No Video Cards are good enough for ADT?!

[Aspiring Visualizer!]

I've heard that most video cards are great for gaming but still can't run ADT very fast? especially when panning, orbiting, zooming etc. Is this true?

 

I've just purchased a very fast computer with an Nvidia Ge Force Fx128 Go5700 card and Exiting the orbit command still takes quite awhile!

 

I'm wondering if there is any card that will exit the orbit command quickly, or is it just a flaw in the program?

 

A 256 card wouldnt make much of a difference from a 128?

 

Thanks for your help!

[Spongebob]

Yes, you are right. Gaming cards are made for just that, gaming. These card are sometimes adequate for CAD, but typically you need something better. An NVIDIA card is fine - especially a 128MB card. I would not recomment an ATI card. Some people think they are fine, but I have had alot of problems with them.

 

What might help you is to turn on the hardware accelleration through your ADT. By default it is off. Go to Options -> System then click the 'Properties' button in the 'Current 3D Graphics Display' area. In the '3D Graphics System Configuration' dialog box toggle the Hardware option under the 'Accelleration' area. This will tell AutoCAD to send all video processes to your video card rather than your computers processor.

 

I hope this helps,

[STRAT]

how do you define fast?

 

i've been using plain old gforce 4 cards in my xeons for well over a year, using ADT3 and 4 and find things like orbiting, panning, zooming etc etc in wire or shade mode, is fine and dandy.

 

perhaps you aint configured correctly. i certainly havent got any complaints.

[Hazdaz]

Yes, you are right. Gaming cards are made for just that, gaming. These card are sometimes adequate for CAD, but typically you need something better. An NVIDIA card is fine - especially a 128MB card. I would not recomment an ATI card. Some people think they are fine, but I have had alot of problems with them.

 

What might help you is to turn on the hardware accelleration through your ADT. By default it is off. Go to Options -> System then click the 'Properties' button in the 'Current 3D Graphics Display' area. In the '3D Graphics System Configuration' dialog box toggle the Hardware option under the 'Accelleration' area. This will tell AutoCAD to send all video processes to your video card rather than your computers processor.

 

I hope this helps,

 

I think the question needs to be asked.

.... what kind of performance increase are you REALLY getting?

 

Because I run the latest Nvidia drivers with my Quadro FX1k card, and run Nvidia's Power draft drivers in AutoCAD (using hwrdware acceletrtion) and there is next to NO difference between that, and running straight software acceleration. Its actually a little worse, cuz I get a slight flashing of the screen every now and then when running Power Draft.

 

... That just leads me to the same conslusion I reached last time I tried running Power draft - I try it every few months thinking I am gonna get a speed increase, and like aways, I get disappointed and end up removing it -that AutoCAD's display coding is very, VERY slow. I can load up a MUCH more complex 3D model in other CAD software and that software hauls, even with just the regular Nvidia drivers.

[Aspiring Visualizer!]

Have you downloaded & installed a better driver? or changed any of the settings within Desktop?

[Hazdaz]

And by "better driver" you are referring to what exactly? Like I said, I am using the latest Nvidia drivers for my Quadro FX1k and downloaded and installed Power Draft the day before. I have tried PD a few times over the years and always end up scrapping it (uninstalling it) cuz it really offers no performance advantage that I can see.

 

By settings, I have messed around with the different options (such as making sure its set to HW acceleration, and messed with the different settings in there).

 

I am far from an AutoCAD n00b, and I have never gotten a decent performance increase on ANY of the systems that I have ever tried with PD. Now if I am supposed to be installing another driver for AutoCAD, then tahts news to me, since on Nvidia''s site the only CAD related driver that I could find was PD.

 

Which driver are you running??

 

By the way, I am not running Desktop - I am running straight AutoCAD2002, however I have tried thsi with AutoCAD2004, and many previous versions, with no real change. Also, I know that in 3DS MAX, the MAXtreme drivers from Nvidia work great.. no such luck with AutoCAD.