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    Best Video Card for an Architect.

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by ggoryn, Jul 24, 2008.

  1. ggoryn

    ggoryn Notebook Consultant

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    256MB Nvidia Quadro FX 570 - T61p
    256MB Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT - XPS1530
    512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT - HPdv9700

    Basics:
    2.4GHz,
    2-4 Gb Ram,
    15.4" WSXGA+ TFT or WUXGA
     
    ggoryn, Jul 24, 2008
    #1
  2. Nirvana

    Nirvana Notebook Prophet

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    I'll say 9600gt, since it's the fastest.
     
    Nirvana, Jul 24, 2008
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  3. Johnny T

    Johnny T Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    But he is not playing games, so the FX570 will be the best card for you purposes.
     
    Johnny T, Jul 24, 2008
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  4. NAS Ghost

    NAS Ghost Notebook Deity

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    Well of those three, the FX 570 is about equal to the 8600GT excepts its for stuff like modeling and CAD, but the question is, since the 9600GT is faster than the 8600GT, can it be >= FX 570? I would think its at least close in those types of applications.
     
    NAS Ghost, Jul 24, 2008
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  5. Ttime20

    Ttime20 Notebook Deity

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    Really the 9600 GT in the HP is about the same as the 8600 GT in the Dell. The 512 mb memory really makes no difference since it is only 128-bit and the HP one only uses GDDR2 but the Dell uses GDDR3. But anyways if your really not going to be gaming you should probably get the quadro.
     
    Ttime20, Jul 24, 2008
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  6. ggoryn

    ggoryn Notebook Consultant

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    No gaming at all. Autocad, 3dMax and Photoshop.

    Does the Quadro on the T61p use GDDR3?
     
    ggoryn, Jul 24, 2008
    #6
  7. Johnny T

    Johnny T Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Johnny T, Jul 24, 2008
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  8. ggoryn

    ggoryn Notebook Consultant

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    THANKS TO EVERYONE, THIS WAS REALLY FAST.

    Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2)1
    Genuine Windows Vista Business downgrade to Windows XP Professional12
    15.4 WSXGA+ TFT Matte 1680×1050
    2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)8
    160GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
    DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim5
    NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M (256MB Open GL)
    9 cell Li-Ion Battery60

    Maybe 3-4Gb.
     
    ggoryn, Jul 24, 2008
    #8
  9. sirmetman

    sirmetman Notebook Virtuoso

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    Quadro is optimized for OpenGL, Geforce is optimized for DirectX. It used to be that the type of apps you described were all OpenGL while games were DirectX, but now it looks like all the art/arch/eng apps like you are using are getting DX render modes. I wouldn't be so fast to jump to conclusions on this one any more. While Quadro used to be the certain winner in your situation, I'd want to see benchmarks and compatability reports before I made a decision.
     
    sirmetman, Jul 24, 2008
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  10. chesieofdarock

    chesieofdarock Notebook Deity

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    its not the same at all. the dell card is one generation older and the 9600gt is equal to an 8700gt. the 9650gs or gt or whatever is equal to an 8600gt so the hp's card is not even close to the same as the dells.
     
    chesieofdarock, Jul 24, 2008
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  11. Johnny T

    Johnny T Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    9500GS = die shrink of 8600GT

    9650 GS = die shrink of 8700GT
     
    Johnny T, Jul 24, 2008
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  12. Ttime20

    Ttime20 Notebook Deity

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    The 9600m GT with GDDR3 is equal to an 8700m GT. However, the HP models only come with GDDR2, making them slower than 9600m GT's with GDDR3.
     
    Ttime20, Jul 24, 2008
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  13. chesieofdarock

    chesieofdarock Notebook Deity

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    where does it say that its the ddr2 version? just curious
     
    chesieofdarock, Jul 24, 2008
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  14. Ttime20

    Ttime20 Notebook Deity

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    I asked HP about it because I was curious and a few more times just to confirm. They said they have the GDDR2 versions in both the dv5t and dv7t.
     
    Ttime20, Jul 24, 2008
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  15. the_flying_shoe

    the_flying_shoe Notebook Evangelist

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    I've read in other threads that it's GDDR2 as well, but I don't quite remember where. I think you should be able to find them in some of the basic threads that compare the 9600 to another, similar video card. Ma 2 cents... eh, kinda cliche.
     
    the_flying_shoe, Jul 25, 2008
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  16. carthikv12

    carthikv12 Notebook Evangelist

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    yea for architect - QUADRO FX!!!!!
     
    carthikv12, Jul 25, 2008
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  17. Blemish

    Blemish Notebook Consultant

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    I'd say go for the strongest GPU if price isnt a huge concern. I've found that the quadro and geforce mobile series behave roughly similar whether gaming or using applications such as CAD. The strongest GPU will simply perform best.

    I dont know how it is with desktop quadro cards, but I suspect that mobile quadro cards are not altered drastically from their geforce counterparts, while maybe desktop quadro cards have an entirely different design (?).

    However, out of these cards I'd definately go for the Nvidia Quadro FX 570 if it were me. Thats also taking into consideration that you indicated that card is in a thinkpad, which I had very good experiences with. (then again , I also have good experiences with HP)
     
    Blemish, Jul 25, 2008
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  18. ggoryn

    ggoryn Notebook Consultant

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    And in this choice of cards:
    NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M
    NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M

    the FX, right?
     
    ggoryn, Jul 25, 2008
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  19. sirmetman

    sirmetman Notebook Virtuoso

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    That one for sure. 570M over 140M
     
    sirmetman, Jul 25, 2008
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  20. pogitz

    pogitz Notebook Consultant

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    hmmm... im also an architect, and ive been using CAD and photoshop with my 8600M GT ddr2 on my C90s. ( FYI : i dont have any problems running these apps )

    However, from what i have read from forums and some research, if for example they are equivalent cards ( geforce and quadro equivalent ), it will then be a matter of choosing opengl vs. directx. AutoCad can run in directx mode, but i think is optimized for opengl. 3ds max is directx optimized, and Adobe photoshop seems to be dependent on the CPU. So as someone said, it may be wise to just go for the STRONGEST card.
     
    pogitz, Jul 25, 2008
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  21. Blemish

    Blemish Notebook Consultant

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    Yes, check notebookcheck.com to see how they benchmark and how they are "ranked". Very nice site to give you an impression of how powerful GPU's are compared to eachother.
     
    Blemish, Jul 25, 2008
    #21