rmccoy Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 I have an older machine that the graphics card just went out on. I don't have the money to buy/build a new machine so I just need to get a new graphics card. I'm really confused as to what I need and what my computer will support. Here are the specs for my machine: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ws470/en/ug_en/about.htm#wp1053318 The graphics card is a PCI-express x16. but I don't know if it's 1.0 or 2.0. I'm just not sure what would be a good card to buy that will get the best performance without losing any performance due to the machine being old. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Well, what video card did you have before, what's your budget and what software do you want to run on it? I could easily tell you that the best video card is a Quadro FX 5800 but that information is probably not useful to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmccoy Posted April 7, 2010 Author Share Posted April 7, 2010 that's a good point lol. It's currently has a non-operational Ati FireGL v3100 in it. http://ati.amd.com/Products/fireglv3100/index.html Here is the software I run. -3ds Max Design 2010 -V-Ray -Rhinoceros 4.0 -Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign CS4 -AutoCAD 2008 -Revit Architecture 2008 I would like to keep the cost between $150-$250 if possible. My graphics card needed upgraded anyways, since I've been having a hard time running newer software. I had to go back to winXP from 7 because the performance was so bad with Max. I tried running the trial of vue8 and my computer pretty much laughed at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Oh, well, a FireGL v3100 is a very weak card and it's easy to get something more powerful in there. Since you're used to FireGL, if you don't have ay complaints about it I see no reason to change. The newest version of that card, the FirePro v3700, is under $100 from Newegg, though since you have the budget I'd advise a FireGL v7700 for a frankly astonishing $178 from Newegg. Hell, now I'm thinking of ordering one for myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmccoy Posted April 7, 2010 Author Share Posted April 7, 2010 Thanks for the help! Is there any benefit from sticking with ATI instead of going to an NVidia card? It's been a while since I did any research on cards. Would I need to upgrade my power supply going with this card? My previous one is only rated at 150w. This one is 225w. Overall it looks like a beast of a card. I'll probably have to get rid of my audio card to fit it in there which is not that big of a deal as I only use headphones anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmccoy Posted April 7, 2010 Author Share Posted April 7, 2010 (edited) AJ Thanks again for your help. I've been away from CGArchitect for a while and just ran across your 3DATS Tech Talk site. You have provided a ton of useful info on there that I will plan on using for my next build. On that note... is there any reason to go with the FireGL card you recommended over a higher spec Radeon card at a similar price? example: Radeon HD5770 - $179 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150464 Edited April 7, 2010 by rmccoy added card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Aside from familiarity? No, not really. If you have some heavy scenes in Rhino the FireGL might be a help and it might do better in Revit but the Radeon will be better in Max. Either one will beat the tar out of your current video card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmccoy Posted April 7, 2010 Author Share Posted April 7, 2010 Which card do you think would handle Photoshop better? I mainly use Max and Photoshop so those are the primary concerns. It looks like the Radeon card may be better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 The choice between these will make no difference at all in Photoshop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmccoy Posted April 7, 2010 Author Share Posted April 7, 2010 Awesome.... Thank you so much for your help. Time for me to make the choice between the two and get it ordered. I really do appreciate your help on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 No problem. Don't be a stranger now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmccoy Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 I'll definitely try not to be a stranger. It's been hard to keep motivated since I was laid off almost a year ago. I've been keeping busy with other stuff, not just arch viz. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered the Radeon card. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will work out on my machine. I figured it's the best way to go since I'm a much heavier user of max than the cad packages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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