How well does the Matrox G550 handle 3D rendering? How about Geforce2 Ultra (unmodded and quadro modded)? ATI Radeons?

[junthin]

As the title states, how well does the Matrox G550 handle 3D rendering applications like 3D Studio Max and such? Also, how about a Geforce2 Ultra? An ultra modded to Quadro2? How about the ATI Radeons? Or the new ATI Radeon 8500's? Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[KpocAlypse]

junthin. did we go into this a few months ago? Or was that someone else?

Well, anyway, No clue about the New Radeons, haven't seen anything. But The Nvidia cards are king of the rest of them.

 

[Leon]

Matrox is excellent for entry-level workstation use, especially considering it's dual monitor capabilities.

For serious 3d editing however, you need more powerful card. Nvidia GeForce/Quadro, FireGL, etc. Forget about Radeons, not only they considerably slower, they also fail all accuracy tests.

 

[Rand]

<< As the title states, how well does the Matrox G550 handle 3D rendering applications like 3D Studio Max and such? Also, how about a Geforce2 Ultra? An ultra modded to Quadro2? How about the ATI Radeons? Or the new ATI Radeon 8500's? Any help would be appreciated, thanks! >>



Radeon 8500: No definite reports yet, but odds are in it's favor to do very well.
Based upon the same GPU as the FireGL 8800, should be able to use the FireGL 8800's drivers. And while ATi's regaular driver team is poor, the FireGL driver team is extremely good IMHO. They've worked wonders pulling out every last ounce of performance possible out of the FireGL1-4, and the FireGL cards have always beene xtremely good in CAD apps. As the FireGL 8800 is specifically marketed for high end 3D rendering, and the Radeoin 8500 should be able to use it's drivers and hence gain the benefit of the FireGL driver team's work I think it's quite possible the R8500 should be very nice in high end 3D rendering for a consumer level graphics card.

Matrox G550: It works, but slowly. Wouldnt at all recommend it for anything but very entry level CAD work, but for the bare bones CAD in which performance isnt terribly important it may be a very decent option due to it's excellent dual monitor capabilities.

GF2 Ultra: Among the absolute best consumer level graphics cards for CAD usage, in fact it is better then the GF3 is some areas for CAD. Short of going for a true professional level graphics card the GF2 Ultra is probably one of the very best choices for CAD usage.

GF2 Ultra-Quadro: The Quadro's added features can yield no performance gain, to a very appreciable performance gain depending upon the app. The benefits or virtually nil for the home user, but may well make for a damn nice card in the professional level rendering area.

Radeon: Decent performing but extremely unreliable in CAD, very poor visual quality, and suffers from severe graphical artifacts. Is near unusable in many CAD environments. Would not recommend it at all. Many developers of CAD software have pronounced the Radeon as incompatible with their software.
Not a viable choice for professional level 3D rendering in the least.

 

[junthin]

KpocAlypse: I don't think so....

Leon: Thanks for the info.

Rand: Wow...thanks for the detailed information on each card. I have a few questions more for ya (or anyone else who can answer them completely).


My intent is to setup a 3D rendering station for myself, but without spending too much money. Those professional workstation cards are super expensive! At work, we were using some SGI stations and some windows station with FireGL (Diamond and some ATI), and I want to be able to compete sort of with what I had to work with in the office.

I would judge myself to be of an intermediate skill level for 3D rendering on the average (however to those super 3D render'ers I'm like a newbie. )

So therefore, which card would you recommend for a 3D rendering station? Would the Radeon 8500 or Geforce2 Ultra (regular or modded) be better? Also, how good are the Diamond FireGL cards (Compaq pulls 32MB) compared to the R8500 or Geforce2 Ultra?

I'm also looking for a card that's pretty decent at 3D rendering and supports dual monitors, hence the reason the G550 was listed as one of the options.

Are their other cards that I haven't listed or thought of that are in the $400 and less range that perform well in 3D rendering and can support dual monitors?

And just a question that's always eluded me, how would a Quadro 64MB (non-DCC) compare to a Quadro2 32MB card? Thanks in advanced!

 

[Rand]

Well I'm hardly an expert on the matter, but I'll do my best to answer your questions.



<< So therefore, which card would you recommend for a 3D rendering station? Would the Radeon 8500 or Geforce2 Ultra (regular or modded) be better? Also, how good are the Diamond FireGL cards (Compaq pulls 32MB) compared to the R8500 or Geforce2 Ultra? >>



Probably the GF2 Ultra over the Radeon 8500. The R8500 has potential, and they also have the benefits of having obtained FireGL's driver team which I highly regard... but in the end I'd have to go with the GF2 Ultra because it's already proven itself to be a very capable card in that respect.
If you get the Ultra you may as well do the Mod, as I don't think it's supposed to be terribly hard to do... whether it will benefit you a lot I can't say.



<< how good are the Diamond FireGL cards (Compaq pulls 32MB) compared to the R8500 or Geforce2 Ultra? >>



Well, I'm no definitive answer on this one but personally I'd set the FireGL2 as a solid performer but below the GF2 U. It's not as good of an all around card as the Ultra but it's better optimized for professional level 3D rendering, and the drivers are definitely aimed directly at it and optimized for specific CAD apps. Maybe not quite as fast as the GF2 Ultra in CAD, but it's a proven "safe" choice.
I'm not sure on how the FireGL 1,3,4 compare though.



<< Are their other cards that I haven't listed or thought of that are in the $400 and less range that perform well in 3D rendering and can support dual monitors? >>



A TwinView supporting GF2 MX, or the Radeon 8500.
The MX is cheap, and despite it's position as a low end gamers card... it still possesses the GF2 core that's proven itself surprisingly adept in CAD apps.
Then there is the much more expensive, and unproven Radeon 8500. It's of the same lineage as the FireGL 8800, and should be capable of using the 8800 drivers.... but it hasnt yet proven itself as capable in CAD.
Honestly, I'd seriously consider the Radeon 8500 if your able to wait another month or so to get a better idea of how it acquits itself in CAD apps.
Otherwise it may not be best as it's simply unproven in that regard, and hence may be chancy.



<< And just a question that's always eluded me, how would a Quadro 64MB (non-DCC) compare to a Quadro2 32MB card? >>


In most situations the Quadro 2 32MB would outperform the 64MB Quadro.

What specific CAD/3D rendering applications will you be utilizing?
If I knew I might better be able to suggest an appropriate card.