Using gaming video card for Solidworks

[MXman]

Is anyone use a high eng gaming video card (ie geforce 7900) to run solidworks? If so how does it compare to the workstation specific cards? I am trying to build a computer on a budget and the video card is killing me.

Thanks

 

[dgowans]

Try running a search on this topic in the Solidworks forum.

Also search for RivaTuner or SoftQuadro there as well. This is a pretty regular topic in that forum and you should find plenty of info, although some of it will be dated.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

In general the geforce cards do not perform well for SW, but you might be able to use forceware to convert it to a "Quadro" card. See

http://www.guru3d.com

Helpful SW websites FAQ559-520
How to get answers to your SW questions FAQ559-1091

 

[GregLocock]

Wow, if the cost of the card is killing you, wait till you buy the software!

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[rob768]

I am using an ATI X800XL. Low price (not a top of the bill card, but quite fast anyway). I use it with femap, which has a nice renderer, and it works very good compared to the NVidia I used before (4200Ti or something). Note that most new generation card use PCI-express interface, and not AGP

But, as Greg Locock mentioned: any standard graphics card can not possibly be the bottleneck of your workstation.

 

[jlcochran1]

Earlier this year I got an ATI FireGL V3100 which is certified for SW2006 (PCI-express slot) on EBay for under 100.00 which does a decent job on a Dell for working at home occasionally. Also supports RealView graphics.

As of today similar cards on EBay closer to 190.00 though. Worth monitoring EBay for awhile, sometimes you can get very good deals.