???ATI or NVidia???

[Arooga]

I'm thinking about buying a new PC:

AMD XP2400+
nForce 2 mtrbrd (probably Asus or MSI)
512 DDR

I'm unsure which graphics cards are best suited to my needs. I use programs including:

Archi-CAD
Auto-CAD
Photoshop
Artlantis
Other 3D-Modelling

I am open to both nVidia and ATI chipsets.
I'm looking to spend around US$150

Any Suggestions?

 

[TKS]

Image quality is what you should go for with that list of programs. I'd go with ATI on this one.

For that amount of money the best value is the 9600 Pro. I'd go with that one. It's about 140 bucks on <A HREF="http://pricewatch.com" target="_new">http://pricewatch.com</A>

<font color=blue>I don't have to be careful! I have a gun!</font color=blue>
<font color=green>Homer Simpson</font color=green>

TKS

 

[Arooga]

Hey, thanks for the advice! So is it generally accepted that the image quality is better for ATI than nVidia? Render quality is the most important thing for me. Is this hardware or software dependant?

 

[TKS]

Yes, during higher AA and AF ATI does better than Nvidia. IMO I would go with ATI...the render function is both software and hardware dependent. As I said, I'd still stick with the ATI card here.

<font color=blue>I don't have to be careful! I have a gun!</font color=blue>
<font color=green>Homer Simpson</font color=green>

TKS

 

[coolsquirtle]

wait for the rendering guru to get here and READ THE BUYING GUIDE!!

Proud Owner the Block Heater
120% nVidia Fanboy
PROUD OWNER OF THE GEFORCE FX 5900ULTRA <-- I wish this was me
I'd get a nVidia GeForce FX 5900Ultra... if THEY WOULD CHANGE THAT #()#@ HSF

 

[cleeve]

Well, the software renderer will output file quality REGARDLESS of the video card you use.

But it will look nicer the screen of the viewer if they have better video hardware.

For your price range you should be looking for a Radeon 9600 PRO or GeforceFX 5600 Ultra Revision 2. Both are excellent cards.

------------------
Radeon 9500 w/256 bit memory bus @ 367/310
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3439

 

[Arooga]

Another concern is the time it takes to render images. Am I right in assuming a better graphics card will take less time to render? Rendering in CAD can take hours if the image quality and resolution is set high and esp. if AA is turned on. How do the nVidia 5600 UR2 and ATI 9600Pro compare in terms of rendering speed?

Also, how does the (cheaper) GeForce4 Ti4200 compare to these cards?

 

[cleeve]

The graphics card has absolutely no bearing on render time, which is done exclusively in the CPU.

All a better video card can offer is faster redraws in viewports.

The Geforce4 Ti is an excellent card for the money and is certainly in the same league as the 9600 and 5800 when it comes to professional applications.

------------------
Radeon 9500 w/256 bit memory bus @ 367/310
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3439

 

[TKS]

Cleeve's right on this one...

If you don't have the CPU power, you're going to be a retarded salmon with no fins swimming up stream. Of course, you'll see lotsa strings in this forum regarding the CPU bottleneck that happens when you upgrade to a kick arse card but are still running...say...a PIII. So, if I were you I'd place a bit more CPU power behind the new card if you run anything lower than 1.2GHz. I'd stick with Intel on that too...Hyperthreading rocks.

<font color=blue>I don't have to be careful! I have a gun!</font color=blue>
<font color=green>Homer Simpson</font color=green>

TKS

 

[Arooga]

Hmmm.. At the moment the processor I plan to get is either the Athlon XP2200+ or the 2400+. At a similar price I could get something between a 1.7GHz-2.0Ghz Intel P4. Do you think these are suitably balanced to the discussed video cards? IYO Which would perform better in CAD?

 

[daddywags214]

None of the P4's you mentioned support hyperthreading. The 2400+ would WASTE all of the said CPU's. However, when you get above 2500+ or so, Intel has a distinct advantage (With the 2.4C and above).

<b>nVidia cheated on me so I left her for ATi. ATi's hotter anyway...</b>