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Business Computing - Video Card

C

CraigP

Member
OK, I need some help here.

My dad & uncle run a cabinetry business and are considering running AutoCAD with a Cabinetry mod type deal.
From what I know, AutoCAD is a pretty damn extensive and power-hungry app. I'm guessing if they are about to drop $10K on the program & training, they want a competant computer.
Remember - O/C'ing here is not an option, we want stablity, stablity, stability.

What video card would be the absolute best at running AutoCAD?
 
Umm...I have no idea about AutoCAD, is it OpenGL or something? A good business card though is the Matrox G450 because it has incredible 2D quality, but I have no idea if AutoCAD is accelerated or not.
 
The best Matrox you can find that will suit your father's and uncle's needs. They are the best in 2D and have incredible stability (no lock-ups or crashes).
 
The Matrox G450 has incredible 2D and is a great business workstation card but it will choke badly when confronted with AutoCAD, it was by no means meant for that kind of work.
There is a big difference between a gaming card (Radeon), a worstation card (G450) and a card made for CAD rendering.

It's hard to really recommend a suitable card without knowing what kind of price range your looking at.
 
I have a couple dozen cad techs doing AutoCad work using Matrox G400MAX graphics cards. They work perfectly fine. For general CAD work including moderate 3-D work they are the more than enough. Now, for solids modeling and VERY complex rendering I would look at something different, but for a cabinet shop those cards are more than adequate, and very, very, stable. A standard AutoCad configuration doesn't use OpenGL.
 


<< Thanks for the replies so far.
So does everyone agree that the matrox cards would be best? >>


NOPE, the best consumer level currently for AUTOCAD is a Quadro, Quadro2, or Quadro DCC. All Quadro class cards are highly optimized for AUTOCAD. 🙂

Quadro class cards are normal GeForce series hardware (GF1,GF2,GF3) with full hardware acceleration features enabled depended upon the app's requirements.
 
craigp: you have two choices. a: listen to the majority, including one who really knows what he's talking about and uses AutoCAD, or you can b: listen to the lone person, who probably never even used AutoCAD, and buy a card that is going to cost you 10 times as much money with probably no visible gain
 
NvWsApps.cfg is the optimized configuration file for professional apps using by Quadro class hardware...

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[AutoCAD]
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[Solid Edge]
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[Unigraphics]
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<< craigp: you have two choices. a: listen to the majority, including one who really knows what he's talking about and uses AutoCAD, or you can b: listen to the lone person, who probably never even used AutoCAD, and buy a card that is going to cost you 10 times as much money with probably no visible gain >>



I'm not sure I'd agree with Nam ng in saying the Quadro is &quot;the best&quot;, but I do agree with him that a G400 likely isnt going to be the best solution for AutoCAD unless your only doing very general work.
As for the Quadro it performs very nicely but the visual accuracy can be somewhat &quot;off&quot; when you get into very detailed work.
Personally I rather like the ATi FireGL cards myself. 3DLabs also has a few cards worth looking into depending on the price range your looking at.

And BTW, yes I have used AutoCAD.
Have you? 😉
 


<< And BTW, yes I have used AutoCAD.
Have you? 😉 >>


By training and by my degree I'm a Mechanical Engineer, 🙂 Basing solely on work experience then I'm an Electrical Engineer from positions/titles I've had and length of time I've had at those positions/titles. Yes I've used AUTOCAD. 🙂


<< Nam ng in saying the Quadro is &quot;the best&quot;... >>


&quot;The best consumer level&quot; don't twist words for convenient
 


<< a G400 likely isnt going to be the best solution for AutoCAD unless your only doing very general work. >>

Take the advice or leave it, it's only money, but I don't think a cabinetry shop will be doing lots of high-end 3-d rendering. I have had absoulutely no problems running AutoCad on the G400MAX, I have over 30 techs running them right now, doing 3-d terrain modeling, electrical design, civil site design, roadway design, and architectural detailing. OF COURSE there are &quot;better&quot; cards. But price/performance wise, you know what my choice would be. BTW, I have a few comps using the FireGL cards, and they don't seem to be any better than the G400MAX, that's why I equipped all the others with that.
 
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