topic Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ? in Installation & update

Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Apr 2005 07:39:34 GMT

Hi i am going to buy a new computer from Dell and they have a limited choice of video card. Please help which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax?

128MB PCIe x16 NVIDIA Quadro FX1400

256MB PCI Express x16 nVidia GeForce 6800 w DVI/VGA/TV-out

256MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X850 XT w/DVI/VGA/TV-out

Many Thanks !

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Apr 2005 09:17:55 GMT

The QuadroFX Series do OPENGL acceleration.
The other cards are just for games (wont do opengl accelleration in a window).

I have a FX1100 and the difference is amazing.
Of course you should know that the acceleration is not when rendering but when you hanlde the model. In wireframe or in opengl texture mode.

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Djordje — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 17:45:50 GMT

papapa wrote:
Hi i am going to buy a new computer from Dell and they have a limited choice of video card. Please help which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax?

128MB PCIe x16 NVIDIA Quadro FX1400

256MB PCI Express x16 nVidia GeForce 6800 w DVI/VGA/TV-out

256MB PCI Express x16 ATI Radeon X850 XT w/DVI/VGA/TV-out

Many Thanks !

Did you go through the video card test?

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 15:51:03 GMT

FALSE !

all three are opengl 1.4 compliant.
and do a very good job in accelerating opengl (window & fulscreen)

I would choose the ati
6800 is also very good (almost too good for AC and 3dsmax)
quadro has practicaly the same perf. as the geforce from which is derived.
if you'll buy it you will pay for features you'll never use

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Laszlo Nagy — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:47:02 GMT

I agree. I also have the understanding that the ATI card gives the most bang for the buck. This is what I plan to buy.

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

stefan — Wed, 04 May 2005 09:34:20 GMT

I have the FX 1400 card.

The Quadro cards have better CAD-support then the Geforce ones. Not really visible in shaded views, but apparantly in wireframes and with anti-aliasing.

That said, not sure of this card is worth it's money. On the last test in 3D World, the Nvidia cards did not seem to offer the same amount of value when comparing with a few other offerings.

That said, you also talked about 3ds max and then you might notice that the nVidia drivers allow a specific preset that should work fine with 3ds max. By the way, for 3ds max, you also have the maxtreme-drivers which offer additional support specifically in 3ds max.

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Fri, 13 May 2005 02:12:16 GMT

I have the 6800 in a new Dell 8400 and it is very good. There is one problem though when generating the 3D window in that often part of the image is missing. You have to redraw a couple of times or start panning for the full image to appear. Apart from this, panning and rendering is very smooth. I am annoyed though at the partial display problem. Not sure if it's the card or ArchiCAD but would love to know if anyone can help

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 08:00:01 GMT

Never purchase a Dell unless its for your secretary to use for word. Anyone who has a basic interest in computers will be able to tell you this.

J

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 09:51:08 GMT

Cycosippius,
You either have no respect for secretaries or my interest in computers is incredibly basic...not. If you're going to bag Dell like that, then back it up with fact or keep it to yourself.

For the record, I have fixed the partial display problem which had nothing to do with being a Dell. The very first thing I did when I got my PC was update the drivers for everything, including the graphics card. Out of curiosity, I re-installed the original driver and problem solved. Seems the latest nVidia drivers and AC9 don't like each other.

Henry.

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 12:02:00 GMT

HANG ON.....Henry.... settle down.

My post was not directed at you specifically and certainly not to set out to offend anyone. well then anyway.

I have no issues with secretaries, and why on earth would I? What I was saying is Dell's are primarily for office working situations ie spreadsheet, word excel all the programmes architects find difficult not for programmes such as Photoshop, Archicad or whatever.

Dell Workstations are not the power horses they claim, they are full of cheap generic components, and its like buying the 'devine' (or any other spec home builder) of computers. You turn it on it works, (if your lucky) and everyones happy especially the cheapskate boss who bought their office computer system from the back of the tv guide.

These systems built in factories to a limited variance of spec. come with cables loose (really bad build quality) and some dodgy Dell interface of XP with certain essential commands missing. Or you have to stuff around for hours trying to make them return.
.

Enhancing performance through RAM and FSB settings not really feasible with a Dell. This is because of the low performance Motherboards and Bios locking these feature, they can be unlocked but the components are generally not for performance machine. So what if its got the latest P4 back it up with decent components.

Look do some research and youll see.

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

stefan — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 18:07:59 GMT

cycosippius wrote:
Never purchase a Dell unless its for your secretary to use for word. Anyone who has a basic interest in computers will be able to tell you this.

J

We always buy Dell and we are satisfied with their performance. My current PC is a Dell Precision 360 P4 3.2 GHz EM64 with Quadro FX 1400 card and 2 GB of RAM. You don't here me complain.

Our sysadmin installs XP freshly (not from the DELL CD) so I don't know if this makes a performance difference.

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Sun, 12 Jun 2005 04:22:50 GMT

Im sure you probably havent had that many issues, what Im trying to say is that if your after a performance machine Dell is simply not the solution.

Archicad and Plotmaker whilst used in tandom are extremely thirsty for power, so it makes sense to get the most powerful and durable product for your money. With Dell you are paying for the name and not for quality components, ask the rep or sales person what brand of ram?, what brand of hard disk? what brand of video card?, and no "whatever we choose to put in that matches these specifications" will not do for an answer.

Example, I have gone to the Dell website and found their overpriced most powerfull machine. As follows:

Dell Dimension(TM) XPS Gen 4 Pentium(R) 4 650 / 660 w/HT Desktop
E-VALUE CODE : M210629 for $2898AU

And Dell are like rug sales man never pay full price everythings always on sale.

Some of the specs for this machine specs of this machine

512 MB Dual channel DDR2-533MHz SDRAM standard, upgradable to 4 GB1

Firstly I guarantee the ram on this machine will not run at 533Mhz no ram to my knowledge is ECC(Certified Officially) to run over 400Mhz thats why most true performance machines use pc 3200 by a reputable manufacturer such as Corsair/ Kingston. This is usually the easiest way to tell if someones trying to sell so you something by playing the numbers game. Secondly which manufacturer?

(although no ram is ECC 533 some will run at that speed but itll only be from the big reliable names and real expensive. An if you had that in your machine you would have it in bold print. Ram that is not ECC = NECC can run at much lower speed as it is not regulated, so you can be a generic electronic component manufacturer and claim it was 722Mhz NECC and no one could do anything except not purchase.

Obviously trusted manufacturers dont do this, and thats why nearly all good performance machine will carry high quality ECC pc3200 400Mhz.

128MB PCI ExpressTM x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI RadeonTM X300 SE

Manufacturer?

Hard disk, these are notorious on Dell's for dieing, because of the moving parts and it being a cheap generic component.

Some people say its not Dell's fault your machines bust, well who else made the decision to put dodgy components in there.

Dells are probably ok for a lot of people for the security factor. But for people wanting complete control of their machine and knowing exactly whats in there and how its all working I strongly recommend building your own system. And developing an interest in computer technology cause then you will never be stiffed again.

Its not rocket science to build your own machine, its actually very very simple, just pick up a screw driver, its the ownly tool youll use.

Have a look through computer magazines at the most expensive machines and what components they comprise of and keep comparing it to other machines. Anyway the best non commercail website with accurate reviews on componentry and such is www.tomshardware.com

J

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Sun, 12 Jun 2005 06:47:43 GMT

stefan wrote:
I have the FX 1400 card.

The Quadro cards have better CAD-support then the Geforce ones. Not really visible in shaded views, but apparantly in wireframes and with anti-aliasing.

Sorry to argue once again, but the difference is HUGE.
The wireframe difference is very very very big. In large of course projects.
Also in textured models. I have both an 6800 and an Quadro FX1100 and the difference is not just noticable.

I had a large project which was just not workable with the 6800.With the quadro not only i could work in 3d but also navigate in the model in realtime.

Re: Video Card. which one is better for AC9 and 3Dmax ?

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:41:25 GMT

OK, lets not go on tit for tat, but I will end with one more comment. Don't get me wrong, I don't bat for Dell with blinkers on. I don't think they're the greatest because they're popular, the same as the most popular car on the road is not the best car on the market. Sure, if you want to extract the best out of every component, then you need good components, especially if you're going to overclock it. To me Dell provides a mass market solution that is good...not best. Sure, I can individually had pick every component and it will be the best. However, it may not work seamlessly straight out of the box. Some motherboards don't like certain ram or graphics cards or processors and the average joe just isn't educated enough to deal with that and neither is the discount computer shop that put together what ever recipe you give them. It's unfortunate that you have experienced problems with new Dells and that they don't meet your expectations. I have owned over the past 11 years 5 Dells, 3 TPG, 2 Hypertec, and 4 Custom built PC's. All of which have been used in an Architects office for CAD. Of all these, 2 custom and all of the Dells are still in operation. To show you that I am not biased, my personal PC is a custom built AMD Athlon. I love the Athlon and if Dell made Athlon PC's I would pick them over the Pentium. Anyway, I think I've said enough on this. Bottom line is that like all things, it's horses for courses. The Dell suits 80% of the market with good back up support, even if it is from an Indian call centre! As for those like you who demand more, that why there are other choices.

Have a nice day!
Henry.