Video cards and Civil 3D 2010

[mdriver1]

I have a few questions regarding certified graphics cards for AutoCAD 2010.
I have noticed that the certified list for Vista 64 bit NVIDIA cards lean towards the FX and Quadro models.
Any care to take a stab as to why?

I am in the market to upgrade to a new video card and do like NVIDIA but will take other vendor users opinions and really do not want to sift through the entire list.

Here's what I have:
Vista 64 bit SP2
Civil 3D 2010 SP1
Intel DQ37JO board with PCIe slot
DDR2 800 Mhz memory
Dual Monitors

Here's what I need:
Keep the price tag under $500
Be compatible with my motherboard of course.

May be a stupid question here but Will the cards with DDR3 memory work on motherboards utilizing DDR2 technology?
I would have to think that a cards memory is irrelevant to the memory on the board itself but not sure.

Thanks,
Mark Driver

[JeffPaulsen]

You didn't mention what type of work you do in AutoCAD. Do you do a lot of 3D work? Do you use a conceptual or realistic visual style often? Do you do renderings or animations?

If the answer to all these is no you could use the onboard video card. OK well that was an exaggeration but you could use almost anything if all you do is 2D even a gaming card (GeForce) for under $200. If you do 3D I have heard that it best to stick with workstation class (Quadro) cards. For $500 you'll be looking at an FX1700 or 1800.

Maybe someone here has experience doing 3D with a gaming card and can recommend a specific one that works well. Find out what driver they are using and be sure to use the same one.

[Sinc]

The type of memory isn't important. The important part is the amount of memory (more is better), and that you can only get a PCIe graphics card, and not one of the newer/faster PCIe2 cards.

With our older XP systems, we typically used Quadro cards. But my Vista 64 machine has a PCIe2 slot containing a GeForce 9600GT (with 1GB of DDR3). So far, I haven't had any need for anything fancier. I'm not sure what the difference would be for a PCIe card, though.

-- Sinc
http://www.ejsurveying.com
http://www.quuxsoft.com

[mdriver1]

Jeff,
The answer is no to your questions. Mainly survey plats and typical civil design (utilities, corridors, gradings, etc.).
I have a 8800GT 512mb but it's not certified (nor supported? not sure as my printed list is not handy).

I just wondered who may be using a actual certfied card versus non certified and the differences, if any?

I didn't think card memory was important but thought I'd ask. Yeah I'm stll on PCIe for the moment.

Best Buy has a 9600GT 512mb PCIe but again it's not certified but is a supported card for 2010.

Oh, for those I have asked regarding windows installer issues, I have, through discussions and research, concluded that the installer has to be corrupt. Tried the installer cleanup utility and it wouldn't even run. Starting over! Bad part is the re-activation process.

Thanks,
Mark Driver

[JeffPaulsen]

You are safer with a certified card and driver. Meaning you will have less chance of having issues. Just because it is not certified does not mean it won't work. My laptop, for instance, has a Quadro mobile card that is supported but not certified and it works fine. I would, however, stay away from non-supported cards.

[Anonymous]

Mark:

As you know, we do about the same type of work. For some reason or another,
I have never had a CERTIFIED Autodesk card. (At least when I checked it.) It
was not intention, but maybe they were either too old or too new. As far
as I know, no problems.

Bill

Civil 3D 2010

Intel i7 965 Extreme Edition 3.20 GHz

Gigabyte MB
Corsair Dominator 12 Gb Ram
Raid drives (2)
Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT
Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT
Using Windows 7 x 64 Ultimate Release Candidate


wrote in message news:6245795@discussion.autodesk.com...
Jeff,
The answer is no to your questions. Mainly survey plats and typical civil
design (utilities, corridors, gradings, etc.).
I have a 8800GT 512mb but it's not certified (nor supported? not sure as my
printed list is not handy).

I just wondered who may be using a actual certfied card versus non certified
and the differences, if any?

I didn't think card memory was important but thought I'd ask. Yeah I'm stll
on PCIe for the moment.

Best Buy has a 9600GT 512mb PCIe but again it's not certified but is a
supported card for 2010.

Oh, for those I have asked regarding windows installer issues, I have,
through discussions and research, concluded that the installer has to be
corrupt. Tried the installer cleanup utility and it wouldn't even run.
Starting over! Bad part is the re-activation process.

Thanks,
Mark Driver

[Anonymous]

Mark -

There is a sale for Quadro class cards if you are an subscriber till the
end of the year...just an FYI...

Matthew Anderson, PE CFM



mdriver1 wrote:
> Jeff,
> The answer is no to your questions. Mainly survey plats and typical civil design (utilities, corridors, gradings, etc.).
> I have a 8800GT 512mb but it's not certified (nor supported? not sure as my printed list is not handy).
>
> I just wondered who may be using a actual certfied card versus non certified and the differences, if any?
>
> I didn't think card memory was important but thought I'd ask. Yeah I'm stll on PCIe for the moment.
>
> Best Buy has a 9600GT 512mb PCIe but again it's not certified but is a supported card for 2010.
>
> Oh, for those I have asked regarding windows installer issues, I have, through discussions and research, concluded that the installer has to be corrupt. Tried the installer cleanup utility and it wouldn't even run. Starting over! Bad part is the re-activation process.
>
> Thanks,
> Mark Driver
>

[JeffPaulsen]

http://offers.autodesk.com/9/130219/email/cross_industry.php

[C3D_RickGraham]

I wonder if they have one that will fit my company's Dell notebook? 🙂

Rick

[mdriver1]

Thanks for the information everyone. My card seems fine but isn't a certified card. It's a 8800 GT not a 8800GTS, listed as supported.

Thanks for the link to the Quadro's. Nice to save 50%. I will look into it.

Mark Driver