Graphics cards

[i12b007]

Does anyone know of a reputable website where I may compare benchmark tests of the latest graphics cards and read reviews related to SolidWorks? My company has tasked me with finding new graphics cards for our workstations. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[smcadman]

Solidworks certified video cards can be found here:

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

SW06 SP5.0

Flores

 

[i12b007]

Thanks for the insight, I was aware of SolidWorks benchmark testing, but they don't provide formal review. As a result it makes it hard to determine what would be a good card, they all seem good.

 

[SBaugh]

Pick one htat is in the green... then it comes down to preference of Mfg and cost... As for the Quadro type of cards... the higher the model number the higher end the card is.

Its going to vary on how big your assemblies and drawings are going to be very complex and large assemblies get the highest end card you can afford.

Other then that there is no formal benchmarks... so pick on in the green and whaty ou can afford and go.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[Theophilus]

You might also post what sort of workload you anticipate, such as number of parts in an assembly, complexity of typical parts (curvy stuff, helixes, loads of surfaces, etc.)--and people can give direct input on how specific cards they have are performing. Cards are pricey, so there's no point in spending more than you'll need.

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[afb66t9]

Here are a few reviews

http://www.mcadonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=73

http://management.cadalyst.com/cadman/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=356156&pageID=1&sk=&date=

http://www.deskeng.com/Articles/Hardware-Review/The-New-NVIDIA-Quadro-FX-Series-200606211091.html

http://www.mcadonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=243&Itemid=1

 

[StefanHamminga]

What is your timeframe?
I am writing my first article (the first for my own site) about this at the moment, I'm going to benchmark some different workstation hardware.
The hardware I have available:

Graphics cards:
HP / nVidia Quadro FX 1400 (128MB)
PNY / nVidia Quadro FX 3500 (256MB)
and perhaps I'll throw in a gaming card if I can borrow one.

CPUs:
AMD Opteron 175 (will be tested on stock 2.2GHz and a proven stable 2.65GHz)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (will be tested on 2.2GHz, the stock 2.4GHz and a stable 3.4GHz)

Further I will test the influence of using a single hard drive (single WD Raptor 74GB) and three of those in a RAID5 array.
100Mbit lan vs 1000Mbit lan is being considered.

This is just a hobby project, but if you have certain things you would like to see tested I can see what I can do.

Stefan Hamminga
EngIT Solutions
CSWP/Mechanical designer/AI student

 

[i12b007]

Thanks for everyones input, really appreciated. Our assemblies are electronic assemblies, basically chassis' with circuit card assemblies, cable harnesses, etc. inside. They are anywhere between 1000 and 2000 parts with out including the CCA's which are rendered in CircuitWorks.

Does it sound like we would need more than 128Mb of VRAM? Presently, we have 512Mb on Wildcat VP990 Pros, but these cards are 2 1/2 years old and were bought because they were extremely cheap back then. They have never really done a good job.

 

[SBaugh]

I would go with a mid-range ot high-end card.

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[Theophilus]

I use an nVidia Quadro FX 1400 in my "new" machine and an nVidia Quadro FX 500 in my older system. I don't see a great deal of difference between the two, but most of my assemblies stay at or below 500 parts. No screen glitches with either card, very stable systems (graphics cards can cause a huge amount of system instability with SolidWorks). Many parts I design have quite complex geometry, but those assemblies are usually much smaller, too.

With what you're doing, you may want to consider the nVidia Quadro FX 1400 as your baseline ("mid-range") and cards with greater RAM as good candidates (higher-end), like Scott said above.

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

This may help. Note the 3D Aplication Performance section. It appears to use SW2001, but the similar differentials should be seen in newer versions of SW.

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

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