Video card question?

#1

Can someone help me understand how the Quadro FX 3000 card can display C4 particle previews in realtime, but the GeForce FX 5900 XT, having higher memory bandwidth, cannot.
Is it because the Quadro has a higher memory interface? I know the Quadro’s are designed for rendering and design work, but shouldn’t higher GPU and RAM speeds overcome this? Just curious.

#2

The Geforce will also deliver good results. The main difference between Geforce and Quadro cards is the architecture of the driver. The Quadro drivers are optimized and certified for applications like CAD, Design, 3D…
Most of the particles will play near realtime with Geforce card. The Quadro cards also support features like Open GL shadows and reflections in Combustion. I don’t know if a Geforce card can do the same.

#3

So, will a Quadro FX 1400 do an adequate job? I would like to have 256MB on the card, but if it means saving like $400-$600 bucks, I’ll go with the FX 1400. Also, would a GeForce 6800 (x8 AGP) be fast enough to do realtime particle previews?

#4

I would suggest you to stick with the QuadroFX 1400. I have the QuadroFX3400, but I do a lot of 3D work - that was the only reason why I invested some more money. Buying a Quadro card is also a good idea because you will probably use some other applications which support the Quadro cards. Have a look a the system requirements of 3D software or compositing software. The quadro series is listed there by 95%. The FX1400 is a good midrange solution from video editing, compositing and mid level 3D work.

#5

One of the reasons that the Quadro FX is a better choice is because it is the card that Autodesk uses to develop Combustion. I have the the Quadro fx 3000 and it works great with particles but not always real time(depending on the amount of emiters and particles). Combustion will always need caching if you are working on higer end shots.

#6

So basically will a Quadro FX 1400 be able to play the particles in the PREVIEW window in realtime? I’m still on the fence about this since I compared this card to my GeForce FX 5900XT, and actually the 5900XT can process more texels and has a slightly higher fill rate. But of course, the Quadro’s are built differently.

#7

Realtime in the small preview window is even possible with a Geforce 4 card. More interesting is playback in combustions viewport and jsq1 is right, opengl extensions like shadows are developed with nvidia cards. Even that the Geforce might proccess more texels, the drivers of a Quadro Card are optimized for combustion. There are custom OpenGL settings in the driver menu. With Geforce cards it might work, but I have experienced some display errors.
Look around in this forum, as I remember there are some posts about driver and display errors.

#8

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