Graphics Card

[900feet]

We are looking at upgrading our graphics card, and I would like some opinion on what is the best option.

currently our computers are Dell Dimension 9100 with Radeon x300 Cards.

I am looking at the PNY Geforce 8500 GT - 512 Mb DDR2 for $64.99 or the PNY Quadro FX 1700 512 Mb DDR2 workstation card - $429.99

Now we mostly do AutoCAD, photoshop, and Rhino 3D. Our exterior 3D models are pretty complete with details, and we are starting to increase the amount of 3D interior work we do. Is it really neccessary for us to spend the additional money on the Workstation card for the amount we would use it? As far as I can tell the 2 cards offer the same basic speed.

Can someone explain the difference?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

[nautique210]

how did you go? get the new card yet?

both are 128 bit & directX 10 compatible and would do the job. i would personally go the quadro over a geforce card (for gaming) as i've had good experiences with them. worth the extra $$$$$

[masalai]

All I did was get 3 of the biggest and highest resolution LCD screens and hook them up to display independently, so one has general images, one the 3D image and the other the menus, email & web-browser... all too easy with Linux, next toy is a "waeco?" tablet to make playing with the images a little more distracting.... - a nothing special nvidia on one computer and AMD cpu & graphics on the other computer.... swap screens to suit my mood and mobility....

[900feet]

Well I ended up going with the more budget minded PNY Geforce 8500 GT - 512 Mb DDR2 for $64.99. There is definitely a performance increase compared to the old Radeon X300, but I wish that I could compare the Quattro card to the Geforce card side by side.

Next time we upgrade towers I will have to get one equipped with a quattro card and see how much faster it really is.

[nautique210]

Originally Posted by 900feet

Well I ended up going with the more budget minded PNY Geforce 8500 GT - 512 Mb DDR2 for $64.99. There is definitely a performance increase compared to the old Radeon X300, but I wish that I could compare the Quattro card to the Geforce card side by side.

Next time we upgrade towers I will have to get one equipped with a quattro card and see how much faster it really is.

It all depends on what you do really. The upgrade should see the most performance with rhino. Question, do you shade with rhino? If so, is it any good? I've sampled Alias & Showcase (Both Autodesk products with hardware rendering) and with HDR (high dynamic range) environment & shaders, when you view the model it's photo-realistic, no need to render it either, just save the image. Requires a high end graphics card tho. I have quadro FX3700 (512mb/256 bit) and even that struggles somewhat.

Would you mind uploading some images? if you have any renders. I would really like to see what other people are doing.

cheers, shaun

[900feet]

At the moment our work isn't photo realistic, we just do our shading and rendering from Rhino using Flamingo. One thing that we are starting work with more is the textures and lighting to help create a more life like image.

One image is an exterior shot of a 57' Sloop, and the other is the centerline seat in the salon of the same yacht.

[pashbe1]

At work I run a Quadro FX4600 (RAM 700+MB), at home I have a Geforce6800(RAM 256 MB). The system ram is the same. The Quadro FX is a dedicated, developed for, 3d modeling and it shows, especially in render time. The biggest factor is the cards RAM. I wish I could afford one personally.

I have never had any luck with any graphics card other than Nvidia products :-(.