SW Graphics on a budget

[Kriegen]

Alright ladies and gentlemen,
Trying to upgrade my home computer for working at home on Solidworks.
Computer Specs: Proc: i7 2.6 GHz
Ram: 6Gb DDR3
Nvidia 9400 GT 1GB

I know that the video card is limiting me much, so looking to buy new card. Can't quite afford a Quadro, so looking at the GeForce GTX cards with SLI capability. If I take cards that have SLI and combine them, can I take two or three mediocre cards together and expect good results? Do they add up or even with them together they will not be capable of improving the graphics much?
Thanks for any help.


Foofire
CSWP

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Unless you are lucky and/or want to play around with software/hardware hacks, you will need an ATI-AMD FirePro or nVidia Quadro card. None of the GeForce cards are approved for SW. Some people swear by them, but most people swear at them.

The best way to improve SW performance is to increase the CPU speed. Do you have the K version of the i7? If so, you should be able to easily overclock the CPU and will notice a significant performance boost.

 

[behindpropellers]

http://www.amazon.com/ATI-FirePro-2DisplayPort-PCI-Express-100-505649/dp/B00653OOPS

AMD V4800.

 

[JMirisola]

What behindpropellers said. You can get certified cards for cheap. They won't handle large assemblies too well, but they'll do just fine for most everything.

Jeff Mirisola
My Blog

 

[AnnaWood]

SolidWorks does not take advantage of SLI or Crossfire. It is noted coded for it.

Get a Quadro or FirePro.

Cheers,



Anna Wood
SW2012 SP4, Windows 7 x64

http://www.renderbay.com

http://www.solidmuse.com

http://www.phxswug.com

 

[Kriegen]

How about this card: NVIDIA Quadro 600 by PNY 1GB DDR3 PCI Express Gen 2 x16 DVI-I DL

I can get a good deal for it and SW website has it on the reccommended list for SW13.


Foofire
CSWP

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

The version of FirePro or Quadro cards depends on the size & complexity of the parts & assemblies you work with. The 600 is an entry level card suitable for simple parts and small assemblies of less than about 500 simple parts.

 

[JMirisola]

What's a good deal? If it's not much different than the ATI FirePro V4900 that behindpropellers linked to, I'd go with the ATI.

Jeff Mirisola
My Blog

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Quadro 600 =

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133354

Firepro V4900 =

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195109&Tpk=v4900

I agree with Jeff. For the extra $15, the V4900 is a much better deal.

 

[Kriegen]

How about $139.96 and free shipping?

http://www.amazon.com/PNY-DisplayPo...cs-VCQ600-PB/dp/B0046HUK3K/ref=cm_rdp_product

Foofire
CSWP

 

[JMirisola]

The extra $30, in my opinion, is worth it for the ATI. A couple of years ago I'd have been all over the nVidia, but ATI has really stepped up their quality. Remember, you get what you pay for.

Jeff Mirisola
My Blog

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

The V4900 is being compared with the 600, but only because of the price point. The actual performance specs fall somewhere between the 600 & 2000.

http://www.fireprographics.com/resources/AMD_V4900_CAD_BenchMarking_V3_0.pdf

 

[JMarv]

I agree with Jeff. IMO, within the past few years, the ATI/AMD drivers have become much more stable.

Joe
SW Premium 2012 SP5.0
Dell T3500 Xeon W3505 2.4Ghz
6.0GB Win7 Pro x64
ATI FirePro V5800