Whats up with these video cards??

Ok, heres the deal. I've been assigned the task of ordering new computers for our drafting department. I've found the computers I want but the only problem is the video card. So instead of looking for different PC's, I've decided to purchase and install the video card separately.

I'm looking on NewEgg and here's what I'm finding. I can get several 1GB GeForce 9000 series cards ranging from $60.00 to $210.00 under the desktop graphics card section. However, if I go to the Workstation section I can't find a 1GB card under $800. All I can find is a PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX1700 512MB and a PNY NVIDIA Quadro4 NVS450 512MB both for $440. There are some others but those two stick out to me.

So whats the deal here?? Am I missing something in the specs that better qualify these two workstation cards than the GeForce 9000 series cards??

I guess I have three main questions here: #1) What am I missing about the specs that I should be looking for in a video card to run ACAD?, #2) Which is better to run AutoCAD, ATI or NVIDIA? and #3) If you had a budget of $500 for a video card to run ACAD what would you get?

For one the GeForce cards may not have drivers written specifically for AutoCAD. For another the GeForce cards probably do not support OpenGL while some of the other cards may support OpenGL and DirectX. I used to be an ATI man but switched over to nVidia after ATI dropped the ball on its graphics cards aimed at AutoCAD. Personally preference now.

For one the GeForce cards may not have drivers written specifically for AutoCAD. For another the GeForce cards probably do not support OpenGL while some of the other cards may support OpenGL and DirectX. I used to be an ATI man but switched over to nVidia after ATI dropped the ball on its graphics cards aimed at AutoCAD. Personally preference now.

That's the goofy thing here, both cards support DirectX 10 and both cards either support OpenGL 2.0 or 2.1. The drivers could be a possibility though. I do see that the workstation cards I'm looking at do have feedback from AutoCAD users so I just don't know what to think.

When comparing a GeForce 9800 GT and the Quadro FX1700 I find that the Geforce (desktop) has better stats in everything that I can compare to the Quadro (workstation). The only difference I see is that the desktop card has specs for the chipset (Core Clock 600Mhz, Stream Processors 112) that the workstation card doesn't show and the opposite for the workstation card being that it shows a PixelPipelines rating of 12 that the desktop card doesn't show.

I use cadalyst magazine hardware reviews as my guide when it comes to selecting graphics cards. I'd go with the Quadro based on performance but if price is the main criteria then the GeForce 9800 has to be your choice.

That's the goofy thing here, both cards support DirectX 10 and both cards either support OpenGL 2.0 or 2.1. The drivers could be a possibility though. I do see that the workstation cards I'm looking at do have feedback from AutoCAD users so I just don't know what to think.

 

When comparing a GeForce 9800 GT and the Quadro FX1700 I find that the Geforce (desktop) has better stats in everything that I can compare to the Quadro (workstation). The only difference I see is that the desktop card has specs for the chipset (Core Clock 600Mhz, Stream Processors 112) that the workstation card doesn't show and the opposite for the workstation card being that it shows a PixelPipelines rating of 12 that the desktop card doesn't show.

I so appreciate this thread, I've been looking for the FX1700 ever since I saw it demo'd at AU this year but waited too long to get it at the 'show special' of $450.... (btw, MSRP is like $1600...normally retails for around $800) Funny thing is I couldn't find it on Newegg but did on Amazon for $437. I'm going for it...

thanks again guys!

That's the goofy thing here, both cards support DirectX 10 and both cards either support OpenGL 2.0 or 2.1.

This is incorrect. The "gaming" cards support OpenGL 2.0/2.1 Mini Driver, not the full instructions.

When comparing a GeForce 9800 GT and the Quadro FX1700 I find that the Geforce (desktop) has better stats in everything that I can compare to the Quadro (workstation). The only difference I see is that the desktop card has specs for the chipset (Core Clock 600Mhz, Stream Processors 112) that the workstation card doesn't show and the opposite for the workstation card being that it shows a PixelPipelines rating of 12 that the desktop card doesn't show.

Trust me, you absolutely CANNOT go by the "numbers" that they have on newegg. These cards' architecture are COMPLETELY different. I had a GeForce 7300GT 256MB card that couldn't hold up to a Quadro NVS320 128MB card. The Quadro took my 3D AutoCAD MEP files and it went from 2-3 frames per second to 40 frames per second by a cheaper card. It's just the way they're designed.

I will say, however, to NOT get the Quadro NVS series. Go for the Quadro FX series. Much better for CAD design and 3D.

*EDIT*: For the record I'm about to get a Quadro FX1700 next week. Can't wait. But the Quadro FX570 works magic, a friend of mine has it and it does phenomenally well in AutoCAD designs.

In fact, here's a good comparison link.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/builtforprofessionals.html

*EDIT*: For the record I'm about to get a Quadro FX1700 next week. Can't wait. But the Quadro FX570 works magic, a friend of mine has it and it does phenomenally well in AutoCAD designs.

did you find a better deal than what I posted above?

did you find a better deal than what I posted above?

The FX570 goes for under $200 I think on Newegg.

The FX570 goes for under $200 I think on Newegg.

I saw that one for around $170 on Amazon

I'm talkin bout the FX1700....($437 on Amazon)

I saw that one for around $170 on Amazon

 

I'm talkin bout the FX1700....($437 on Amazon)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133207

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133207

yeah, can't wait

I will say, however, to NOT get the Quadro NVS series. Go for the Quadro FX series. Much better for CAD design and 3D.

 

*EDIT*: For the record I'm about to get a Quadro FX1700 next week. Can't wait. But the Quadro FX570 works magic, a friend of mine has it and it does phenomenally well in AutoCAD designs.

thnx 4 the good advice!

I found another link with specs from different cards, its from Nvidia/Quadro site, but i can't post it ( under 9 posts)

(www) features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=3321&page=3

Whats interesting is that for both nvidia and ATi cards, there is almost no difference hardware wise between the radeon line and firegl, or the quadro and geforce line. The real difference lies within the drivers themselves. The workstation cards are geared towards openGL, which provide major benefits in apps like autocad and maya, but terrible performance in games - hence the birth of the workstation card.

Now what you can actually do is softmod almost any geforce or radeon card to its workstation equivalent. I recently picked up an HD3850 for under $60, and was able to softmod it to a FireGL v7700 (a $700+ card) using a modified patch script in rivatuner.

Take a look at this if you're interested though.

tec harp. co m / sho war ticle. asp x?a rtn o= 53 9&p g no=0

(im under 9 posts so I cant post links - just take out the spaces - its a pain...I know....)

techarp also offers another guide on how to softmod a radeon card. The problem with alot of guides and tutorials is that they are slightly outdated and offer more steps than is really needed, so quite a bit of research must be done before attempting. On a good note - its impossible to break or damage the card in any way since its only a software mod. Simply installing the old geforce or catalyst drivers will restore the card to its normal self, allowing you to screw up as many times as you like.

After modding my HD3850 to a FireGL v7700, the cadalyst autocad benchmark showed dramatic improvements in speed, although I do not notice much since our company does mainly 2d work with smaller files.

Whats interesting is that for both nvidia and ATi cards, there is almost no difference hardware wise between the radeon line and firegl, or the quadro and geforce line. The real difference lies within the drivers themselves. The workstation cards are geared towards openGL, which provide major benefits in apps like autocad and maya, but terrible performance in games - hence the birth of the workstation card.

 

Now what you can actually do is softmod almost any geforce or radeon card to its workstation equivalent. I recently picked up an HD3850 for under $60, and was able to softmod it to a FireGL v7700 (a $700+ card) using a modified patch script in rivatuner.

 

Take a look at this if you're interested though.

 

tec harp. co m / sho war ticle. asp x?a rtn o= 53 9&p g no=0

 

(im under 9 posts so I cant post links - just take out the spaces - its a pain...I know....)

 

techarp also offers another guide on how to softmod a radeon card. The problem with alot of guides and tutorials is that they are slightly outdated and offer more steps than is really needed, so quite a bit of research must be done before attempting. On a good note - its impossible to break or damage the card in any way since its only a software mod. Simply installing the old geforce or catalyst drivers will restore the card to its normal self, allowing you to screw up as many times as you like.

 

After modding my HD3850 to a FireGL v7700, the cadalyst autocad benchmark showed dramatic improvements in speed, although I do not notice much since our company does mainly 2d work with smaller files.

Cool, I'll check that out. Not that it helps though since they froze our budget to where we can't upgrade. Thanx for the info though.