New to PC building

[gdeluca]

Greetings:
I am looking to build my own for for CAD appliations (not for gaming). I'm looking for a cost-effective solution under $1K (total PC cost). In looking at video cards it seems that workstation cards are much more expensive than desktop cards, despite the very similar hardware specficiations. I understand the difference comes down to "driver support".

Does any have practical experience in comparing the performance between these? I find it very difficult to justify spending $800 on a workstation card that has a similar desktop counterpart for $150.

Are there ways to improve desktop cards for CAD applications?

Any info and experiences would be much appreciated.

Thanks, G.

[swedxza]

I have worked a bit in AutoCAD ;) but on integrated graphics :O yea... i know.... even tried Catia RC10 but they worked fine.... don't think u need a professional GPU like ATi FireGL or nVIDIA quadro think u need a nice dual core (e8400let's say...) and some nice quantity of ram (2 GB+)

[Headfoot]

If you are willing to take a more DIY approach heres a suggestion:

Get a bunch of ram
Get an 8800 GT (9800GT is the same card, different name).

The get this program called RivaTuner. Its normally used for overclocking and fan speed control, but, there is a feature that will make your computer see a Quadro instead. It is not guaranteed to work, I would do some googleing about 8800 GT to Quadro conversions.

Essentially this will change your 8800 GT into a Quadro FX 3700 through software, so you will not have to do anything permanent to your card.

[hdantman]

I love Headfoot's idea. I can't think of anything better, so I'll do some research and pat him on the Head in the interim.

[jflynn]

I work with Cad and Revit and my limited knowledge tells me they use Open Gl?

I would start with looking at the software and seeing what version Open Gl it's using and math your card to it. Guess I'm tryin to say, no need to get a Direct X 10 card if the software isn't using it.

Go to the autodesk website, I know they have Nvidia adds all over the sidebars there and promote "cards desgined for Autodesk applications"

Do some more research.

Side note (probably dumb and obvious) but I worked for a firm that had cards with no DVI output. Using Svideo into an LCD monitor looks like crap with CAD so I had my boss get me a cheapo Nvidia with Digital output and it made my display look so much better. So get DVI output at least.

EDIT: Also, you doing a lot of 3d Stuff?

[Radiator]

Highend DX10 quadro / fireGL cards are faster , than the DX9 highend ones , because the cores they are based on , are simply faster .

[Headfoot]

My ultimate suggestion is to do a Geforce to Quadro conversion through RivaTuner, it's pretty reliable and saves you literally hundreds of dollars.
I would suggest getting a huge ass screen, a 24" at the minimum, or getting multiple, since CAD is one of the screen size dependent applications. :D

[-RK]

The performance boost in these applications isn't worth it.

You could get a top end card like the GTX280 for less than a professional card that will run your program slower. The main advantage of the professional card is that the drivers are tuned for OpenGL instead of DirectX, however if the untuned card is significantly more powerful than the Professional card the tuning won't make a difference.

I'd also be wary about using tweaks as they are often unstable and potentially hazardous to your card. Although I haven't done any research into this particular tweak, I'd say those are bad things for a CAD workstation to have to even think about.

As it is, I don't think that there are many CAD programs that will slow down significantly for even current gen low-midrange cards.

My suggestion is to get a mid-high end single core gaming card (preferably from Nvidia) and leave it at that.


As a side note, I have seen some talk of programs like solidworks going over to DirectX10 in future versions, so it may be a good idea to have one capable of DX10 just in case.