We all used to think that the entry-level professional graphics card from NVIDIA, dubbed Quadro FX 500, is based on the GeForce FX 5600 technology, code-named NV31. We have even seen and published pictures of graphics cards powered by the NV31GL GPU (a professional version of the NV31 also known as the GeForce FX 5600), but nevertheless, the Quadro FX 500 appears to be based on the GeForce FX 5200.

A Korean web-site has published the first ever preview/review of the Quadro FX 500 graphics card from ELSA and revealed the actual name of the graphics processor. Unfortunately, they only examined features of the graphics card did not measure its performance against competitor, sticking to comparison between Quadro FX 500 and GeForce FX 5800 in Maya 5.0.

ELSA Quadro FX 500 is equipped with 128MB of memory and functions at 270/480MHz. Its performance is said to be 20% higher compared to Quadro XGL 550. NVIDIA Quadro FX 500 graphics cards are available now for $449.

And where is the NV31GL? Another Quadro FX on the way?