Video Card Help

[fielderdesign]

I am in the process of purchasing a new Dell XPS. None of the new graphics cards are listed on Autodesk's compatibility list. The one that I am looking at is the NVidia SLI Dual GeForce 9800 GT with 1GB GDDR3. I talked to one of my IT guys and he said that sometimes the Architecture of the Video graphics card are not compatibile. I have looked on NVidia's web site and can not find these spec's for this card. Does anyone know if it will work?

[cad]

Yes it will work but you may have several crashes as a result. There is a hack in CPU magazine that you can try to trick a computer into thinking it has a Quadro instead of a GeForce. Allegedly the architecture is very similiar, I will look for the article tonight.

[RibbonHater]

I have NVidia SLI Dual GeForce 9800 GT and have had some problems. however, I have sent my machine specs and crash reports to autodesk support and they have mentioned nothing about the video cards. since i ahve ahd 2010 installed i hve not had any issues (knock on wood)...

[ScottL-88]

I would stay away from Dell computer for AutoCAD. We have bought 4 at our office in the last year and they all have had problems. 2 of them still don't have working DVD players even after Dell sent someone out to replace them. My 3 year old computer that I built works better then any of them. I would look at an HP workstation that is built for AutoCAD.

ScottL

[Schmit01]

As far as I know Autocad isnt configered to run on SLI or Cross fire and so only uses one of the graphics cards. Essentialy in your case only 512mb. So if you planning on using it for gaming also then yes get the SLI if not you wasting your money. A mate of mine has the XPS with the SLI and has no issues runng AutoCad on it.

As for the cards not being listed. There are a number of gaming cards out there that are not listed and run perefecly. I have a 8800GT 512MB running on Direct 3D with 2 22" screens and I dont have any problems when doing 25MB building models.

[RibbonHater]

You can toggle SLI mode off and on. In SLI mode you can only use 1 monitor however if you enable SLI you still have the use of both cards and can run up to 4 monitors. You can toggle SLI on and off in the software and still leave the jumper intact. Edited by: GolfBum on Apr 9, 2009 11:18 AM

[RibbonHater]

Here is a link to softmod the GeForce to a Quadro




http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=539&pgno=1

[fielderdesign]

> You can toggle SLI mode off and on. In SLI mode you can only use 1 monitor however if you enable SLI you still have the use of both cards and can run up to 4 monitors.

Did you mean that when it is off, I can only run one monitor?

For everyone who is responding to this thread, thank you very much. Here is some more info for those answering. I am using this to teach people who want to know how to "coordinate drawings" amongst other trades. I am a pipefitter / plumber so of course, usually have detailed equipment that takes up massive amounts of memory. I will be using a projector to show what is on my screen to the rest of the class. I will be using different cad systems, more than likely not at the same time. These systems are Cad-Mech, Autodesk MEP and Pipeworks. Cad-Mech and Pipeworks are both AutoCAD add-ons. I will also be using Power Point, Snag-it, and Navisworks (hopefully the full blown version that will include collision detector). it just depends on how much I can get the contractors to donate. These are the three main cad systems that I will running. I am just wanting something that can be used in low light (XPS's backlit keyboard) HP does not offer anything that has a backlit keyboard. The contractor that I work for uses all Dell's for the 50+ detailers / project coordinators / project engineers. No more problems with Dell than when we had HP's. I had both desktops and laptops.

[fielderdesign]

Now did you fool the Autodesk into thinking that it is a Quadro, or does ACAD 2010 "somewhat" support the SLI Dual GeForce 9800 GT? Edited by: fielderdesign@verizon.net on Apr 9, 2009 6:32 PM

[fielderdesign]

when you softmod the GeForce into a Quadro, does it still work as a GeForce when used on other software?

[RibbonHater]

No when SLI is enabled you can only use one monitor