Graphics Card

[dsweatt251]

I just bought a new Dell Inspiron desktop with windows 7, intel i5, 1 TB HD, and 8GB ram and stock intel 5000 graphics card. When i am running regular 2D cad it does great but as soon as i switch to 3D my graphics card crashes. I'm currently in school  for drafting & design and plan on working in the more advanced programs of CAD so I am looking to upgrade my Gaphics card and i have small budget so i want a good bang for my buck. I was looking at the Nvidia Quadro 600 (about $180) and was hoping if anyone had any opinions on this card? or suggestions for others?

Thanks

[OMCUSNR]

You don't need a Quadro type card.

Try something like this (if you're on a tight budget):  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121469   also, take a look at myh sig - that card was for me a good "bang for the buck" compromise.

It's a bit on the cheap side, but what you want is a good "gamer" card with at least 1 gig of ram (more if you intend on doing heavy rendering), that will support 2 monitors.  That one looks like it has ports for DVI, HDMI & std video.  I'm not sure you can hook up all three but you might.  Note also that it'll take up the space of 2 ports on the back of the box.

I have found that Nvidia drivers tend to be more stable with adsk products and drivers are easy to upgrade.  

The way adsk is going, you'll need two monitors to really get any production work done.  One for the drawing area and one for all the menus and dialog boxes.

Good luck,

Reid 

[dsweatt251]

I have researched the asus card you listed and its now all down to the asus or the nvidia. the asus does state it does stay cooler than most cards which is something i am also looking for. As for your trials with card, how did it hold up for you? and and how well does it handle 3D?

[nathan.rail]

I suggest you buy a GTX 550 TI that have with Fermi Graphics processor, that is good for rendering and 3D modelling applications

[Sinc]

I say the GTX 560 offers better price/performance.  If you can still manage to find a GTX 465, it's almost as good, at quite a bit lower price.