Recommendation, which card?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mg
  • Start date Start date
M

mg

I'm ordering a Dell 8300 for a friend, as a return favor.

He uses Autocad for architecture, house plans and landscaping.

The 8300 comes with the
128MB DDR NVIDIA GEFORCE FX 5200

and for $140 upgrade
128MB DDR ATI RADEON™ 9800 Pro

is it worth the $140, he uses the computer for nothing else besides
drafting. house plans and landscaping.

thanks
 
mg said:
I'm ordering a Dell 8300 for a friend, as a return favor.

He uses Autocad for architecture, house plans and landscaping.

The 8300 comes with the
128MB DDR NVIDIA GEFORCE FX 5200

and for $140 upgrade
128MB DDR ATI RADEONT 9800 Pro

is it worth the $140, he uses the computer for nothing else besides
drafting. house plans and landscaping.

thanks
Click to expand...
Depends somewhat on whether he uses AutoCAD in 3D or 2D mode. I suspect that
he does at least some 3D to show customers what things look like, so I would
get a decent card. There is a huge difference in speed (even for 2D) between
the 2 cards. AutoCAD uses OpenGL for 3D.

I don't know where some people get the idea that only games need fast video
cards. Back in the old days, there were video cards specifically made for
AutoCAD that were 3-4 times as expensive as consumer cards.

I would be very careful in selecting a monitor. More AutoCAD users like
Trinitron monitors and not sure how a LCD would do. AutoCAD uses lots of
very fine lines to render drawings. Check out which monitor he has now, or
skip the monitor and let him buy one.
 
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