Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[johnar]

 Hi there,
 My graphics card has died, and i'm out to get another one.
 Cant afford new at the moment, but have found 2, second hand in good working condition, and affordable for me right now.
 Was hopeing that if anyone here has used either of these cards, with anim8or, if they could please post any thoughts/experience with them.
 One is a Nvidia Quadro FX3400, and the other is a ATI FireGL V3350.

 I've looked on line for specs and reviews, and see that the nvidia Quadro is the more 'grunty', and am leaning towards that. (also coz its nvidia).
 Whats stopping me jumping in there ios that i've read the ATI FireGL V3350 was designed for 3D graphics applications, (mentions 3D studio max), rather than gaming.
 I know they're both quite old cards, and both only OpenGl 2.0.
 Any thoughts appreciated, especially if you've owned/used either of the 2.
 Thanks.
 My PC is a Compaq pressario SR5620AN Desktop.

[$imon]

Hey Johnar,

I'm sorry I'm not an expert on these matters.. But I thought I'd give you my two cents..

I don't know what your budget is for a new card, but it seems to me that buying an 8+ year old second-hand card might not be the most reliable option. When I needed a new card for my older computer (similar, maybe slightly higher specs than yours, but now about 7-8 years old) I got the (semi)cheapest new graphics card I could find that fit the slot on my computer (Geforce GT 610) for about 30 euros. Everything runs perfectly smooth, including 1080p movies, most games that I do (I'm not a gamer ) and never have a glitch in 3d.

I think getting a new card would be more reliable (+ warrenties) and more adjusted to everyday tasks right now than an old card that was more high-spec back then. I would just look at low-end new cards ( http://goo.gl/z8xwlE ) But that is just my experience... I'm sure someone below can give you a more expert opinion Good luck!

[kreator]

I`d go with the Nvidia Quadro rather than the ATI

[johnar]

 Thanks for your input guys.
kreator yip, i'm with you on that. cheers.

 $imon Thanks for your thoughts. I've bought software from newegg in the past. Got a cousin in america. Got some good deals. pricewise.
 I'm sticking local with this, (NZ) and looking through www.trademe.co.nz.
 I'll save up for a new card, as suggested. Looks like i'll be good with about 60 to 100 nz dollars.
 
 BUT, for now. i bought both cards, the quadro and the ATI, for 10 dollars each.
Cheap enough for now, will be here in 2 days, and hopefully will see me through till i can go new.
 Man, the onboard graphics in this Dell are so slow.....lol. Cant wait to get another graphics card running
 Always a learning process here. Am running windows7 32bit, but have just discovered my PC is capable of running 64bit. So thats good to know if required....
 Thanks again guys. Will repost here with result when all is good again.
 
 

[johnar]

 Just wanted to up date:
 Xmas post is slow and cards haven't arrived yet, but.... i've bought a quadro 410.


http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro-410-graphics-card.html#pdpContent=2

 Woohoo. Much more modern than the quadro 3400.
http://www.gpureview.com/Quadro-FX-3400-card-199.html
 Amazing difference in power requirements.  FX3400 = 101watts.  Quadro 410 =38watts.
 So, think i'll upgrade to 64bit windows 7, and just wait on the 410.
...will be the flashest setup i've ever had...

[cooldude234]

Just curious, is your electronics taxed hard over there johnar?

[johnar]

Just curious, is your electronics taxed hard over there johnar?

  Not really, especially compared to some of the things over here that are taxed heavilly. (too numerous to list right now. lol)

 But electronics?, no, not so bad.
A lot cheaper now than 'not so long ago'

[johnar]

My quadro410 arrived today. I've put it in and updated to what i thought were the latest drivers.
 However, in the device manager, i see the Device description is Nvidia NVS 300. So, maybe i've got the wrong drivers, and will see if i can find anything else.
 (all running well for now tho)

 Downloaded here:
http://www.driverscape.com/download/nvidia-quadro-410
 Driver version is showing as 9.18.13.529, so not sure exactly whats going on here, as not quite the version number i was expecting.
 I'm running Windows 7 home basic 32bit.
 Tried going 64bit, but only have 2GB installed memory, and have read that 64bit isn't really necessary unless i'm running a minimum of 4gb ram.
 Also had problems with some of my older softwarwe when running 64bit, so have decided 32 is good.

 The drivers i've installed are dated 7/25/2012, which are quite recent really. Maybe i can't do any better?
 My PC is Compaq Presario, system model FK915AA-ABG SR5620AN.
 Intel Celeron E1200 @ 1.60GHZ (2 CPUs)

 Its defineately a quadro410 graphics card, not a NVS300 ? Any help here with which drivers i should install would be appreciated, as i'm not really sure......

EDIT: Just found something here. http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/80140/en-us
 2014.....will try this as soon as i update my internet data

EDIT again: DONE!
 Had the wrong drivers. The last link had the right ones.
 There ya go. Should've gone straight to Nvidia website and stayed there. (don't remember how i ended up with the wrong ones now, but oh well, more carefull next time)
 The quadro is quiet, which is great. I ran the Fire Pro for about 10 minutes, the fan was noisey. But it wasn't a new card. The quadro 3400 i never tried. New the 410 was coming, and didn't want to risk/bother fitting and installing when the other was only a couple of days away.
 The 3400 is a really big card. And can suck over 100w. In its day it was probably a good one. (and $1700 new, i might add)
 But the quadro 410 is a third of the size, with (more than) double the performance.
 Hopefully she'll last a while.
 So, All is good.