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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →A custom graphics card called FuryGPU ran a Quake demonstration on hardware built around a Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ FPGA. Hackaday’s March 28, 2024 report described gameplay above 30 frames per second and showed a timedemo result labeled 44 fps. That is an intriguing engineering milestone—not a controlled comparison with modern graphics cards.
What is FuryGPU?
FuryGPU is a graphics card project implemented on a Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ FPGA. Its creator built a custom printed circuit board and connected the card to a host computer over PCIe. The FuryGPU project site describes it as “A real hardware GPU” and says its features are equivalent to those of a high-end graphics card from the mid-1990s.
This is custom hardware, not simply a game running in software on a general-purpose FPGA development board. The project site also describes a Windows driver stack, which is essential: a graphics card needs software that lets the operating system and games communicate with its hardware.
How does this FPGA GPU differ from a modern graphics card?
Hackaday characterizes FuryGPU as a fixed-function design, with dedicated hardware for graphics tasks rather than programmable shaders like those used by current AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. The project is therefore best understood as a recreation of an earlier style of graphics hardware, not as a modern shader-capable GPU.
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| Aspect | FuryGPU | Modern graphics cards |
|---|---|---|
| Graphics model | Fixed-function dedicated graphics hardware, as characterized by Hackaday. | Programmable shaders are part of the modern GPU model discussed in Hackaday’s comparison. |
| Feature era | The project site says its hardware features are equivalent to a high-end mid-1990s graphics card. | Not specified as a single comparable feature level in the cited sources. |
| Implementation | Custom PCB built around a Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ FPGA and connected to a host over PCIe, according to the project site. | Commercial GPUs; no specific model is compared in the sources. |
| Software compatibility | The project site describes a modern Windows driver stack, but does not list supported Windows versions or a compatibility matrix. | Not detailed in the cited sources. |
| Performance evidence | Hackaday reported a Quake timedemo label of 44 fps; the settings and repeatable test procedure are not stated. | No controlled comparison or corresponding benchmark result is provided. |
What does the Quake result show?
Hackaday’s March 28, 2024 article says FuryGPU could play Quake at over 30 frames per second and displays a “Quake Timedemo – 44fps!” result. The figure is a reported result from the demonstration, not a standardized benchmark that establishes how FuryGPU performs relative to another card.
The reporting does not identify the test resolution, game build, host system, benchmark settings, or a procedure another person could repeat. It also does not provide frame-time data. The supported takeaway is narrower and still significant: the custom hardware and software stack ran the demonstrated Quake workload.
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- 4 Switches, 4 Buttons, 1 Reset Button, 4 LEDs, 4 RGB LEDs, 4 Pmod connectors, shield connector
Why were the drivers a major part of the project?
The graphics hardware is only one part of a usable card. The host computer also needs a driver to expose the hardware to Windows and the software that wants to draw graphics. Hackaday described writing Windows drivers as the hardest part of the effort. That helps explain why FuryGPU is an engineering project spanning both hardware design and software—not just an FPGA programmed to render images.
What details are not established?
The project site and Hackaday report do not provide enough detail to reproduce or fully evaluate the card. They do not name the exact FPGA part, board-level bill of materials, memory configuration, power draw, or detailed graphics pipeline. They also do not specify supported Windows releases, Quake build, or timedemo settings. Those omissions limit technical comparison; they do not diminish what the demonstration shows.
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Can you build or buy one?
The available sources describe FuryGPU as a custom PCB project, but do not establish a commercial sales channel or identify a retail development board that can run FuryGPU as-is. An FPGA development board may be a way to learn FPGA design or prototype graphics hardware, but it should not be treated as a substitute for this custom card or a way to play Quake on FuryGPU without recreating its hardware and software work.
Quick Recap
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