geforce v quadro

Hey everyone
I'm going to get a laptop for college next year for architecture. This laptop will by my only PC - so I would like it to handle CAD as well as some light games and stuff. What type of card is better for an all purpose PC that must also handle CAD and 3D modeling?

 

Quadro since the default drivers are optimised for CAD and 3D modelling. If you want to play games on the card download the appropriate Geforce drivers from Laptopvideo2go and uninstall for default Quadro drivers when the gaming session ends.

 

You do not need a very powerful graphics card for CAD, you really need a very powerful processor. If you are creating 3d models, with programs like Rhinocerous, you will need a powerful processor to render yor projects.
Cad plugins such as V-Ray 3ds maxx, penguin and flamingo all use the processor to calculate the complex geometries. The graphics card only shows the picture, and does not help speed up rendering much at all.
I am an architecture student at RPI, and I know first hand about rendering and cpu/gpu usage.
A Quadro will own any geforce card in 3d modelling. geforce cards cannot handle high levels of antialiasing like a Quadro can. Will you see the difference between a quadro and geforce. You will not because you will just be learning, but after you get done with college and you start real big projects with hundreds of thousands of complex geometries, you will want a quadro graphics card.
Stick with a high powered processor and a graphics card like the 8600Gt, so that you can have no lag in rotating your model.

Many will say that Quadro's cannot game. They clearly do not know because they do not own one. My friend has a 7950Gtx in his dell xps 1710, and my quadro fx2500m owns his 7950gtx in gaming. I get around 3 x the fps in games such as crysis, counterstrike and unreal tournament.
The same people also think that Quadro's are the same exact cards as the geforce series. Well clearly they are wrong. My laptop has the option of the 7950Gtx, 7900GTX and the quadro fx2500m. Gamers think that the fx2500m is the same as the 7900GTX, well they are wrong. The gpu's look entirely different and the core on my quadro is much larger than the one on the 7900GTX. The gpu cooler is also much larger since the fx2500m has a tdp of 65 watts whereas the geforce 7900gtx has a 45watt TDP.
So basically Quadro's are different, which is why they are more expensive.
Do not install geforce drivers on your quadro, you can and will cause many stability problems.

I have a ati X1400 in my dell e1505, and it renders pretty damn fast.
I have a Quadro Fx2500M in my Voodoo laptop, and that renders much faster, but thats only becuase I have a AMD dual core server processor in it.

In my experience, and many architects experiences, cad programs will run much better with XP than with Vista.
In my architecture class, everyone uses the RPi laptops which run Vista (the lenovo in my sig)
I have a slower processor in my E1505, but it renders the same files in about 1/30th of the time because it has windows xp. RHinocerous and 3dsmaxx, have known incompatibilities with the Windows Vista operating system, which cause extremely long rendering times. For example, our second semester projects have about 10,000 polylines in them. On the lenovo it takes about 2 hours to render the 3d model. On XP with my E1505, with the slower processor it takes around 4 minutes. With my high powered Voodoo it takes about 90 seconds.

I hope this helps, if you need any more information, feel free to PM me.

If I may ask, what college are you attending?

K-TRON

 

Yeah I heard Nvidia/ATI still have sucky drivers for CAD. At the release, they just didn't even run I believing.

Do these products have a 2008 edition?

 

K-TRON,
You have answered many many questions for me! Thanks so much!
Let me see if I can correctly summarize what you have told me. Please correct me if I misunderstood you.
1) a Quadro card is superior to a GeForce for CAD and other architecture apps, and can also handle games well
2) Processor power is more important than graphics power because of the complex math involved, so a good processor is a good investment
3) Use only Quadro drivers for Quadro cards
4) Run XP instead of vista

As for your question, I am going to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia this fall. I have been asking alot of people about laptops for an architecture program but haven't gotten the clear answers you just provided me, so thanks again.

How does this laptop setup appear to you, as far as an architecture laptop that can also handle some games and everyday tasks as well?

Lenovo T61
- intel core2duo 2.5ghz
-XP pro
-15.4in screen
-Quadro fx750m (256mb)
-3gb ram
-about $1600

 

Yes, you understood all of my points

That looks like a pretty nice laptop to me.

I looked at Drexel, but I never sent an application there. Its a good school, architecture is a lot of hands on work, so try and stay ontop of things, so you do not have pull many all-nighters.

One other thing you should add.
When working in the architecture studio it gets pretty loud, so I would recommend getting a good pair of comfortable headphones.
I bought the Sennheiser Hd280 pro headphones, and they have a passive 32db noise attenuation. It really helps block out distractions and allows you to get more work done faster. They are also good if you have an annoying roomate. Stay away from ear buds, as you will go deaf listening to them for extended periods of times.
I dont know if your a music guy, but its just a suggestion.

K-TRON