Heidi

[#1]

My business partner just bought a new CAD station. It is running winxp pro with MDT 6. The system is a Dell 3.2 Hyperthread, 8X AGP, 800 MHz FSB, 1 gig ddr ram. The box was shipped with an NVIDIA Quadro NVS 280. I found out about the order after it was processed, but I managed to convince my partner that his CAD guy needed a better 3D card. I looked at Dell's site and saw the Quadro FX 1000. I told him to buy it. When the new computer arrived, the new Quadro FX 1000 card was in a separate box. There we were with 2 cool cards to do a comparison. We launched the machine, as built with the NVS 280, and loaded a super heavy 3D solid model assembly. The file size was over 60 meg. The NVS preformed well, as shading times were improved from 21 seconds on the old box to 7 seconds on the new one for the same model. 3D orbit also preformed much, much better. There was some skipping and frame loss, but it was extremely better then the previous box. We then removed the NVS card and installed the Quadro FX 1000. Much to my surprise, the card preformed exactly the same! I mean there was absolutely no difference between the cards speed, display and performance! I then went to Nvidia's website and downloaded the latest version of the powerdraft drivers. Installed them, being careful to not load the 2D drivers on install, as I know it causes artifacts and problems in MDT6, and only installed the 3D driver support. Well, the performance was beyond extremely enhanced. The Quadro FX 1000 literally blew the doors off the 280 NVS. The giant assembly might as well not even been there. It spun, shaded and zoomed like it was only a line. I was very impressed to say the least. We then removed the Quadro FX 1000 and reinstalled the NVS 280 to see how it would do with the powerdraft drivers. Well, the card was not supported! The Quadro FX 1000 is well worth the $600.00+ bucks and it is truly is a killer card. The drawback is only one. The powerdraft drivers are not available for MDT7/ACAD 2004. Even if they were, there appears to be no way to tell AutoCAD to load a different HEIDI driver. In ACAD 2002 you can choose your HDI driver, but not in 2004. If you are doing 3D, and want real speed, I highly suggest this card and not migrating to ACAD 2004. The performance loss is exceptional without the powerdraft drivers loaded. -- David Wishengrad President & CTO MillLister, Inc. Software for measuring and stretching multiple 3D solids. Http://Construction3D.com

[#2]

Please see the post in hardware, as I was wrong. You can get the same performance in 2004 with hardware acceleration, opengl8 and disabling v-synch in your quadro's display properties. This was great tip from Mat. -- David Wishengrad President & CTO MillLister, Inc. Software for measuring and stretching multiple 3D solids. Http://Construction3D.com "Dave" wrote in message news:40074577_1@statler... My business partner just bought a new CAD station. It is running winxp pro with MDT 6. The system is a Dell 3.2 Hyperthread, 8X AGP, 800 MHz FSB, 1 gig ddr ram. The box was shipped with an NVIDIA Quadro NVS 280. I found out about the order after it was processed, but I managed to convince my partner that his CAD guy needed a better 3D card. I looked at Dell's site and saw the Quadro FX 1000. I told him to buy it. When the new computer arrived, the new Quadro FX 1000 card was in a separate box. There we were with 2 cool cards to do a comparison. We launched the machine, as built with the NVS 280, and loaded a super heavy 3D solid model assembly. The file size was over 60 meg. The NVS preformed well, as shading times were improved from 21 seconds on the old box to 7 seconds on the new one for the same model. 3D orbit also preformed much, much better. There was some skipping and frame loss, but it was extremely better then the previous box. We then removed the NVS card and installed the Quadro FX 1000. Much to my surprise, the card preformed exactly the same! I mean there was absolutely no difference between the cards speed, display and performance! I then went to Nvidia's website and downloaded the latest version of the powerdraft drivers. Installed them, being careful to not load the 2D drivers on install, as I know it causes artifacts and problems in MDT6, and only installed the 3D driver support. Well, the performance was beyond extremely enhanced. The Quadro FX 1000 literally blew the doors off the 280 NVS. The giant assembly might as well not even been there. It spun, shaded and zoomed like it was only a line. I was very impressed to say the least. We then removed the Quadro FX 1000 and reinstalled the NVS 280 to see how it would do with the powerdraft drivers. Well, the card was not supported! The Quadro FX 1000 is well worth the $600.00+ bucks and it is truly is a killer card. The drawback is only one. The powerdraft drivers are not available for MDT7/ACAD 2004. Even if they were, there appears to be no way to tell AutoCAD to load a different HEIDI driver. In ACAD 2002 you can choose your HDI driver, but not in 2004. If you are doing 3D, and want real speed, I highly suggest this card and not migrating to ACAD 2004. The performance loss is exceptional without the powerdraft drivers loaded. -- David Wishengrad President & CTO MillLister, Inc. Software for measuring and stretching multiple 3D solids. Http://Construction3D.com