PNY Quadro FX 540 - Good or Bad?

[muttlieb]

I hate to post yet another thread about graphics cards, but there seems to be some conflicting info here on the forums regarding the PNY Quadro FX 540 card. In one thread it's labeled a 'surefire bet', while in another thread it's 'Bad' (which one is it, Wes? ) I ask because I'm about to put together a new system and I'd like to go with this card, but before I shell out $250 I'd like to know if it's going to work well with Revit. Can anyone confirm that this card works with OpenGL turned on with Revit 8.1? Currently, the only Quadro FX 540 cards I can find are made by PNY or HP.

[Wes Macaulay]

PNY bad. I haven't seen any in action in my area, but all the reports we get here are negative on this card. Get the ATI FireGL V3100. It's their bottom end CAD card using PCI express and I'm very happy with its performance. My computer builder suggested it after my GeForce card refused to work.

You could try the HP card, but only if you can get guarantees that you can exchange it if OpenGL won't work with Revit.

[rodneyf]

In our office we have 9 PNY Quadro FX 700's and we have not had one single problem with them at all.

[muttlieb]

PNY bad. I haven't seen any in action in my area, but all the reports we get here are negative on this card. Get the ATI FireGL V3100. It's their bottom end CAD card using PCI express and I'm very happy with its performance. My computer builder suggested it after my GeForce card refused to work.

You could try the HP card, but only if you can get guarantees that you can exchange it if OpenGL won't work with Revit.

Wes, thanks for the recommendation. I should add that I also use SketchUp, and @Last highly recommends nVidia chipsets, GeForce in particular for their value. They also recommend Asus cards, which I currently have. Which GeForce card did you have that didn't work?

[Wes Macaulay]

It was a Gigabyte GeForce 6600...

[muttlieb]

Despite Wes' warning, I went ahead with the PNY card anyway. If it doesn't work, I've got a 30-day window to return it. Here is the system I just ordererd:

CPU: P4 670 3.8GHz 2MB L2 cache
CPU Fan: Zalman CNPS7700-ALCU
Motherboard: Intel 945PSN ATX
Graphics: PNY nVidia QuadroFX 540
RAM: Crucial 1GB
HDD: Seagate 7200.7 80GB Serial ATA
Case: AMS Gmono Black
PSU: Nexus NX-3500 350 Watt
CD/DVD: NEC ND-3540 DVD burner
Windows XP Pro

I should have it put together by the weekend. I'll let you know if the PNY card works out.

[Wes Macaulay]

Cool. I hope it does work for you!

[muttlieb]

Update:

When I installed the card in my new system I used the driver - 71.84 - that came with the PNY CD. With OpenGL on and Overlay planes on, I opened up an isometric view in a project. As soon as I turned on shadows, the view crashed and closed. Experimenting further, I could get views to crash and close very easily (turning on shadows, quick zoom in/out, spinning the model, etc.). I turned off OpenGL and Overlay planes, and I could still get views to crash.

I then installed the latest drivers - 77.56 - direct from the nVidia website. Since then, I have not been able to crash any views with OpenGL on and Overlay planes on. So at this time, I can safely say that the PNY Quadro FX 540 with nVidia drivers 77.56 is working with Revit 8.1

[Wes Macaulay]

I wonder if they're any different from PNY's drivers on this page:
http://www.pny.com/support/drivers/?prod=quadro

I see they've got a 77.56 driver there, too. It is amazing that a driver update could make such a difference! Perhaps the manufacturers are paying more attention to Revit's video needs.

[muttlieb]

I wonder if they're any different from PNY's drivers on this page:
http://www.pny.com/support/drivers/?prod=quadro

Good question. I just sent off an email to PNY, hopefully someone will provide an answer.