×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Help - Graphics Card
3

Help - Graphics Card

Help - Graphics Card

(OP)
Our illustrious IT department has deployed small profile desktop PC's (DELL Optiplex 280 running WinXP) with an Intel 82915G Express Chipset integrated video card.  The card does support OpenGL, but SW2004 SP4.2 does not recognize it.  On the Tools/Options/Performance window, the "Use Software OpenGL" is checked and greyed-out.

I just downloaded the latest driver, no change.

Has anyone any experience with this video card?  Are there any graphic card functions I can pre-select which will allow SW to recognize the cards openGL functionality.

Your assistance is very much appreciated.

Cheers.



Quote - Every day is painful ... and the last one kills you.

RE: Help - Graphics Card

SolidWorks needs to support your video card, whether it is OpenGL capable or not:

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/videocardtesting.html

In my experience, the #1 cause of SolidWorks crashes has been video card and/or driver issues, so having a supported card with the latest driver is essential.

RE: Help - Graphics Card

You are totally hosed if your motherboard has no slot for a real graphics card.  Check the link PDMAdmin posted for viable cards (I use an nVidia Quadro FX 500 and it works great) and either take a look at your motherboard or check with your IT department to see what they did.

Judging by the "small profile", you might not be able to make SW run.  If not, that's a costly mistake.


Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
Reality is no respecter of good intentions.

RE: Help - Graphics Card

Check the FAQ section for a whole dialog on video cards.  This is not the first time this topic has come up in the last six months....do a search on the forum.

Best Regards,

Heckler

"Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups" John Kenneth Galbraith

RE: Help - Graphics Card

2
The Optiplex 280 has a PCIe slot, so although limited in choice, you will be able to get a SW certified card.

& all the best.

RE: Help - Graphics Card

A word of caution, the latest video card driver is not always the SW supported driver for a certified card.  One of our group updated to the latest Nvidia driver and had problems.  That is when we found that SW was not that far along.

RE: Help - Graphics Card

(OP)
Thanks all, but as Theophilus said ... I'm hosed.  I've tried multiple settings on the card but SW still does not recognize it's OpenGL capability.

Now I just have to convince IT to get a gold certified partners card that fits into the PCIe slot ... and PDMWorks ... and toolbox.

Cheers.

RE: Help - Graphics Card

Quote (PDMAdmin):

SolidWorks needs to support your video card, whether it is OpenGL capable or not:

Why? The problem he is having is the fact he has no video card. It's integrated into the board. SW doesn't support integrated video.


Quote (jrmartin):

Now I just have to convince IT to get a gold certified partners card that fits into the PCIe slot ... and PDMWorks ... and toolbox.

I assume you have a motherboard that supports PCIe? if not you will not get any benefit out of a PCIe video Card.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

www.3dvisiontech.com
www.scottjbaugh.com
FAQ731-376
FAQ559-716 - SW Fora Users

RE: Help - Graphics Card

(OP)
Scott,

I believe you are correct on both points, the video is integrated and according to Dell, a single PCIe slot does exist.

Now I ask everyone ... because I'm electronically challenged ... does a video card exist that is Gold Partnered to SW and fits into a PCIe slot?

TIA

RE: Help - Graphics Card

PNY makes certified NVIDA QUADRO FX card forPCI express

RE: Help - Graphics Card

nVidia Quadro FX1300    $900
nVidia Quadro FX3400    $1800
ATI FireGL V3100    $350
ATI FireGL V3200    $550

NOTE: Above prices are approx & are Canadian Dollars.

There may be more, but these are the only ones I know of. One person I know has recently installed the ATI 3200, but have no feed back from her yet. Will let you know how it works ASAP.

& all the best.

RE: Help - Graphics Card

nVidia Quadro FX 330     $150 AND UP US DOLLARS
              FX 1300    $570 AND UP

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources