Recommended Video Card?

[Refractoryman]

Current system is as follows; What would be a performance upgrade in a new AGP video card? I run AUTOCAD & INVENTOR programs. No gaming. Any other areas for increased performance? Thanks.

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
CPU Type DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2400 MHz (12 x 200) 4800+
Motherboard Name Asus A8V Deluxe (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN,
Motherboard Chipset VIA K8T800Pro, AMD Hammer
System Memory 2048 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
Video Adapter ALL-IN-WONDER X800 Series Secondary (256 MB)
Video Adapter RADEON X800 Series (256 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon X800 (R420)
Monitor Dell 2405FPW (Digital) [24" LCD] (T6133599136S)

 

[Laminator]

Your system looks fine. If you were gaming, you would want an X1950-series AGP card, but your current GPU should be more than enough for anything but gaming and HD-video decoding.

 

[manimal]

The programs you use benefit directly from your processor. The faster the processor the faster rendering and floating point operations are performed by your system. Your graphics are not the problem as was already stated. I dont think a processor upgrade would be cost effective as well since the 939s top out 3ghz OC'd so even if you did want to go that route, not recommended for work units where reliability is tantamount.

Upgrading to AM2 is going to cost alot more than you probably want to spend since it would require replacing your ram and GFX card as well. The only way you can really improve performance drastically would be to upgrade to a quad setup that would cost thousands and would require your software to support them to really get a benefit. If the costs are prohibited I would wait to see the new quad prices at the end of the summer from INTEL and see what AMD has in store later this year with their new chips.

 

[manimal]

LOL Laminator, just read your sig, your antec Smart power description craps me up!!!!

 

[Rottie]

I have X2 4800+ Toledo, VIA K8T800Pro, and PC3200, and Radeon X850Pro it seem enough for me to use Maya and 3DS Max but I am thinking about X1950XT I want to wait and find out what other graphic professional users think.

 

[Laminator]

Originally posted by: manimal
LOL Laminator, just read your sig, your antec Smart power description craps me up!!!!

Thanks I bought this when I knew nothing about PSU's, and I figured that you couldn't go wrong with any Antec product. Much later, I discovered that they have a tendency to blow a capacitor after a few months...

Sorry about hijacking this thread, OP.