8800GT still the recommended card?

[Jane Namenye]

I'm selecting video cards for new modeling/rendering computers to be used with 3ds max. I've read the info here and got most of my questions answered (even some questions I didn't know I had!) But I have a couple left.

 

I mentioned the 8800GT to the guy who usually advises me on hardware and he said that a few months ago that was it, but now there is the 9800 series. Also, he more highly recommended the Radeon 4850 or 4870.

 

I would appreciate any news or hands-on experience about these newer cards.

 

I read here that there have been bugs with the Radeon drivers. Is this still a problem? (Also, I would like to know if this was a general problem or especially with max or other 3D. We have 2 different computers with Radeon X1950 Pro which seem to be OK.)

 

Thanks in advance!

Jane N.

[SandmanNinja]

I would have gotten a 9800, but there was a big waiting list, so I got an 8800GT.

[AJLynn]

I've had issues with Radeons under Max (glitchy things, not crashes) and Geforces have been fine. I'd still stick with the 8800 because of price. If you use Revit, get a FireGL.

[Jane Namenye]

Hello and thanks to both of you.

 

I've been checking Newegg and I see the 8800GT are quite a bit less expensive. Some of the 9800GT are within my budget though. What would be the advantage over the 8800GT. The numbers on these look the same to me (I'm probably missing something.)

 

JN

[AJLynn]

The 9800GT would be faster.

[moodo]

as i know the 9800 series is around 10 percent slower as the 8800 series but the 9800 needs much less power and its cheaper.

[daniohayon]

Can someone tell me what's the difference between those two cards (bedside the manufacturer and PRICE!)?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130338

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150284

 

...numbers seems the same. Thanks,

 

Dani

[AJLynn]

No. They're probably extremely similar. With these nVidia cards the OEM company can make some modifications, provides the end user support and sets the pricing.

[Jane Namenye]

I would appreciate an update on my original question: what is the current recommended graphics card for 3dsmx?

[AJLynn]

That's a tough question. Autodesk is about to ship a new Max version that will have a hardware renderer (finally) and nobody's quite sure what the best hardware for it will be. Aside from that, if you're just looking for a good value card, the 8800GT was replaced by the 9800GT (which is almost the same thing) and that's $100 now, so I still recommend it. A Radeon 5770 is more powerful and a really, really, very good value. For still more power, a Radeon 5850 (I'm pretty sure this is the most powerful current single-GPU solution) or the Geforce 2xx series that fits your budget. A GTX 275 is a good one.

[Jane Namenye]

Thanks for your speedy response! I found the 9800GT and that did seem to be the best right now.