Nvidia graphics card

[blair888]

Hi all

 

Is the Nvidia Quadro FX 540 good enough for 3d work - 3d max, lightwave etc, or should I be considering the FX 1300??

 

My system (will be) AMD 3800 dual core, Asus A8N motherboard...

 

I've got a limited budget which extends to about the 540, but if this - being entry level; is not professional standard, I guess best to save some more???

 

Thanks - Blair

[AJLynn]

Depends on how complex your work is, I think - for me, a Quadro4 900 is perfectly adequate (most of the time - a while ago I was working with a 3D model of downtown boston and it was painful) and the 540 is faster. With that in mind, compare the numbers in this thread:

http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12329&highlight=specviewperf

to the numbers at:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html

 

Actually, going by nVidia's benchmarks, the 540 is a bit faster than the 1300 for 3DSMax use, but I'm suspicious of that.

[CVC]

Depends on how complex your work is, I think - for me, a Quadro4 900 is perfectly adequate (most of the time - a while ago I was working with a 3D model of downtown boston and it was painful) and the 540 is faster. With that in mind, compare the numbers in this thread:

http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12329&highlight=specviewperf

to the numbers at:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html

 

Actually, going by nVidia's benchmarks, the 540 is a bit faster than the 1300 for 3DSMax use, but I'm suspicious of that.

are u sure ???? as i know , fx540 for 2D application , fx1400 is a good choice for PCie , it depend ur main support . my curent card is fx3400

[AJLynn]

The 540 is definitely a 3D card - not as good as the higher end ones, but surely good enough for some people, especially on a budget. Of course, the 3400 is much better.

[lambros]

once again I will comment... Go for ATI Fire GL. The 7100 at 800euros is top of the line, a fraction of the Quadro costs. The 5100 even cheaper, compared to midQuadros in performance.

[Zdravko Barisic]

Best card is the one you can buy for your money

Ati for 800$ is not bad solution, but I would get NVidia anyway

FX540 can push 500 000 -1 000 000 polys in shaded mod without pain

Don worry, get it

[CVC]

Best card is the one you can buy for your money

i agree with u

[jonel]

fx540 equals nv43 aka GF 6600/GT

so, it can't be that bad.

actualy, I would consider it as a great entry solution

fx1400 howerer, equals (if I'm not wrong) FX 5700 Ultra, that can't be better than GF 6600, for sure.

[Brian Cassil]

If working in max a lot then the nvidia cards have a significant advantage because of the maxtreme drivers.

[AJLynn]

fx540 equals nv43 aka GF 6600/GT

so, it can't be that bad.

actualy, I would consider it as a great entry solution

fx1400 howerer, equals (if I'm not wrong) FX 5700 Ultra, that can't be better than GF 6600, for sure.

 

You really can't go by that - different revisions of the various NV cores have dramatically different performances. (The 6600 and 6600GT are both NV43, the Quadro4 900 and 700 are both NV25,, QuadroFX 3000 and 700 are both NV35, etc.) And for the record, QuadroFX 1400, 3450/4000 SDI and Geforce 6800 are all NV41, while the 5700U is NV36, which corresponds to a QuadroFX 1100.

 

The best info is in the benchmarks. Unfortunately.

 

(I don't have all this memorized - if you've downloaded nVidia drivers there's a list in c:\nvidia\nvdm.inf)