Cadalyst - October 2007 - (Page 24)

cadlabsreview on the FX 4600. Users with large and/or complex models will likely see performance benefits relating to the amount of graphics memory available, depending upon their design application and system. The FX 4600 carries an estimated street price of $1,200 and a threeyear warranty. Using the latest drivers available from the graphic card vendor’s Web site often produces the best performance. NVIDIA regularly updates its primary OS-level drivers and the special-purpose drivers such as PowerDraft and MAXtreme. Quadro FX 5600 NVIDIA Although 408.486.2000 the NVIDIA www.nvidia.com Quadro FX Price: $2,500 5600 has been on the market for a while, this review represents Cadalyst’s first opportunity to get its hands on one for testing and evaluation. The FX 5600 is a large card in every way. It boasts 1.5 GB of onboard DDR3 memory, making it good for users whose work involves large, complex models. The FX 5600 Viper ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT Although uncertified for AutoCAD and Autodesk 3ds Max, that doesn’t prevent its use anyway. By Ron LaFon T he Viper ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT is one of Diamond Multimedia’s newest offerings. It’s available in two models that differ in the amount of onboard RAM. Cadalyst looked at the model with 1 GB of GDDR4 memory; a version with 512 MB of GDDR4 memory also is available. The Viper ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT is considered a consumer-level graphics Viper ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT Diamond Multimedia 818.534.1414 www.diamondmm.com Price: $429.99 card, without the certifications, design application–specific optimizations, and accelerated drivers for such applications as AutoCAD and Autodesk 3ds Max. That certainly doesn’t stop it from being used by users for such applications, but it does explain why it’s included in a sidebar rather than in the main body of this review. Diamond’s Viper ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT is optimized for Windows Vista with support for both DirectX 9 and 10. In addition to being Vista ready, this graphics card also runs under Windows 2000 and Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed, so it can be used in a broad range of systems. Recommendations include a system based on an AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium 4 microprocessor with at least 512 MB of system memory, although 1 GB of system memor is recommended for the best performance. You’ll need an optical drive to install the software and drivers and a 750-W or better power supply with two 2 x 3 pin PCIe power connectors. For optimal performance, one 2 x 3 pin and one 2 x 4 pin PCIe power connectors are recommended. Based on a R600 ASIC with a core clock speed of 743 MHz, the Viper ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT has a 512-bit memory interface with memory operating at 1,100 MHz. Connectors include two dual-link DVI plus HDTV-out with VIVO (HDMI support, with multichannel 5.1 surround 24 October 2007 | cadalyst | www.cadalyst.com http://www.cvis.com/go/c67 http://www.cvis.com/go/c67 http://www.nvidia.com http://www.diamondmm.com http://www.cvis.com/go/c67 http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - October 2007

Contents Editor's Window Cad Central Tech Trends: First-Hand Architecture in Second Life Rev It Up — Graphics Cards Pack Power for Today’s Hottest Designs TurboCAD Pro 14 — 3D Modeling Software SimEnterprise R2 — Design Simulation Software CADopia 6.2 SP3 Professional Edition — 2D and 3D Modeling Software Cad Manager: Programming Resources for CAD Managers MCAD Modeling: Customer Service Horror Stories PLM Strategies: Manufacturing Across Time Zones AEC in Focus: Digital-Asset Management in AEC/O Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Cadfidential

Cadalyst - October 2007

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