Track ball, is it the rite choice...

[HEXiT]

im looking to get a track ball to help with navigation round autodesk.
currently i have a pen and tablet setup along with a keyboard and mouse. but would like to be able to fly around my models easier to edit them. instead of stuttering with a mouse/keyboard and tablet.
basically i want fluid fast tracking that just doesn't seem to be there when you use a keyboard to navigate.
if its a good idea, recommend a good trackball for this use im not wanting it for gaming.
im not really bothered about looks but i need usability so a trackball with more than 2 buttons would be a better choice... price? under £150/$220 preferred but the cheaper the better within reason as quality of build is important to me...

 

[ssddx]

fellow cad designer here...

personally i like mouse and keyboard navigation just fine. since cadwork typically uses othographic projection style viewports combined with a few free orbit views i find it more than sufficient.

depending on the program you are using ... there may be better view commands to suit your liking. i havent used autocad 3d in awhile but i believe there was one like 3doctr (or something similar) which was VASTLY superior to the regular orbit command.

...if trying out a new command or experimenting a little doesnt suit your fancy then yes i do know of at least one person who uses a tracball. they use the thumball style which has two or three buttons on the right hand side and the ball where your right thumb would be. i believe it is a logitech product.

personally i find such products to be harder on my hands then a typical mouse but i suppose we all have our own preferences.

as far as cadwork requiring a joystick or trackball... i could only see using one for 3dmax/maya which requires alot more free manipulation.

just some ideas for you.

 

[hang-the-9]

Take a look at some of these https://www.google.com/search?q=3d+mouse&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1R4nT8OgD6-w0AGG6qm1Dw&ved=0CIABELAE&biw=1280&bih=871

Some are just renderings but some are real products. Also the tracking speed and smoothness is greatly dependent on the hardware, video card, ram, CPU. A real pro card like a Quadro or FireGL will do much better with that than a regular video card.

 

[ssddx]

if the hardware is the limiting factor and not just how the interface perepheral reacts to movement. i will agree though that for heavy cad work you will want a decent system. say... i7, 6-8ram

as far as a "real pro card" i've used both and frankly the huge increase in price is NOT worthwhile at all. a 50mb file still feels like a 50mb file when rotating no matter which card you use. on a budget a typical card or sli build can work fine. in an office setting though the pro cards are normally suggested.

 

[hang-the-9]

if the hardware is the limiting factor and not just how the interface perepheral reacts to movement. i will agree though that for heavy cad work you will want a decent system. say... i7, 6-8ram

as far as a "real pro card" i've used both and frankly the huge increase in price is NOT worthwhile at all. a 50mb file still feels like a 50mb file when rotating no matter which card you use. on a budget a typical card or sli build can work fine. in an office setting though the pro cards are normally suggested.

Wish I could find the link to the video, there was a video from nVidia showing the difference between a $100ish Quadro and a $100ish Geforce when moving a model around. The Quadro was smoother at a much higher detail setting, the Geforce actually made the model simpler while rotating it to get good speeds. Quadro was able to rotate while maintaining the full wire frame details. I keep kicking myself that I did not save the video or bookmark it and now I can't find it.

While a very powerful Geforce card can brute force though CAD type work, a Quadro for a true pro setup (instead of a home user playing around or a student) is really needed. Plus many places won't work with a non-certified shop, so you'd need a computer that's "certified" for the work which far as I know means using a pro card in the computers for quality and details.

Geforce drivers are biased towards speed, Quadro drivers towards accuracy and to specific applications. We're basically saying the same thing though. A regular card will do the job, just not as well. Kinda like supercharging a weak engine instead of just getting one designed for more power.

 

[ssddx]

agreed. in an office environment a quadro would be the best choice. as far as performance i agree that is true in most cases in a direct card level to card level comparison (but quadros cost more i believe?) so its hard to compare.

however other factors also come into play. i know for a fact that my computers at home display 3d cad better than the quadros at work due to other factors such as cpu, ram, quality of components. you know how dell likes to use generic components and dell motherboards.

as far as accuracy vs brute force... both would require a certain level of power to display a rendering. the only difference would be in how they render and what type of software/drivers are used which is probably where the "big difference" comes into play. i'm no expert though... just my educated guesses.

---

we are getting off track here.

this discussion is for trackballs not hardware.

OP, any luck in finding what you wanted?

 

[hang-the-9]

Well he was talking about fluid motions though the program, most of that would be the computer rendering power not the type of input device used. It's easier to move around a model with a dedicated controller, but if using a mouse to zoom stutters and jerks around, it's not an issue with the input device but the PC not being able to render fast enough to make this smooth.

Although if the PC used is the one in the sig, seems like it would be plenty fast for smooth motions.

 

[HEXiT]

guys my system is in my sig... there isnt a quadro of firegl card at anywhere near a reasonable price that matches my 5870... i dont know exactly what the differences are between a typical user card like mine and a pro card or a similar shader count. but i imaging they cant be that great.(but any info would be welcome).. i know you get more AA options but i dont use more than x8 anyway as it takes to long to render on final gather.

some very interesting ideas so far. and im liking the look of some of your suggestions. but im a newbie to 3ds max im just looking for something to make navigation easier...

rendering isnt a problem nor is the movement jerky i just wanted something that i could basically attach to the model and use it in a way the if i push forward on the trackball the model would rotate following the motion i just input... like i say its just about user input being fluid and natural. rather than having to click the up arrow multiple times because it moves a limited amount then stops.. its not that its not smooth just the navigation is just to slow... it may just be the way its set up and i havent found out how to adjust it yet... but i still think a trackball would give me a more intuitive feel for navigating a model.

anyways thanx for the advice and input so far. dont be afraid to go off topic as i have learned a few things just by your current posts... im not a stickler for limiting posts to the subject absolutely... if you think a tidbit is of use please feel free to post it...

just for refrence my average file size is around 256mb up to 450mb and movement is still silky smooth... so i think my hardware is ok for now.
http://s259.photobucket.com/albums/hh314/jaymack71/?action=view&current=spacemarine5.jpg my first finished attempt at a 3d scene... things im struggling with are applying uv texture maps correctly when i import into mudbox or using peel for that matter in 3dsmax
thus the reason for the very basic look and textures on my models.

 

[HEXiT]

Best answer selected by HEXiT.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr