Graphic Cards + Configurations that Work with OpenGL / HWACC

[christopher.zoog51272]

Please post all working configurations in this thread.

In order to qualify as "working", the card:

1. Must support OpenGL mode in revit 6.0 or 6.1 (open GL turned "on")
2. Must have hardware acceleration set to full in the display control panel
3. Must not slowdown revit as a result of 1 and 2 :P

Please post graphics card model and driver, as well as much information about the PC as possible, (eg CPU, Ram, stc)

[christopher.zoog51272]

Ok, I'll start. Thus far we have had NO problems with graphic performance slowdowns on any of our workstations running revit 6.0 or 6.1 on both ATI and nvida cards.

I'll start with my workstation and I'll add our others at the end of the day.


The configuration works, (very well I might add)

Nvida Quadro FX 1000 128mb, driver version 6.14.01.4371, Custum openGL Applications Setting: 3D Studio Max, dual 21" monitors

Dell Precision 650
Dual Xeon 2.66 (512k level 2 cache)
2 gigs DDR ECC Ram (266 MHz)
Intel E7505 Chipset, 533 MHz FSB
AGP 8x

[Scott D Davis]

HP Compaq D530 CMT
Single P4 2.8 Ghz
1 Gig Ram
Nvidia Quadro NVS

[JamesVan]

Laptops:
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500

Workstations:
NVIDIA QUADRO FX 500

So far, so good.

[PeterJ]

Laptop:

ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 (running 6 and 6.1)

Desktop:

Matrox Parhelia 128MB (running 6.0 only - will update when 6.1 installed)

[Henry D]

I posted this in the other thread, but I'll repost it here so all the info on systems is together:

P4 3.2 Ghz
1 GB Ram,
nVidia Geforce4 Ti 4200,
Windows XP,
Open GL enabled
hardware acceleration set to Full.

I don't notice any slow down from 6.0 to 6.1, in fact when I looked at my settings I noticed I hadn't enabled Open Gl previously and it's definitely faster now - I'm really happy with this speed.

[mlgatzke]

Pardon me Chris,

but I think some people here are missing the point.

If these postings are to be trusted we'll need more information for allot of these (from James Van down). Only stating video cards isn't the only information that's necessary. Components work differently in different hardware. For instance, a different motherboard can make a wonderful video card seem like ****. We need manufacturer's name and related hardware installed.

If you have a custom-built machine, you'll have to give details such as motherboard manufacturer, model and rev #; as well as RAM type, amount and manufacturer; video card info (of course); and video driver information.

After all, Chris said "configurations".

Just trying to help.

(edit by SD: To get detailed info if you don't know, go to http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html#tips and install the FREE belarc advisor.)

[cphubb]

Dell Dimension
P3-1.0
Nvidia GeForce 2 GTS
256Mb RAM
Latest Drivers 2-15-04
Hardware Accell Set to Full
XP

See my other post http://www.zoogdesign.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2991for our "Better" Configuration that does not work.

Chris

[GuyR]

Dell Inspiron 5150 , ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000 64MB, 1GB RAM,3.06 GHz running at 1600x1200 and full hardware video acceleration.

ATI drivers: 6.14.10.6371
Dell Package: 7.91.2-030729a-010083C

Very responsive running 6.1 with OpenGL on.

Guy

[David Sammons]

Revit 6.1 works very well for me with OpenGL acceleration, full hardware acceleration and the following computer components:

Processor: Dell Dimension 8300 Series with Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 2.8GHz with HT Technology

RAM: 1 GB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz

Monitor: 19 in 1901FP Digital Flat Panel Display

Graphics Card: 128MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Pro

Dave S.

[christopher.zoog51272]

Another one that works flawlessly:

Dell Precision 650
Single Intel Xeon 2.8 ghz (512 k)
1 gig DDR ECC Ram (266mhz)
Intel E7505 Chipset, 533 FSB
AGP 8X
Win2k

Nvidia Quadro FX 500 128mb
Driver: 6.14.01.4354

[dnilsson]

This one does not work.

Dell Dimension 340
P4 2.66 ghz
1800FP Flat Panel Display
Nvidea GeForce 4 Ti 4400 (driver was current April 16)

I thought this setup was working for about 3 weeks, then I started noticing some problems with filled regions in families. They disappeared, or came in at a strange scale, or shifted their placement, just weird behavior in general. Turning the OpenGL off took care of it.

[hand471037]

Works: ATI Mobility Radeon 9600. :)

Seems like the ATI laptop offerings are good to go for Revit!

[Wes Macaulay]

I needed to replace the ATI Rage Pro 128 card AGP video card because it was dropping lines in Revit with OpenGL on and ADT didn't like it much either. So I replaced it with an AOpen card using nVidia goodies:

Intel mainboard
Windows 2000 SP4
AOpen GeForce FX-5200 128Mb TV/DVI (uses nVidia chipset)
AOpen driver 52.55, downloaded from their website

I did have to install DirectX 9 to get good results from the card; perhaps some of the other people having problems with their nVidia cards need to do the same. When I first installed the card, I assumed I had DirectX 9 installed (I didn't) and I had serious "magnetic behaviour" in Revit with OpenGL turned on. So I checked my Direct X version info -- it *was* v8. I uninstalled the video driver, downloaded DirectX 9.0b and installed it, then reinstalled the driver. The card works very well now -- so obviously Direct X 9.0b made the difference!

People also should be advised to get the manufacturer's drivers rather than nVidia's generic drivers. I have had a number of different problems when using anything but manufacturers drivers. Dell users should only get video drivers from Dell; my AOpen card has its own drivers from AOpen. My AOpen card has no writing on it anywhere to identify what kind of card it is, so I'm going to put a label on the card in case I'm killed in a bizarre gardening accident and the card migrates to another computer.

I didn't know Direct X would have any bearing on OpenGL performance in Revit: maybe someone can comment on that or explain why this might be?

[narlee]

Dell Dimension 8200
P4 1.9Ghz
512 MB DDR RAM ECC 400?
Nvidia G-Force3 with 64 MB

Upgraded from DirectX 8.1 to 9.0. Wow, what a difference. Thanks for the advice.

[clarke1936]

Thank you for this discussion panel I have found it very useful in determining what I need to buy and what to expect from different systems. I was hoping for a little advise, I am buying a new computer system and a new copy of Revit. Please let me know if the following setup will work well:

Dell P4 3.2ghz, 512k/800mhz fsb
microsoft xp pro
1 gb sdram 400 mhz
128 mb nvidia geforce fx5200 vga/dvi adapter
Hyper-Threading preset to "On"

in terms of overall compatibility is the nvidia the best graphic card to have with this system? I have had problems with other 3-d applications with the ATI card (form Z) and have heard that the nvidia handles opengl better. Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[beegee]

Your system should be fine.
A P4 3.2 with 2 Gb ram and an ATI Radeon 9700 rates the highest for a single processor system in our benchmark tests.
The second highest is a P4 3.0 with 1 Gb Ram and an Nvidea Geforce 5200.

[clarke1936]

:D Thanks Beegee! I'm excited to get going with it! :D

[cnevians@yahoo.fr]

hello from france..
just install REVIT 6.1 FR version ...
tested and approuved on my computer..
self handed build :
AMD XP 2600+ 1.5 Go DDram - 400Mhz with Serial ATA Hard disk
MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL(MSI) MS-6570
NVIDIA nForce 2 ATA Controller (v2.5)
WinXP Promise FastTrak 376/378 (tm) Controller
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 (build 2600) French
ATi FireGL T2-128 in dual screen (7.98.2 driver version)

Very impressive.. Full 3D run perfectly..and quiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicly ...

[beegee]

Have you run a benchmark on it yet ?

[BomberAIA]

HP ZD 7000 Notebook
Graphics Card: 128MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) FX Go5700 Open GL
Ram: 2 gigs
3.2 P4 HT Extreme Edition

[david.metcalf]

Dell D800 and M60 with 1GB RAM. GeoForce 4 4200 64 MB DirectX 8.1 Display Driver 6.13.10.4258 A little missing pixelation when switchiing screen. Very fast highlight and spins. Mouse scroll and pans without Dynamic Modify View... so-so with pixelation.

[-OTTP-Brembo]

Hi all,

I have just purchased an IBM thinkcentre that doesn't have any AGP ports. Only 2 PCI.

Can anyone recommend a PCI based card that will work in conjuction with a Samsung SyncMaster 193P TFT display?

Thanks

[Scott Hopkins]

Xtasy 9200 SE 128 AGP (ATI guts) - OpenGL works great with Revit 7.0

ATI Driver - 6.14.10.6458 - 7/10/2004

Athlon 2400+

512 Megs of DDR Ram

[Haden]

I think a more direct comparison would help. I took the time to start an Excel spreadsheet of the posts to this point, but I have not yet completed adding all of the "configurations that don't work" to the list. I thought everyone could update their own posted info to fill in the blanks, then others could just download, edit the spreadsheet, and re-upload it.

Is this a protocol that is acceptable, or is there another easy way to make a comparative chart like this that would work better? (See attached.)

[dschell]

Chris,
Just wanted to write to say thanks for these posts. I've just started with 6.1 (of course 7 was just released!) and have pooooor graphics performance. So your comments point me in a better direction for replacing hardware.
David

[Wes Macaulay]

Just a note to post that Asus nVidia cards seem to be a go.

One of our clients bought a bunch of 'em and they seem to be working really well.

Also got a new Dell Inspiron 5160 -- 3.06Ghz, 1.25Gb RAM, nVidia Go FX5200 64Mb, with 1400 pixel wide screen. Chews through big Revit projects without trouble. (The CPU cooling fan ramps up though - guess it's generating some heat). I tried the A08 version of the driver (the latest) which seems to slightly reduce performance over the original A06 version of the video driver which shipped with the unit (and which I've reinstalled). Sometimes the later drivers don't seem to help. Go figure. And shadows take FOREVER to regen with OpenGL acceleration off!

[nebojsa.jeremic]

Hello

I am not lucky like You, I just bought 6600GT in pci-e and when I turn on opengl Revit shout down, driver is 66.81 or 66.91. Does anyone ...

thx.

[Lashers]

Thats disconcerting!! I hope someone has a solution to the 6600 GT pci-e as I am a hairs breath away from getting one for my new system!!
Lashers

[a.mcphee]

My computer has nvidia GEforce 4 Ti 4200 with AGP8x but I find that often the model just does display, or parts don't display (e.g. level references). Closing and opening a window fixes the problem, as does turning off openGL.

The problem didn't start until I started using Revit 7.0.

Card has bios 4.28.20.21.00, drivers 6.14.10.5216

[Wes Macaulay]

You guys sound like you're using nVidia reference drivers. These don't work with Revit. You have to get the manufacturer's drivers for the cards - be it Dell, Gainward, MSI, AOpen, Asus, whatever.

Try that and I think your problems will disappear.

[luigi]

You guys sound like you're using nVidia reference drivers. These don't work with Revit. You have to get the manufacturer's drivers for the cards - be it Dell, Gainward, MSI, AOpen, Asus, whatever.

Try that and I think your problems will disappear.
What do you exactly mean Wes? I have purchased a computer not through a company similar to Dell....just a small company that puts parts together.

What I have isa Nvidia GE Force 6600 Pci-express x16 236 MB, with Bios 5.43.02.16.00, Driver 6.6.3.1.......I have DirectX 9.x

The OpenGl doesn't work properly, and I am pretty sure I have installed the driver straight from Nvidia's web page....

Ohh almighty Wes, what shalt I do? Thy is thee word that lights my path unto the future....

Peace,
Luigi

[Wes Macaulay]

Luigi, find out what company actually made the card -- Asus, AOpen, Chaintech, Gainward, PNY, whoever.

Go to their website and download their driver. If it works, great; if not, exchange the card. MSI and Gigabyte cards have been problematic with Revit.

Surefire bets in the PCI Express department are the FireGL cards by ATI. We're only beginning to see which PCI-E cards are working with Revit.

[cphubb]

Wes,

I have to offer a differing opinion on this. We use exclusively dells in the office and have had nothing but problems with the dell drivers. Also dell does not update or upgrade their drivers after the first year or so and using those old drivers with new software does not work. We have had problems with some of the Nvidia driver versions but most work better than the Dell.

With XP and setting restore points I can quickly check the various drivers against Revit and the most reliable so far are the Nvidia drivers 77.56 for the Dell Quadro 4 we have in most of our workstations. It also seems to be the best for the couple of GeForce we have as well.

Just my 2 cents

[Wes Macaulay]

Thanks for posting that Chris -- we need the facts around here more than anything ;)

I need to post in here that my new computer with an ATI FireGL V3100 (which is their lowest model in the CAD cards) is working very, very well with Revit 8/8.1. They even have Revit listed as a supported app in the control panel! This model is made by ATI, not someone else. I don't know about companies like Elsa or others who may make this same model using ATI components.


Overall, this card is highly recommended. And here I am recommending a brand that I warned against only a year ago!

[SCShell]

Thanks for posting that Chris -- we need the facts around here more than anything ;)

I need to post in here that my new computer with an ATI FireGL V3100 (which is their lowest model in the CAD cards) is working very, very well with Revit 8/8.1. They even have a Revit listed as a supported app in the control panel! This model is made by ATI, not someone else. I don't know about companies like Elsa or others who may make this same model using ATI components.


Overall, this card is highly recommended. And here I am recommending a brand that I warned against only a year ago!
Hi Wes,
I just got off the phone with Gateway. They are upgrading my nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra card to a ATI FireGL V7100. Based on this post, it should work great.
Crossing my fingers
Steve

[Wes Macaulay]

Huh -- pretty cool that they are that flexible. That card isn't even listed as an option on their website. Good on them :cool:

I would check the prices on both models on the internet and see if they're giving you a good deal on it -- you could just not order one and install it yourself!

[SCShell]

Hey Wes,
Yes they are. The nVidia was around $200.00 and the new one is a little over 800.00 Dollars. They were sorry for all of my 'other' issues and the fact that I solved an issue with my new laptop that NOBODY at Gateway could. Not bad for a blonde!
I just hope the new card works!
Steve

[Scott Hopkins]

Based on Mr. Spot's recommendation I bought an MSI GeForce 6800 GT. It works great with Revit. Be aware that you must have both OpenGL and overlay planes turned on for it to work correctly.

Unfortunately with overlay planes turned on, transparent text looks a tiny bit fuzzy around the edges. This is not a problem particular to this video card. It is a Revit bug that always appears when overlay planes are turned on. It doesn't affect the way drawings print but it is a little harsh on the eyes when looking at the screen. Until the Factory fixes this bug I'll make do using only opaque text. Other than this one issue the card is working perfectly.

[Wes Macaulay]

Scott, what happens when overlay planes are turned off?

[Scott Hopkins]

Scott, what happens when overlay planes are turned off?
Wes,

With OpenGL turned on but overlay planes turned off the card is essentially unusable. When zooming in and out in 2D views, text and annotation objects randomly disappear and then reappear. You never seem to get more than half of your text and annotation to display at one time. Which ones show up and which ones don't is constantly shifting. Its very frustrating! For some reason turning overlay planes on fixes this problem.

[SCShell]

Hey Scott,

I would be interested to know if you turn off both the open GL and the overlay planes, how does Revit act.

In particular, what happens when you run your curser over or just touch a schedule in a sheet view? Does the schedule turn grey instantly or does it kind of change color in a wave pattern?

Also, when you click on a titleblock while in any sheet view, does the sheet instantly turn red (highlight) or does it kinda flicker and take a moment?

And, how do inactive toolbar icons look? Fuzzy and out of fucus or clear when not active?

These were some of my issues with the nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra.

Thanks
Steve

[Scott Hopkins]

I would be interested to know if you turn off both the open GL and the overlay planes, how does Revit act.For the most part Revit acts fine except viewing a complex model isn't nearly near as smooth and a lot more items drop out and reappear when rotating. My understanding is that with OpenGL turned off your card is doing little to no work to improve the quality of the view and your CPU then does all of the heavy work.


In particular, what happens when you run your curser over or just touch a schedule in a sheet view? Does the schedule turn grey instantly or does it kind of change color in a wave pattern? Turns grey instantly - no color or wave problems. However with OpenGL turned off it takes the schedule a few seconds to redraw itself back to normal instead of instantaneouly.


Also, when you click on a titleblock while in any sheet view, does the sheet instantly turn red (highlight) or does it kinda flicker and take a moment?Instantly turns red - no flickering


And, how do inactive toolbar icons look? Fuzzy and out of fucus or clear when not active? They look clear


These were some of my issues with the nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra. Who was the manufacturer of that card? Remember every manufacturer's card behaves differently.

[Wes Macaulay]

Just adding a note that the PNY Quadro 540 (nVidia chipset, PCI express format) card works, but you need to download driver updates from PNY for the card to work properly.

[muttlieb]

Just adding a note that the PNY Quadro 540 (nVidia chipset, PCI express format) card works, but you need to download driver updates from PNY for the card to work properly.
It is ok to get the drivers from the nVidia website (version 77.56). They are the same as those available from PNY.

[niki_funky]

Hi all.

I have GAINWARD Nvidia 6800 video-card, which i overclocked recently to Quadro FX4000(using Rivatuner) and it is working perfectly :)
my computer: ->ABIT motherboard, AMD 3000+ cpu, 2 GB of ram.

best regards
niki

[GuyR]

I have GAINWARD Nvidia 6800 video-card, which i overclocked recently to Quadro FX4000(using Rivatuner) and it is working perfectly

WOW!! The softquadro fixes still work!! That just made my decision easier:-)

Guy

[Martin P]

ahhhh this is really frustrating, I want to buy new computer with a graphics card that is going to work with open GL - I have in threads read that ATI is good and that it is bad??

does anybody know if this is going to work with Open GL? its just whats in the machine I am planning.....

256MB PCI ExpressT ATI RadeonT X600

[Elmo]

I wouldn't reccomend the X series from ATI Radeon for they have mainly been created for Gaming purposes. Try going for the FX series or for Nvidia which tend to work best.

[Wes Macaulay]

ahhhh this is really frustrating, I want to buy new computer with a graphics card that is going to work with open GL - I have in threads read that ATI is good and that it is bad??

does anybody know if this is going to work with Open GL? its just whats in the machine I am planning.....

256MB PCI ExpressT ATI RadeonT X600Martin, this is a gaming card. Every FireGL ATI card I've seen manufactured by ATI, not someone else has Revit settings in the video card's control panel (you must use ATI drivers, of course, and the newest version works the best from their website).

I would recommend the FireGL V3100. It's their lowest end CAD card, and it will be the bomb for you.

[Martin P]

Thanks for replies guys.. I will look into the one you recommend Wes - and probably just go for it if I find it, hopefully they will let me change the specs to take this? Its Dell, so I am not sure if the can/will do that...If not I will go somewhere they can!!

Cheers :)

[iru69]

does anybody know if this is going to work with Open GL? its just whats in the machine I am planning.....

256MB PCI ExpressT ATI RadeonT X600

I don't think just because it's a "gaming" card means it's inappropriate for Revit... especially these days. If you can find a card, whether it's a "gaming" card or not, that is fast and compatible with Revit, you're way ahead of the game (no pun intended ;)).

That being said, the ATi X600 is technically a "slow" card, very near the bottom in performance (even for gaming).

If you're really on a budget, look for the ATi X700Pro or nVidia 6600GT - but no guarantees they will work with Revit (some nVidia brands seem to work better than others).

However, based on Wes' recommendations, if you want a hassle-free card, the ATi FireGL V3100 is it.

Edit: I believe the Dell Precision workstations have the V3100 as an option... last time I checked.

[Wes Macaulay]

Huh -- Dell DOES carry the V3100 on their products. I looked at the Dell UK website Martin, the Precision 380 and several of the other models offer this card as an option.

Cheers -- and good news for those wanting a Revit box from Dell.

[Martin P]

FireGL V3100 added to the PC in the office over the weekend...... open gl switched on with no problems at all :) Thanks Wes!! - views with shadows on behave perfectly normal speeds, same as ones without now is the first big thing I notice - was dreadfully slow before.

As you said, it has a set of defaults for Revit too, makes you a lot more confident in getting this card.

Very Happy camper here anyway..... Christmas has come early for me LOL..

[Wes Macaulay]

You bet Martin. Another thing about this card is that you get better stability than with any other card I've used with Revit. So when printing a multipage PDF, you don't get the dreaded "this window shall be closed because of an error" message

[patricks]

My machine is running an nVidia Quadro FX500 and I can't find a Hardware Acceleration option in the display properties. Of course there is the special nVidia menu in my display properties box, is it somewhere in there?

*edit* nevermind I didn't think to look under the Troubleshooting tab. :)

[Wes Macaulay]

Windows usually sets the acceleration to maximum, but that's not going to help you in Revit with the flashing/flickering problem; you can try the latest driver version, or contact your card manufacturer directly. Your card manufacturer is someone other than nVidia, such as PNY, Elsa, Dell, etc. Using their driver may help.

[sultarc]

is anyone using the dell 2405 fpw wide 24" monitor? If so how do you get true circles rather that elipses? using an invidia quadro fx500 card.

[muttlieb]

Did you change the resolution to 1920x1200? You'll need to use the VGA connector to get that resolution.

[sultarc]

we are changing out now. i'm on the phone with dell. does that also fix the elipse problem?
thanks for your reply.

[muttlieb]

1600x1024 and 1920x1200 are both widescreen resolutions supported in VGA mode with the Quadro FX 500. The optimal resolution for the 2405FPW is 1920x1200. You probably still had the resolution set to a standard non-widescreen resolution, so when you hooked up the widescreen everything appeared stretched horizontally to fill the extra width.

[Wes Macaulay]

You're saying you can't use DVI output with that resolution? That would be dumb...

We recently got a widescreen monitor for our interior designer and we had to download a new driver that supported that resolution. If the driver doesn't support it, you're screwed. You don't want anything but a 1:1 pixel ratio.

[muttlieb]

According to the Dell documentation, the FX 500 doesn't support any widescreen resolutions in DVI mode, so he'll have to use VGA to get the optimal 1920x1200 for the 2405FPW.

[iru69]

According to the Dell documentation, the FX 500 doesn't support any widescreen resolutions in DVI mode, so he'll have to use VGA to get the optimal 1920x1200 for the 2405FPW.
Possible that the FX500 doesn't support widescreen DVI mode using Dell drivers? I have a Dell FX500 w/ nVidia driver that indicates all the resolutions using DVI. However, I don't have a 2405FPW to test it on... maybe someone wants to give me a loaner? ;)

[Andre Baros]

We've had the same problem here, Samsung widescreen monitors using the VGA connectors instead of the DVI because the nVidia drivers didn't support the widescreen on DVI.

[muttlieb]

Possible that the FX500 doesn't support widescreen DVI mode using Dell drivers? I have a Dell FX500 w/ nVidia driver that indicates all the resolutions using DVI. However, I don't have a 2405FPW to test it on... maybe someone wants to give me a loaner? ;)
That's entirely possible. Under Display Properties > Settings > Advanced > Monitor is the option to "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display" checked? I've got a PNY FX540 with nVidia driver using DVI, with that box checked I get 1280x1024 max resolution.

[iru69]

That's entirely possible. Under Display Properties > Settings > Advanced > Monitor is the option to "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display" checked? I've got a PNY FX540 with nVidia driver using DVI, with that box checked I get 1280x1024 max resolution.
Right. And if you uncheck that box, you'll see 1920x1200 is available. Whether it's available if you have a 2405, I won't know until I get one. $800 is getting pretty tempting.

[muttlieb]

Right. And if you uncheck that box, you'll see 1920x1200 is available. Whether it's available if you have a 2405, I won't know until I get one. $800 is getting pretty tempting.
Yeah, it's available, but will it work? There's one surefire way to find out. ;) Go for it!

[sultarc]

thanks a bunch, that worked.

[Lashers]

I can't imagine why the FX500 would not have drivers available for 1920x1200! My 6600Gt is using it with the relevant monitor (yes, its a pleasure to view - wish I had bought two!).

Isn't the FX500 supposed to be a high end card?? surley . . .

[BWG]

FX 500 is considered entry level workstation.

[Merlin]

Hardware concepts are definetly NOT my strong point....I just got the IT guys at work to put a new system together for home These are some of the hardware facts:

-AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ 2.21GHz, 1GB RAM
-Graphics Card: NVidia GeForce 6800XT memory 128mb

It seems to fly well, so far.....Any comments or tips for improvements or potential problems??

John Mc
(Remember...I am a hardware N-O-V-I-C-E !)

[Martin P]

Anyone got a good tip for a current PCI Express Graphics card that works well with Revit? (ie open GL switched on).... we are getting yet another new computer and our IT guy reckons PCI Express is easier to get?

Thanks for any tips...

[Wes Macaulay]

Martin -- I have to recommend the ATI V3100 again. It is one of the few cards that has been specifically tested and works with AutoCAD 2007. Plus, as you know, it works great with Revit.

Check out this link:
http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-graphicscard

[Martin P]

Thanks again Wes :) will fire that to the IT guy....

[brentcarlson892079]

I just upgraded my computer:
Dell Precision 380
P4 dual core 3.5 2gb ram
ATI FireGL V3100 card with the 20" wide screen monitor

I had problems with the card with only one of my files, but it was a big one!
just before the file opened up the video card would crash (the monitor went blank but the computer was still running at least by sound and lights on box. and I couldn't get it to come back without shutting down my computer)

I did ( and still use) the AutoCAD certified driver form ATI's website.

Talking with Revit support, it was the OpenGL that I had checked in Revit that did it! I unchecked it and it worked fine.

I did a test after reading this thread just now.

Setup #1 Result=works fine
Revit graphics= OpenGL (off) Overlay Planes (on)
Video Card properties Configuration Tab= Set to Default

Setup #2 Result=CRASHED
Revit graphics= OpenGL (ON) Overlay Planes (on)
Video Card properties Configuration Tab= Set to Default

Setup #3 Result=works fine
Revit graphics= OpenGL (ON) Overlay Planes (on)
Video Card properties Configuration Tab= Set to Revit


So, to everyone with this card. Do yourself a favor and make sure you use the Revit Configuration Profile.
It will save you (at some point down the road) from loosing data like I did.


Oh, and regarding my 20" widescreen LCD monitor...
When you upgrade monitors you have to get one.
I only wish I had purchased the 24" one now!
I had a 18" Viewsonic before and this one's the same height and 3 inches wider!!!!!
The extra size horizontally works great with Revit.
I have the DVI plug in and the resolution set to 1680x1050 (the highest this card can do)

[brentcarlson892079]

Another note while talking to Revit Support, and I'm sorry that I didn't write down who I talked to.

He said that the OpenGL language actually has two levels. One that 'game' cards use and one that 'CAD' cards use.

As he told me, the game card OpenGL not as specific as the CAD one and that seems to be why some OpenGL cards don't work correctly with Revit.

I think my problem was that I had to force the card to use the CAD OpenGL with the Properties Configuration Tab.

[Wes Macaulay]

Brent, I would recommend using the latest driver, and not necessarily the certified driver. On my V3100 it works best with OpenGL on and overlay planes off. This is driver version 8.163.1.

I had some minor problems with earlier versions. The Revit setting on my card makes no changes from the default settings... but at least it's there and lets you know Revit has been tested on this card!

[iru69]

As he told me, the game card OpenGL not as specific as the CAD one and that seems to be why some OpenGL cards don't work correctly with Revit.
People always get this backwards. It's Revit that doesn't work correctly. The OpenGL cards work just fine with every other application I've ever used.

[BWG]

People always get this backwards. It's Revit that doesn't work correctly. The OpenGL cards work just fine with every other application I've ever used.


I believe this as well. We now have CAD cards and they don't seem to work any better than the gaming cards.

[BomberAIA]

Where is the Revit Configuration Profile?

[Wes Macaulay]

If you have an ATI FireGL card, it's on the Configuration tab on the video card's control panel (right click on Desktop > Properties > Settings tab > click Advanced button.)

Note that the Revit profile doesn't change the settings from the Default, at least it doesn't on my V3100.

[Andre Baros]

Wes, Lumen Designer (lighting and daylight analysis package) recommended switching the profile for all Nvidia cards to ProE (I think) which I did and the program stopped crashing EVERY time you tried to pan. The settings visible to me where all the same, but the program did stop crashing so I think there's more to than meets the eye.

[Wes Macaulay]

...that may be true for the nVidia cards, but whether the ATI cards do the same is beyond me! There are only two radio buttons for changing video settings below the profile list for the ATI card, but there may well be more settings afoot than those. I'll give the Revit profile a go -- see what that does! :beer:

[BomberAIA]

Where is the ProE setting? I have a nVidia GoForce 6800 in my laptop. I can't find that setting.

[Wes Macaulay]

Sorry mate -- only the FireGL ATI cards have these settings.

[Andre Baros]

Actually the Nvidea Quadro based cards do too. Though the ProE settings weren't for Revit, they were for Lumen Micro.

[patricks]

anyone using an NVidia GeForce 7900 graphics card? We just got a couple of those for the computers at my office. Can't wait to have a DVI connection for both of my ultrasharp displays :)

<== currently running a Quadro FX500 with one monitor on DVI and the other on analog (Revit using the DVI'd monitor of course as primary).

[GuyR]

He said that the OpenGL language actually has two levels. One that 'game' cards use and one that 'CAD' cards use.

OpenGL is an platform neutral API for the displaying of geometry on screen. Originally OpenGL was only implemented in software. When high powered graphics processors started to become commonplace manufacturers started to implement the API in hardware to provide significant acceleration of the OpenGL rendering., It also removes load from the main CPU, important for games.

With CAD the display of thin lines etc is important, so hardware anti-aliasing provides a big improvement. The difference between common cards and the 'CAD' cards like the quadros is generally the GPU accelerated support of these CAD important features.

FWIW, Microsoft is rumoured to be phasing out support for OpenGL in favour of DirectX.

HTH,

Guy

[richard.binning]

Hi Wes,

Did the profile help at all? We aren't experiencing crashing, but we do seem to have slowdown issues. Does fixing the video card settings improve anything for Revit 9?

Thanks,

RLB



...that may be true for the nVidia cards, but whether the ATI cards do the same is beyond me! There are only two radio buttons for changing video settings below the profile list for the ATI card, but there may well be more settings afoot than those. I'll give the Revit profile a go -- see what that does! :beer:

[Wes Macaulay]

Hi Wes,

Did the profile help at all? We aren't experiencing crashing, but we do seem to have slowdown issues. Does fixing the video card settings improve anything for Revit 9?

Thanks,

RLBI'm using the latest drivers for the FireGL cards rather than the unified drivers, and with these the card continues to perform admirably. I had no slowdown issues like you are talking about, so I would suggest that you check Revit's graphics settings and ensure OpenGL is on and overlay planes are off. Since the FireGL control panel settings for Revit are the same as the default settings, there doesn't seem to be anything else you should need to do.

[DoTheBIM]

I too have the FireGL v3100. With the latest driver 8.223. I no longer have the option in Revit to turn on or off OpenGL but overlay planes is still available. That is in R9, In R8.1 both settings are greyed out. How might I tell if I'm using the OpenGL support? I was able to select these with a previous driver, so I think I might try an older driver.

Edit: Confirmed. Went back to 8.163 and openGL is available and there is a noticable difference in performance with it checked on. as well as objects that were disappearing on spin now stay visual on spin.

[Wes Macaulay]

Is your card an ATI card or made by someone else with ATI parts? My card is aftermarket, so it came in the ATI box. The 8.223 drivers work fine in Revit -- no performance difference -- and it fixed a problem I was having with another program.

I just checked ATI's website -- check this out:
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=1673

Revit isn't on the list, but the 8.223 drivers are certified with many other Autodesk products, including AutoCAD 2007.

[DoTheBIM]

I think mine is ATI. It was orderded through Dell as an after thought, becauase the cheap low end gaming card wasn't cutting it. Anyway, I don't see any indication either on card or box that it is anything other than ATI brand.

I saw that that driver was certified by many Autodesk products so that is why tried it out. Maybe I just had a bad install. Can't believe that would happen on a Dell machine w/ windows;) .

Support link didn't work. Something about session expired or something.

[rebrown]

Hope this is the right place to post this.... I am the Cad Manager at a small Midwestern firm that supports about 25 work stations....Here is the problem.... All of the computers we have with ATI graphics cards have no issues with ACAD 2007 but all the machines with Nvidia cards Will Not cut sections and or elevations, it bombs the program every time.
"FATAL ERROR..Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0x0000 Exception at 0h" any suggestions other than buying 20 graphics cards?

thanks for your help

Randy

[Elmo]

Hi Rebrown have you updated the Drivers recently for those cards?

[matthewh.104177]

More graphics card feedback: I have an nVidia Geforce 6600 GT, manufactured by Gibabyte. It's problematic with Revit. I turned Open GL acceleration on which greatly helped with 3d rotating and shadow generation, but then had problems with annotations, etc., disappearing when zooming or panning. Turning on Overlay Planes fixed that. All was good for about a day, but then Revit crashed. When I turn off Open GL acceleration, I have no crashing issues. Here's my setup:

Motherboard: AsusTek A8N-E 2.xx
RAM: 2 - 512MB Aeneon DDR 400
Videocard: Gigabyte nVidia Geforce 6600 GT
Video card driver: 7.1.2.4 12/15/2004

I'm going to try different drivers next, as has been suggested. Any other suggestions?

[Lashers]

. . . no crashing issues. Here's my setup:

Motherboard: AsusTek A8N-E 2.xx
RAM: 2 - 512MB Aeneon DDR 400
Videocard: Gigabyte nVidia Geforce 6600 GT
Video card driver: 7.1.2.4 12/15/2004

I'm going to try different drivers next, as has been suggested. Any other suggestions?I have the same card, and had problems recently - I think it is because I upgraded with Nvida's drivers / or something to do with Revit9 - either way I have not had a happy time with similar problems as you described.

I downloaded the latest drivers from Gigabyte and am waiting to be sure the problems have gone - will let you know. However, your drivers look dated, perhaps you should update them as a test as well.

[Sago Tuc]

1. AMD Athlon64 3200+
Gigabyte K8NS
1.2Gb RAM
ASUS GF6800Ultra
ForceWare 84.21
On this computer Revit Structure 2 works, but performance is terrible: slideshow in 3D views; in 2D views - editing of models becomes slideshow too, but I can work. Turning on OpenGL in settings of Revit DECREASE performance up to 100%. Turning off OverlayPlanes affects disappearing of any symbols (annotations, grids, vies etc - see above), it can be visible only in panning/zooming progress.
Later i'll try Structure 3 - and then post here results.

2. AMD Athlon64 3800+
ASUS A8N-SLI
1Gb RAM
GigaByte GF6600
ForceWare 84.21
On this computer I tried Structure 2 & Structure 3, results almost the same, like on the first computer. The only one difference - turning on OpenGL does not affect decreasing of performance. It doesn't affect performance at all.
On the similar computers ArchiCAD works perfectly with great performance.

[Wes Macaulay]

The Geforce cards are gaming cards -- they do NOT have geometry engines for OpenGL on them. As a result, I would NOT recommend them for CAD work and recommend that you exchange them as soon as possible.

There are really only two options now for CAD users: the ATI FireGL (the V3100 is more than enough for your needs) and the nVidia Quadro series of cards, again, pick a base model unless you're using something like Inventor.

See this link:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/hc?status=1&os=WinXP&siteID=123112&catID=6711614&id=6711853&linkID=2475161&is_results=1

[Sago Tuc]

Huh! Don't you know that GeForce and Quadro series have the same hardware?!?!?!

The only differences between Quadro and GeForce are amount of onboard video memory, higher clock frequencies and device IDs. NVIDIA Detonator drivers use device ID to detect Quadro. Detonators use ID-based algorithm to compute internal driver capability code. OpenGL driver uses this code to select optimization strategy and disable some hardware capabilities on non-Quadro boards (e.g. hardware accelerated antialiased lines).
Search tne net ;)
Yesterday I've made QuadroFX4000 from that 6800Ultra and QuadroFX540 from GF6600 - it solve problems whith invisible symbols and decreasing of performance with turned on OpenGl. But performance still worse than in the other applications, such as ArchiCad. :?:

[Wes Macaulay]

Can anyone else confirm this? If this is the case, then it's bad news for any nVidia card and all we're left with PCI wise are the ATI cards.

[Elmo]

Can anyone else confirm this? If this is the case, then it's bad news for any nVidia card and all we're left with PCI wise are the ATI cards.Hi Wes here is a link to your answer. Click Here (http://www.pcdoctors.co.za/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?10617.last)

[Sago Tuc]

...and all we're left with PCI wise are the ATI cards.
Huh again. Situation with FireGl is the same. ;)
"Good news" for you - not all of the GeForce and Radeon cards are transformable to professional versions - ATI and Nvidia trying to protect cards from it.

[Wes Macaulay]

Hi Wes here is a link to your answer. Click Here (http://www.pcdoctors.co.za/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?10617.last)Huh -- another corrupt manufacturer on the marketplace. Should I feign surprise?

[kris.franssens]

I added a FireGL v5100 to my system last weekend. Very good perfomance with Revit Building 8.1.
I'll post about Revit Systems Plus as soon as it is running on my workstation.

[patricks]

Okay so I will be building a new home machine here very soon, and my goal is to be able to install and use Revit at home so I don't have to sit at the office at all hours of the night when working on extra stuff, side work, etc.

So looking at NVidia graphics cards, I really don't have $500+ to spend on one. I might could swing a $300 card but would like to keep it closer to $200.

Should I go with:

Quadro FX540 - 128MB DDR memory, 1 DVI and 1 VGA output, supports OpenGL 1.5, 8 pixel pipelines, 128-bit memory interface, in the low $200 range

or

GeForce card - around $200 for a 7600 card or closer to $300 for a 7900 card, 256MB DDR3 memory, dual DVI outputs, OpenGL 2.0, 12 to 24 pixel pipelines, 256-bit memory interface on the 7900 cards and much higher core and memory clock speeds than the FX540 cards

Comparing specs, everything about the GeForce cards look better, but I'm guessing it's like comparing apples to oranges. How big of a difference would the Quadro's OpenGL 1.5 vs. GeForce's OpenGL 2.0 support make?

Eventually I want to run dual flat-panel displays, and would prefer to have them both on a DVI connection. The lowest-priced Quadro FX cards with dual DVI outputs are around $500 and up, too rich for my blood (I already have about $1500 budgeted using a $200 graphics card).

Suggestions?

[Lashers]

I feel in a similar quandary - I am toying with getting a ATI FireGL V3400 - 128MB RAM and two DVI out - £200. Mainly because I am having no end or graphics glitches since I upgraded to R9 (I also updated my drivers - GeForce6600GT - so not sure which direction to point finger - yet), and am now convinced that a workstation card is the route to take.

I like this card because it has 2no. DVI's as I have imaginings of a second Dell 24" sitting on my desk in the future . . .

[Andre Baros]

It seamed really amazing to me that a gaming card could be better than a professional card costing twice as much or more... and I found this great thread that explains a LOT... looks like the real problem is windows and revit, the video cards, gaming or otherwise are way ahead.

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=12217

[Elmo]

Andre most of the graphics cards are created so they can handle high graphics like games. Strangly enough you'll find a gamer more willing to buy these high end graphic cards simply because he wants the best when he is playing. Go figure!

[Andre Baros]

I guess that what I'm getting out of reading these threads and information on the Nvidia site is that the pro boards allow programs to access functions which take more load off the main processor and even the graphics processor so that display tasks are smoother and the user can be more productive. Above and beyond the basic speed of the graphics card, there are functions which programs can choose to implement or not. Most programs never use anything beyond those functions found on gaming cards and basic video cards so there isn't really any benefit to spending the extra money. Video games clearly take advantage of every possible function of a video card, Revit seams to barely scratch the surface.

I think that Revit does a pretty amazing job of handling the huge amount of data that is in the model, but in terms of simple display it's not taking advantage of my hardware. When I export a model to max I can spin it around fully textured and shadowed smoothly, in Revit it jumps along in hidden line mode, takes minutes to regen with shadows, and doesn't even give me the option to show textures. The graphics engine in Max is one of the reasons to use it, but Revit should one day catch up and take advantage of OpenGL and/or Direct X.

[Elmo]

I agree with you fully Andre. I'm sure that when revit does do so it will help speed up production in a whole new way!

[Scott Hopkins]

When I export a model to max I can spin it around fully textured and shadowed smoothly, in Revit it jumps along in hidden line mode, takes minutes to regen with shadows, and doesn't even give me the option to show textures. The graphics engine in Max is one of the reasons to use it, but Revit should one day catch up and take advantage of OpenGL and/or Direct X.Unfortunately this isn't going to happen any time soon. The last time I spoke directly to the Factory about this issue, I was told that the only immediate plan for improvements to Revit's graphics was the task of creating list of recommended graphics cards. My guess is that they feel Revit graphics are adequate for now and there are more pressing needs (like Revit Systems and Revit Structure).

Boy does the Factory have it all wrong! The slowing down that happens when your CPU spikes while spinning around a big model is a huge problem. Waiting again and again for your model to do a 15 second redraw really stinks! Send in a support request and let the factory know that this is indeed an extremely important issue!

[Wes Macaulay]

Sure... and: would you like a poll (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=40988)with that? Off we go! :mrgreen:

[patricks]

Good job getting that on the wishlist :)

I'm still undecided on graphics cards... Quadro FX540 w/ 1 DVI and 1 VGA or the FireGL V3400 w/ dual DVI....

I was looking at a ViewSonic 20.1" widescreen display on Newegg, it can do 1680x1050 resolution, which would be taller and quite a bit more real estate on screen than the current 1280x1024 I'm running on my 19" displays at work, and the pixel pitch is finer than 19" 4:3 displays as well, so it should have a sharper image... AND it's only $329 before mail-in rebate, only $20 or so more than the 19" Dell I was looking at previously. If I get one of those, I may not even do dual monitors and just stay with that single widescreen one.

[Wes Macaulay]

The 1680 resolution is great, but make sure your card (existing or to-be-bought) supports that resolution, or you'll have pixel spanning, and that looks awful! 1680's a weird number and I don't know if many video cards will display at that resolution.

[DoTheBIM]

I was looking at a ViewSonic 20.1" widescreen display on Newegg, it can do 1680x1050 resolution, which would be taller and quite a bit more real estate on screen than the current 1280x1024 I'm running on my 19" displays at work, and the pixel pitch is finer than 19" 4:3 displays as well, so it should have a sharper image... AND it's only $329 before mail-in rebate, only $20 or so more than the 19" Dell I was looking at previously. If I get one of those, I may not even do dual monitors and just stay with that single widescreen one.
Careful you don't go too big ;) . You'll hate having to go back to a smaller one, even if it just for a little bit of time. 1920x1200. I think it's maxing my card (128MB 6600GT i think) as I can't run with opengl on.

[patricks]

Well I couldn't find it on NVidia's site, but I actually did see on Dell's support site that the FX540 supports 1680x1050 :)

[patricks]

Careful you don't go too big ;) . You'll hate having to go back to a smaller one, even if it just for a little bit of time. 1920x1200. I think it's maxing my card (128MB 6600GT i think) as I can't run with opengl on.

heh yeah my boss just got one of those 24" beasts, and is running both that and his 15" Wacom through the same Quadro FX3000 card that's in my machine at the office.

I would love to have 1920x1200 res but there's just no way I can afford one of those.

[DoTheBIM]

heh yeah my boss just got one of those 24" beasts, and is running both that and his 15" Wacom through the same Quadro FX3000 card that's in my machine at the office.

I would love to have 1920x1200 res but there's just no way I can afford one of those.
What's another $375 or so for 30% more pixels. Think about it like this.... it's only 3 hundredths of a cent more per pixel. ;) Seriously though, If you makin a living off it and showing customers models, it's worth it. If not then one would be ok with the smaller ones. I'd like to get a second but I don't think I could afford the card needed for that then.

[Wes Macaulay]

Careful you don't go too big ;) . You'll hate having to go back to a smaller one, even if it just for a little bit of time. 1920x1200. I think it's maxing my card (128MB 6600GT i think) as I can't run with opengl on.I haven't encountered a GeForce PCI-E card yet that is compatible with Revit, regardless of the resolution.

[DoTheBIM]

I haven't encountered a GeForce PCI-E card yet that is compatible with Revit, regardless of the resolution.
Thanks for the tip Wes. I'll keep that in mind while I play with drivers and resolutions and such. Is your V3100 PCI-E? Mine is here at work and it seems as though the OpenGL ceased working again. Wish there was a sure way to tell.

[patricks]

What's another $375 or so for 30% more pixels. Think about it like this.... it's only 3 hundredths of a cent more per pixel. ;) Seriously though, If you makin a living off it and showing customers models, it's worth it. If not then one would be ok with the smaller ones. I'd like to get a second but I don't think I could afford the card needed for that then.

I wish, the Dell 24" Ultrasharp is $949 right now :shock:

Welp, I ordered everything for my new home PC last night, I got:

Pentium D 940 dual-core 3.2 GHz processor, 2 x 2MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB
Intel ATX motherboard
Nvidia Quadro FX540
2 x 1GB Crucial ECC unbuffered PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM
Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10K RPM hard drive
ViewSonic 20.1" display that runs 1680x1050 res (taller than a standard 19" display res)
CD/DVD burner w/ 5x DVD-RAM capability
Antec full tower case w/ 500W SmartPower II power supply (came with 1 120mm fan, has room for about 5 or 6 more)

Can't wait to get it all in and throw'er together :mrgreen: I did blow past my budget quite a bit, though. :(

[Elmo]

Patrick that sounds like a real cool pc! Although your pc wont work at it's best with windows XP or 64 XP. I'm hoping that windows Vista will do the trick! When it comes out that is.

[patricks]

Patrick that sounds like a real cool pc! Although your pc wont work at it's best with windows XP or 64 XP. I'm hoping that windows Vista will do the trick! When it comes out that is.

I'm just going to stick with XP Pro for now... that software and the hard drive were the two main things that blew my budget... I had originally planned on running my Win2K Pro as I always have ($140 for XP Pro w/ SP2) and going with a 74 GB 10K RPM drive, but I was told by a reputable local computer shop owner that the 150GB drive uses the same size platter, so it stores the info twice as dense on the platter, effectively doubling the data transfer rate and cutting seek times in half... but it costs over $100 more :eek:

But he said a PC is usually only as fast as its slowest component, which in most cases is the hard drive.

[Elmo]

That's very true Patrick! By the way how did the whole ram issue work out?

[Wes Macaulay]

Thanks for the tip Wes. I'll keep that in mind while I play with drivers and resolutions and such. Is your V3100 PCI-E? Mine is here at work and it seems as though the OpenGL ceased working again. Wish there was a sure way to tell.That's what I have too. I did upgrade to the new driver set that is certified to work with Autodesk products...

[DoTheBIM]

I wish, the Dell 24" Ultrasharp is $949 right now :shock:True. If you feel the need to buy it right from Dell at retail prices. I'm somewhat of a cheap skate and wait for special deals. I got mine for 750ish shipped. I've seen them down around 700 of late.

[BomberAIA]

I tested a HP nx9420 with an ATI Radeon X1600 graphics card. Once I turned on OpenGL, Revit ran great, even when I turned the shadows on. Now I have to see if it's worth the extra cost for the nw9440 Mobile Workstation. The only difference I can see is the graphics card; Nvidia Quadro FX 1500m.

[jeff.95551]

I just got a new workstation that was supposed to be the answer to all my problems - partial success. I've been using a Dell XPS laptop that's about a year old with Revit files that are about 100meg. I figured this new desktop would blow the laptop away. Unfortunately I let the dealer talk me into a twin Microstar Nx7900gt 256MB Nvidia graphics setup, and of course the OpenGL doesn't do squat. I'll have to take that back. I opted for a Raid 5 hard drive configuration with high speed 10k drives, and that makes a huge difference - wow! save and load times are next to nothing. We opted for the AMD Athlon, and everything that uses the dual processor features just blazes. Turn on the Task Manager and watch the performance dial pegged at 50% when Revit is grinding away! It's still worth having - printing is faster, since the print drivers work in the background and don't get slowed down by the processor. On the bright side, I don't feel so bad about my Dell...

[patricks]

heh nice to hear!

I just started building my new machine last night. I got the 3.2 GHz Pentium D dual core, and a single 150GB 10K rpm HDD for right now. I was told that drive uses the same size platter as the 74 GB 10K rpm drive so it effectively reads and writes data twice as fast (data is stored twice as dense). I can't wait to give it a try with Revit!

Hopefully in the near future I can add more drives and do a RAID setup.

[Wes Macaulay]

Jeff, be aware that RAID 5 has caused problems with Revit -- minor file corruption issues. It can cause crashes during saves to central. Sounds like you've got it on your workstation so I don't know what might happen with that.

[patricks]

Evnetually I hope to have 4 drives in a RAID 0+1 setup... 2 smaller drives in RAID 0 for OS and apps, things that I can just reinstall later if anything happens, and then 2 larger drives mirrored in a RAID1 setup for data backup and even faster seek times.

[jeff.95551]

Thanks Wes - I saw that yesterday. I bought this setup as a stepping stone to a separate server, which is where the Raid 5 makes more sense. I just hired a new employee, so this workstation is for him when he starts in two weeks. If we get more employees, I plan to get a server and transfer some of the drives over to that one, and if we start using worksets (which is extremely likely), we will have to address that. Nonetheless, I am very happy with the performance speed of the hard drives. Next time I will take Patrick's advice and get the 150GB drives instead of the 74GBs that I got. It seems like somebody could make good money making and selling machines tailored to Revit, as finicky as it is!

[DoTheBIM]

That's what I have too. I did upgrade to the new driver set that is certified to work with Autodesk products...
Just wanted to give an update for my driver/opengl issues on my V3100. I've updated my driver again to 8.223 and got the same results (OpenGL greyed out). After surfin around on ATI's site a bit I found a related issue that they have associated with Win9X/Me. I used it as my basis for going forward and whatdayaknow. it worked. I got OpenGL available on 8.233. It seems the problem is dual monitors. OpenGL reverts to the Windows software OpenGL renderer when on Dual monitors. Plus the monitor you want to have use OpenGL must be configured as the first one on the card as well. Here's the link if you want to read more... OpenGL and Dual monitors (https://support.ati.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=321) After I got through to get my main monitor as the primary display I could turn opengl on and off at will. So I continued to search a little more... and found this - WinXP 64 bit dual monitor (https://support.ati.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=18923). While I'm not on XP64... I do believe this more closely matches the problem.

While the amount of difference OpenGL makes is barely noticable, I'd rather run with it on. Any little bit helps.

[msteven]

Attached are some links on locations of how to fix a graphics card problem. I have dual PNY 7900 GT cards running in SLI mode in a AMD 4400+ machine. (running Revit 9) When I turn on the OpenGL and turn on the overlay planes I get some problems every now and then. I turn off the overlay planes and it cleared the problem. The problem I think is Revit, it does not support OpenGL as well as other Autodesk programs. I think high amount of graphics memory helps clear the stuttering of the display. My machine has not locked up yet, so I am happy.
Listed below are links to Autodesk and Nvidia's web site for certified drivers by both companies. Also Autodesk recommends not to use drivers older than 65.22 from Nvidia. Hope this helps.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=5167905&linkID=3770375

http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_20010723_6760.html

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/hc?status=1&siteID=123112&catID=6711614&id=6711853&linkID=2475161&is_results=1

[sifuentes]

We are on the process of buying new equipment, and we are thinking Dell Precision 390s. I have read a lot of good comments on the ATI FireGL V3100 that came with the Precision 380. The 390 has FireGL V3400 and V7200 listed as options. Does someone know if these cards offer the same Revit configuration settings as did the V3100? Has someone tested them?

Reading about the older Quadro FX540 that worked fine with OpenGL in Revit, but that the newer Quadro FX1400 doesn't makes me think about the newer FireGLs, so any comments are greately appreciated.

Thanks,

[Andre Baros]

We recently upgraded several Precision workstations and went with the Nvidia Quadro FX3500, hoping that one day soon Revit would take advantage of the hardware, and actually it already does quite well. I can't say that everything is faster, but shadows now work in real time. As in, I turn on shadows and keep working at the same speed as without them. The Dell drivers which shipped pre-installed had no problems with Revit, but I upgraded the drivers on one of the machines to the latest on the Nvidia site and have add some strange behavior with walls looking like they are still selected after they are no longer selected.

[MRV]

We use the ATI FireGL v3100 cards in 3 different computers, and they work well (hardware opengl, overlay on). Keep in mind that they only have 1 dvi(digital) and 1 vga(analog) output, if you want two lcd moniters with digital signals I would consider a v3200 or above, which has 2 dvi outputs. Also, for for Revit, the higher-end cards offer very little increase in speed, but cost a whole lot more...


Michael Vaughn
BWG Architecture

[Andre Baros]

The thing about the higher end cards is that I'm buying a computer for the next few years and sometime during that time Revit HAS to get smarter about using the power that's there... so hopefully it'll take advantage of the extra GPU power some day. In the mean time, every other significant program I use takes advantage of it, so it's not going to waste.

[BomberAIA]

Has anyone tried an ATI Radeon X1900 XT card with Revit? Thanks

[Wes Macaulay]

No, but based on the fact that the X1400 card is working very well on all the computers I've seen, it seems that the X1900 (which is a higher spec) ought to be just fine. It won't be on Autodesk's compatibility list since its performance in AutoCAD 2007 may not be assured if you're doing a lot of heavy 3D work in it.

[Fishmonger]

I tried searching this thread for a specific card (one that is
going to be included on our new duo core computers), but no luck.
Has anyone heard whether this is either a good or bad choice?

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 440 256M PCIe


Other config info:
HP XW 4400 machine
running at 3.2 Ghz
2 Gig ram
Windows XP Pro SP2.
Samsung SyncMaster 213T (20.1") monitor(currently
running this monitor at 1600x1200 resolution with a

[DoTheBIM]

I tried searching this thread for a specific card (one that is
going to be included on our new duo core computers), but no luck.
Has anyone heard whether this is either a good or bad choice?
Not a good choice based on autodesks certified lists for AutoCAD.... not sure if that means anything for Revit though.
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/hc?os=WinXP&siteID=123112&catID=6711614&id=6711853&linkID=2475161&is_results=1
(http://download.autodesk.com/prodsupp/inventor/Graphics/nv/Win2K-XP/91.36%20WHQL%20Post%2008-14-06/91.36_forceware_quadro_winxp2k_international_whql.exe)

[richard.binning]

We recently bought 10 of the HP XW4400 core2duo E6700 workstations although they came with the FX1500 256mb nvidia cards. We are real pleased.

[Wes Macaulay]

I tried searching this thread for a specific card (one that is
going to be included on our new duo core computers), but no luck.
Has anyone heard whether this is either a good or bad choice?

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 440 256M PCIe
If memory serves correct this isn't a CAD card at all. You'll want to replace it as soon as you get it -- its 3D capabilities are going to be poor.

[Fishmonger]

Thanks for the input and pointing me in the right direction to identify a good card.
I'm trying to catch the "order" now before this group gets built and shipped.
Looks like I should have done this research a week ago, but at least you
helped me catch it before they got on the floor for production.

Thanks to all again

Dick

[sw_ppg]

Has anyone tried an ATI Radeon X1900 XT card with Revit? Thanks
i tried one yesterday - with revit arch 2008 - with opengl on and overlays off - which seem to be the best config goin - all was good until you have a view linked with a autocad file - ie survey. had a few other issues but wouldnt recommend it - what i will recommmend is a firegl7100 runs a treat - what i would like to know if anyone has a nvidia fx3400 going on revit - all nvidia cards we have tried craps itself with open gl on an overlays off - pulling my hair out - the firegl is an expensive card but cheaper alternatives would be nice

cheers

[iru69]

all nvidia cards we have tried craps itself with open gl on an overlays off
Have you tried with overlays on? The "best config goin" is one that works.

[Lashers]

I was calling my supplier to get an ATI FireGL V3400 and he threw a Quadro560 into the works!

Quadro is £20.00 cheaper but I won't let this sway me, anyone got any ideas which will be the better Revit card, but also considering that I occasionally play with SketchUP, Maxwell Render and Photoshop . . .

Tick tock tick tock . . . :-)

[ws]

Interesting... they seem very close in feature sets.

Ati list Revit 8.1 as 'certified' on v3100 cards but the v3400 is much uprated

Nvidia don't list any Quadro certification for Revit (which is weird)

The cards will not affect rendering - only your processor(s) affect that.

Photoshop seems also more dependent on processor power.

Sketchup should work fine on either card as the requirements are met by both specs
http://sketchup.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=36252

These 'entry level' cards tend to be light on memory but you only need lots of memory for applications that keep textures in memory for real time manipulation of the 3D model - such as games, or MCAD.

I doubt anyone will say yes or no definitively to either card as a card that works for one user seems not always to work for all.
However from what I've read in these forums, Ati probably has the lesser risk of problems for Revit use (how's that for a non-committal reply ;) )

(I hope they sort out Revit graphic certification before we get into DirectX10, Vista and 64 bit Revit :?)

Edit: Nvidia released updated drivers across the range in the last few days
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

[Lashers]

Cheers William,

I don't really have any confidence in the Autodesk list (that I saw) as the cards listed seemed to be quite old.

My research indicated that the Quadro generally works better with all other software, but information about Revit is a black hole! It is a slightly better spec from what I understand.

But the forum here seems alot more positive that Ati works with Revit - and thats that!

Problem for me is that I have generally leant towards Nvidia - but am using Revit with Open GL off and Overlay Planes on, with the occasional glitch! Any other options are a disaster (6600GT) and this change has to work for the next 2 to 3 years.

Hmmm . .

[ws]

I've always used Nvidia also - and always Quadro cards (apart from laptops).

In fact I haven't any problems at all with Revit and my FX1500, FX3000, and laptop GO7400.

I always used to get my graphics cards from Andy Hankins at http://www.3dprographics.com but he merged with another firm recently... I'll maybe try an email to him as he always seemed to know what app worked best with what card - he may have come across Revit before.

[iru69]

But the forum here seems alot more positive that Ati works with Revit - and thats that!
I have a ATI V3400, and it works fine (but then again, all my nVidia cards have pretty much worked fine as well). But there's been a recent spate of problems even with the ATI cards.

I'm really interested to see if RAC 2008 has eliminated any of these issues.

Whatever card you get, my advice is to make sure you can return it if you have problems with Revit.

[Bill McLees]

I just purchased a Dell E1505 with Vista Business and ATI X1400 video card. As shipped, the card has no OpenGL driver.

To save others who may face this some time, go here: http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool/

ATI does not directly supply drivers for the laptop version of their cards. However, the site above details how to get the latest ATI driver with OpenGL and all other components. It's a bit of a pain to install, but the method they suggest does work.

Bill

[Wes Macaulay]

Wow, Bill -- this looks like just the thing a lot of people are looking for -- especially those with workstation-style video cards in their notebooks.

So you're saying the drivers with the Vista-based E1505 with the X1400 video card have no OpenGL support, or just that OpenGL doesn't work in Revit?

[Bill McLees]

The laptop does work with Revit after the OpenGL driver is installed. There is a X1400 driver available from ATI, but not from Dell, and the laptop comes from Dell with no OpenGL driver configured. However, you need to go to the website I mentioned in the previous post and follow their procedure to download and install the driver. After that, it appears to be smooth sailing.

Basically, you have to install the regular X1400 driver. The actual video card is an X1400 "mobility" card, specifically for laptops. ATI does not directly support laptop cards with drivers, so you have to fake the laptop into thinking it has a regular X1400 card. That is what the software available from the website does. (It's free, but they do accept donations.)

However, I caution that this is a new laptop, and I have used it only for a few days with Revit. Not enough time to be certain. But so far, so good.

Bill

[sbrown]

No, but based on the fact that the X1400 card is working very well on all the computers I've seen, it seems that the X1900 (which is a higher spec) ought to be just fine. It won't be on Autodesk's compatibility list since its performance in AutoCAD 2007 may not be assured if you're doing a lot of heavy 3D work in it.

Wes, I have the X1300 and it doesn't work at all with opengl turned on and overlay planes on in 2008. Do you know of any drivers that have worked with this card?

[Wes Macaulay]

Scott, is your laptop running Vista? Mine is running XP, so the Dell drivers work fine. Bill has discovered that Dell's X1400 drivers (which is similar to an X1300) for Vista don't have OpenGL support. So he's using the Radeon desktop drivers and using the mod tool to get OpenGL working with his Mobility Radeon card in Vista.

[sbrown]

this is a desktop, not a laptop. So which driver would you recommend I try for a desktop. This is on XP pro, not vista.

[Andre Baros]

This whole driver thing is such a scam. In talking to a rep from ATI, I got the impression that the only difference between a game card and a cad card was the reliability of the driver. Now I understand the fairness of compensating someone for writing better software, but it seams lousy to sell the same hardware with two different prices just for the drivers.

Over on the cgarchitect.com forums, several users have successfully hacked the FireGL v5200 drivers onto the Radeon x1600 card (XP via bootcamp on the Macbook Pro) providing a huge boost in performance (per specviewperf benchmarks) and adding OpenGL support. More than double the performance just from swapping the drivers.

[Bill McLees]

New build of Revit 2008 appears to work with Vista and OpenGL on. I posted previously necessity to get a driver from ATI for the X1400 in a laptop. (At least in my case, Dell driver didn't support OpenGL.)

To get things to work, turn off Windows Aero (the Vista transparency deal) and turn off overlay planes.

Bill