CAD Card or normal? (Quadro/FireGL)

[Pinchy]

Im building a PC for a friend who will be doing lots of CAD work for uni (eg, Autocad 2009).

Now I am wondering what would be better; a newish gaming card (512mb 8600GT) or an older Quadro/FireGL card (FX570 / FX3450) or something cheap around $100.

Or even to get like a 6800GT and flash it to a quadro version? (I have heard about it).

Thx in adv

 

[Kreij]

The difference between the cards is not one of performance, but one of accuracy.
The CAD cards are tweaked to be very accurate in their display at high levels of zoom.
I would go with a CAD card if that is what your friend is going to use the system for most of the time.

 

[Pinchy]

So even a very old Quadro would be good?

 

[Kreij]

Well, it depends upon whether performance is a concern. An old Quaddro will be slower than a newer one. But the CAD cards are pricey, so you need to juggle cost vs. performance.
If he is more interested in accuracy than performance, then yes, I would use an older CAD card.

 

[cdawall]

we run autocad 09 at school on integrated intel graphics its not really that hard to run just get a 8500GT 512mb

 

[panchoman]

you can take some nvidia and ati cards and softmod them to quadros using modded drives, i think nvidia fx's and ati x1k's do this, and the newer ones too, probably just not drivers out yet.

 

[cdawall]

7900GT/X could be softmodded to quadro as well

 

[Kreij]

I honestly don't know if the difference in the cards are just BOIS mods.
They could be.

The one thing I have seen is that if you use a CAD program and draw a circle with a verticle line that intersects the circle at two points, and then zoom WAY in, on the non-CAD cards the line will not intersect any more.

This can be a problem, especially if the CAD drawing is going to be used for a CAM application.

The CAD cards are accurate even at extreme zooms.

 

[calvary1980]

2600XT can be flashed to FireGL 5600, 2900XT can be flashed to FireGL 8600.

- Christine

 

[panchoman]

most cards can be flashed, as the cores are the same, its just different drivers and the drivers are the ones that enable certain commands and all

 

[cdawall]

2600XT can be flashed to FireGL 5600, 2900XT can be flashed to FireGL 8600.

- Christine

and the 8800GTX can be flashed to the quadro FX 5600/4600, the 8600GT can be flashed to the FX 1700

 

[Pinchy]

Thanks for all the input

As I said, its gotta be cheap lol. Now also, it IS a CAD computer but I am not sure of the extent of the CAD they will be using, as it is university level.

I mean, I know the university wont expect all students to have CAD cards, but if it helps I may as well get him one . The computers only got an e2200 in it, nothing fancy like a Quad core .

See my older brother does CAD work all on his laptop. He uses Rhinoceros (with VRAY) and Solid Edge and hasnt had a problem on a 6800 Go.

 

[cdawall]

just get a 8500/8600

 

[Pinchy]

Er its 4am I need to go to bed lol.

I'll read all the delightful posts in the morning .

And those 2900xt/8800gtx all sound good...but it has to be sub $100 . (AUD)

 

[Pinchy]

Okay so I have decided on a gamers graphics card.

Now another qn;

will something like going to a 512mb 8600GT from a 512mb 8500GT or 8400GS make all that much of a difference?

 

[CrackerJack]

AutoCad isn't that all demanding like other programs. Here's the requirements:
------
For 32-bit AutoCAD 2009:

Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or AMD Athlon®, 2.2 GHz or greater
or
Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 1.6 GHz or greater
Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows® XP SP2 operating systems
For Microsoft Windows XP SP2:

1 GB RAM
750 MB free disk space for installation
1024x768 VGA with true color
Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or higher)
For Microsoft Windows Vista or 3D modeling:

Intel Pentium 4 processor or AMD Athlon, 3.0 GHz or greater
or
Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 2.0 GHz or greater
2 GB RAM or greater
2 GB free hard disk available not including installation
1,280 x 1,024 32-bit color video display adapter (true color) 128 MB or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D® capable workstation class graphics card. For Windows Vista, a Direct3D capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB or greater is required.
For 64-bit AutoCAD 2009:

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or Windows Vista 64-bit
AMD® 64 or Intel EM64T processor
2 GB RAM
750 MB free disk space for installation
AutoCAD 64-bit cannot be installed on a 32-bit Windows operating system


A 8600GT would be more than enough. Quadro/FireGL are mostly use just for 3d rendering programs (Adobe, Vegas and so on)

 

[Pinchy]

Wow judging on those requirements, even an 8400GS should suffice, although I will probably end up getting a 8500GT lol.

 

[cdawall]

Wow judging on those requirements, even an 8400GS should suffice, although I will probably end up getting a 8500GT lol.

just get an 8500GT if you can find one the 1GB models make great CAD cards

 

[CrackerJack]

8500GT 1Gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...000048+1068320729&Description=8500GT&name=1GB