tuesday, April 26, 2016, 09:01 AM EDT

Due to the fact that the Radeon Pro Duo leverages graphics IP from across both the FirePro and Radeon product lines, AMD has done something unique on the software side as well.

The Radeon Pro Duo Can Use Desktop Or Workstation Graphics Drivers

Depending on the particular use case, the Radeon Pro Duo can be configured with gamer-centric Crimson Edition drivers, just like all other current Radeon-branded graphics cards, or it can be used with AMD FirePro drivers is you need / want application certifications or the additional stability of workstation-class software.

The AMD Radeon Pro Duo

The AMD Radeon Pro Duo will be available today from select add-in-board partners and system integrators. The expected price for the card is $1499. If you inspect the Radeon Pro Duo’s specifications, it looks much like a pair of Radeon R9 Nano cards, which can currently be had for $499 a pop. So obviously, there is a significant mark-up for the liquid-cooling, single-slot (plus radiator) form factor, and title of AMD’s fastest graphics card yet. Whether or not that’s worth an additional 500 bucks is individual preference, but it’s not a drop in the bucket.

Of course, it’s hard to say anything concrete about the Radeon Pro Duo without actually testing one first-hand. We hope to have an opportunity to experiment with one soon, though with Polaris right around the corner, we suspect AMD’s going to have some more news to share relatively soon. What we know for sure is that with Polaris on the way, support for DX12 picking up steam, and NVIDIA readying new cards based on Pascal, this should be an exciting few months in the graphic space.

Tags: AMD, Radeon, VR, (nyse:amd), fiji, radeon pro duo, radeon nano

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com