Graphics card

[kbalage]

Miguel I don't really get this stability thing, can u explain a bit? For the performance part, here are my specviewpref 7.1.1 results (AthlonXP 2500+@3200+, 1 gig ddr ram, Inno3d GeforceFX 5900XT 400/700 <- not overclocked yet )

FX 5900XT

3dsmax-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 13.90
drv-09 Weighted Geometric Mean = 40.51
dx-08 Weighted Geometric Mean = 46.86
light-06 Weighted Geometric Mean = 13.70
proe-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 13.70
ugs-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 7.458

Fx5900XT @ QuadroFX 3000

3dsmax-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 20.39
drv-09 Weighted Geometric Mean = 142.1
dx-08 Weighted Geometric Mean = 109.2
light-06 Weighted Geometric Mean = 22.34
proe-02 Weighted Geometric Mean = 25.56
ugs-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 9.890

The physical difference between the standard and quadro fx cards seems to be the same as the gef4 series, the gamer cards miss the support of hardware anti-aliased lines. I still say ask some friends to test some of these cards with the softmod before buying anything

[flipside]

yup flipside, it's a very cool graphics board. Very cool Quality and Speed.

I have my Hercules 9800Pro running @Home on almost 410Mhz (380Mhz Std) since Months. You can mod it into a FireGL X2. (well, the Procedure is a little complicatd with Rivatuner though. But it's all software, worked perfectly with my Card and it's 100% the FireGL performance)

Thanks for the reply!

Can you point me in the right direction of where i can find info and the programs to do this?

Can I do anything wrong with these procedures or is it all safe?

[Geddart]

Sure, first you need the original FireGL, then you need Rivatuner.
Maybe you can use this Forum here for Infos and maybe this Thread for further Details. You need to patch your FireGL Files... when asked, the Device ID of your Card (R9800P) is 4e48... There is a list with all device ID's somewhere. As you can see in the Board it seems that with the newest Drivers Maxtreme for Max6 is even possible.

Here's a Thread with different Opinions about professional graphics boards. Here's a serious Workstation graphics board Review too.

Good Luck with the modding... oh and when you're ready, try AtiTool to clock your card the way you need it. (how about a slow and silent Windows 2D Mode? )

[Miguel]

kbalage,

I'm talking about the card stability, does it stalls or become unstable when you are working in max?

Thanks a lot for your comments kbalage, I'm still looking for a friend with a 5900

Miguel

[kbalage]

OK, I see now I can say no, not any stability issues it works great. Sure it's not the original's performance but the price is much more friendly

[Miguel]

This appeared today in tom's hardware:

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040323/index.html

Hope is useful for someone.

Miguel

[Matt_3D]

kbalage,

I'm talking about the card stability, does it stalls or become unstable when you are working in max?

Thanks a lot for your comments kbalage, I'm still looking for a friend with a 5900

Miguel

I'm using a GeforceFX 5900xt and it's a fantastic performing card, stable and it's a great price. I'd say the 5900 would be slightly better still but unfortunantly I don't have a Quadro for comparison. For a gaming card and something to give you a little grunt in Max they're definetly worth looking into if you can't afford thousands for a pro card.

-Matt

[Miguel]

Hey Matt,

Is you card a softquadro?

and... you know guys (and gals of course), I'm starting to have second thoughts about the pro cards, this is going to be risky, but could someone tell me clearly which is te benefit in switching from a games to a pro card?

Thanks for your comments.

[Matt_3D]

My card is standard. I haven't softmodded or hardmodded the card in any way...for that matter I haven't even over clocked it. :P

As for the pro card, they handle OpenGL better than the standard cards. I don't know clearly what the main differences are, but if you're a gamer aswell then you'd probably be best off with a standard FX of Radeon. If you're only using the card for 3D then I'd say look into a FX1100, they seem to be reasonably priced for their performance.

-Matt

[Miguel]

Thanks Matt, and yes I'm looking for a FX1100, seems to be a good choice.

[Miguel]

Wow, alt last I managed to get my hands in a friend's Geforce MX 440, its quite old but when softquadro is applied it runs almost 3 times faster in max, now it is marked as a Quadro 4 580 XGL, so you can turn a 30 buck card into a 270 one, not bad.

And thanks for all your input.

Miguel.

[jujubee]

You may wanna hold off purchasing a new card until the NVidia 6800 is released next month. Plus ATI is sending out their 600mhz flagship on April 26th...

[Miguel]

Thats right jujubee, i just want to see ati's answer to 6800