CAD Workstation Dilemma

[Modelworks]

If you have the cash consider BOXX. They cost more than the rest but they really do stand behind everything they sell. And unlike other vendors they actually have people that have used the software, not just salesman.
http://www.boxxtech.com/


Oh and the ATI5770 is a good card if you are on a budget. It works well with all the autodesk apps.

 

[kevinsbane]

I checked out BOXX, and... wow... overkill for us. Very nice systems, but Maya, 3D Studio + Revit seem to be what they're aiming at.

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 doesn't seem to take advantage of GPGPU; actually, it's primarily single core at that. GPGPU abilities are at the bottom of the list of what we need/want. I guess I have a hard time placing a value on nVidia's support, since Civil 3D is a DirectX based program now. Originally, I considered triple screen/single card support (single pci-e x16 slot motherboard) as more useful to us, as I've been finding myself wishing I had a third screen recently. What kind of support advantage are we talking about? Is there a difference on the consumer end (geforce vs radeon)?

 

[mfenn]

I would say that Nvidia's driver support is a bit better for pro apps, but that's mostly due to things trickling down from the Quadros. If triple-monitor support is important to you, then by all means go AMD. Remember that you need at least one of the displays to be DisplayPort or use active adapters.