Thread: OT-Video Card replacement for 3D Modeling

My NVidia GeForce 7950 GT just burnt up. I have an older Dell Dimension 8300 running Win XP SP 3, 32 bit; w/SolidWorks/SprutCAM/Alibre/Photoshop/KeyShot/ etc. w/two 24" monitors. It serves my purpose, but I need a new card. I am having a heck of a time getting anyone to talk to me without trying to sell me a new system. I don't want a new system. I just want a good video card that works well with these programs and my computer. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Regards,

Drew

Originally Posted by pak

I am having a heck of a time getting anyone to talk to me without trying to sell me a new system.

For good reason I'm afraid. That's a seriously old computer with an obsolete video card interface. Nobody has made an AGP video card for years.

If you really want to keep it, a used card off ebay is pretty much your only option.

Try NewEgg, they have 16 different ones.

As gregor stated, you'll have to go search out a new card, But why not get something current?? a cheap $400 laptop or desktop will make your programs sreem over that old Pentium 4 your using and if you up grade SW to 2013 or 14 XP will no longer be supported and won't let install it.

Get a 64 bit system and then you'll be able to use more ram also, no slugish lagging and click and wait.....

I'd get a cheap card to return the current machine to service AND get a new PC.

That gives ample time to migrate applications and backup your files. You can then put the old PC in a box as a "war reserve" spare.

I agree with casement,

fwiw, we just got two of these to run bobcad v23 / solidworks / gibbs 2012+ They run flawlesly, and damn cheap.
GIGABYTE GA-H61M-S2-B3 Thermaltake Barebones Kit - GIGABYTE GA-H61M-S2-B3 Board, Intel Core i3-2100 CPU, 8GB DDR3 RAM Kit, GeForce GT 520 1GB, 24x DVDRW, Thermaltake V2 Mid Tower, 450W PSU at TigerDirect.com

Comes with half the ram it can handle, and an I3 processor, so there is a ton of room for improvment if you need it

-Jacob

Originally Posted by pak

My NVidia GeForce 7950 GT just burnt up. I have an older Dell Dimension 8300 running Win XP SP 3, 32 bit; w/SolidWorks/SprutCAM/Alibre/Photoshop/KeyShot/ etc. w/two 24" monitors. It serves my purpose, but I need a new card. I am having a heck of a time getting anyone to talk to me without trying to sell me a new system. I don't want a new system. I just want a good video card that works well with these programs and my computer. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Regards,

Drew

What connectors are you using? Vga? Dvi?

Originally Posted by m98custom1212

What connectors are you using? Vga? Dvi?

DVI x 2

Well, I found a video card on Tiger Direct and ordered it. It’s not the same card as I had before, but it seems like it would work fine; and it had great reviews. However, this was before I read a PM from FranH telling me that a 7950GT was available from Amazon – albeit used. So, twenty minutes after I placed my TD order, I called to cancel. I was stunned when they told me that it was already packed and ready to ship. No problem though - they canceled it anyway and I was able to order through Amazon. Because the card from Amazon is the very same card that came out of my system, it should be nothing more than a swap – presuming that it works.

Once I am up a running again, I WILL buy a new 64 bit computer. The bad news is that I have only a few applications that will run 64 bit. I will have to upgrade over forty programs and all of my peripheral hardware drivers to match. Not to mention learning the latest software interfaces. I hate that. Right now I am on my wife's computer and I don't know how to navigate MS Word 2007, Excel, etc. Not only that, but some of the features that used to exist in the older versions do not exist in the newer versions. And there are VBA bugs in programs like Excel that don’t allow you to do things that older versions did. Don’t get me wrong. I am not adverse to learning new things. I thrive on it. But to learn the same things over – that’s another story. It’s like my wife moving furniture around to create a new look. Because I am a creature of habit, I trip in the middle of the night. It’s the same furniture, just in a different place.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice. I’m sure I will appreciate it once the move is made.

Regards,

Drew

Originally Posted by pak

DVI x 2

Well, I found a video card on Tiger Direct and ordered it. It’s not the same card as I had before, but it seems like it would work fine; and it had great reviews. However, this was before I read a PM from FranH telling me that a 7950GT was available from Amazon – albeit used. So, twenty minutes after I placed my TD order, I called to cancel. I was stunned when they told me that it was already packed and ready to ship. No problem though - they canceled it anyway and I was able to order through Amazon. Because the card from Amazon is the very same card that came out of my system, it should be nothing more than a swap – presuming that it works.

Once I am up a running again, I WILL buy a new 64 bit computer. The bad news is that I have only a few applications that will run 64 bit. I will have to upgrade over forty programs and all of my peripheral hardware drivers to match. Not to mention learning the latest software interfaces. I hate that. Right now I am on my wife's computer and I don't know how to navigate MS Word 2007, Excel, etc. Not only that, but some of the features that used to exist in the older versions do not exist in the newer versions. And there are VBA bugs in programs like Excel that don’t allow you to do things that older versions did. Don’t get me wrong. I am not adverse to learning new things. I thrive on it. But to learn the same things over – that’s another story. It’s like my wife moving furniture around to create a new look. Because I am a creature of habit, I trip in the middle of the night. It’s the same furniture, just in a different place.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice. I’m sure I will appreciate it once the move is made.

Regards,

Drew

You can do alot more in the newer office sutie it just takes awhile to figure where everything is... Do what I tell everyone Google/you tube

Originally Posted by m98custom1212

You can do alot more in the newer office sutie it just takes awhile to figure where everything is... Do what I tell everyone Google/you tube

I guess I focused on the "learning new things" more than the cost of moving to a new platform. To run in native 64 bit mode, I will have to upgrade almost forty programs. That's a lot for a retired guy on a fixed income.

If you can, tell me how to manage the upgrade with the least pain. Thanks.

Regards,

Drew

p.s. And tell me why my text not wrapping in IE 7 when replying to posts. I have to scroll three miles to click the 'submit' button.

Originally Posted by pak

I guess I focused on the "learning new things" more than the cost of moving to a new platform. To run in native 64 bit mode, I will have to upgrade almost forty programs. That's a lot for a retired guy on a fixed income.

If you can, tell me how to manage the upgrade with the least pain. Thanks.

Regards,

Drew

p.s. And tell me why my text not wrapping in IE 7 when replying to posts. I have to scroll three miles to click the 'submit' button.

In windows 7 you can run programs in "windows xp compatibly mode" which will mirror xp for you.

I will only upgrade the programs that readily available. What programs are planning on upgrading? I know you said 40 but could you give a short list.

That's because your running IE7 your couple versions old, upgrade to IE9 or download firefox or chrome (both free)

I'd park old PC and new PC next to each other and have at it "program by program"

Windows 7 will run 32-bit applications.

You can make 7 look pretty much like the "classic" XP. I prefer it that way and despise "eye candy".

You can also run a "pure XP" virtual machine on your 7 host using VirtualBox, which is free:

https://www.virtualbox.org/

I have a Ubuntu host and run various operating systems including XP and 7 as guests. It's easy, and you can take Snapshots of your clean XP install (or any point thereafter) and revert to them if you have problems.

In short, you don't have to give up anything.

casement,

Very interesting read on WikiPedia about Ubuntu and Virtual Box. Thanks for that.

m98custom1212

Originally Posted by m98custom1212

What programs are planning on upgrading?

I am still not up on my primary computer, so I can’t give you details. But, without taxing my brain too much, this is what I recall using daily, weekly or monthly. I have asterisked programs that I seldom or rarely use and have not included programs that I can easily download for free or at minimal expense. Please remember, this is from memory. I intend to upgrade all programs that are not asterisked.

And FireFox is my browser of choice, so I didn’t know IE had the wrap problem. I appreciate the input. Now I have to do the research on what to get and how to get it synced with my current stuff. My video card came in yesterday, but I wasn't here. They will re deliver today.

SolidWorks Pro 2011
SolidWorks Pro 2012
SprutCAM 7
Alibre CAD
Alibre CAM
NCPlot
RenderWorks
KeyShot
Mach3
Adobe CS2 – includes:

1. Bridge
2. Photoshop
3. ImageReady*
4. Illistrator
5. InDesign
6. GoLive*
7. Acrobat Pro
8. Designer*

Internet Explorer
FireFox
Acronis True Image
MS Works*
Word Perfect*
MS Office Enterprise Edition – includes:

1. Word
2. Excel
3. Access
4. Outlook
5. Project
6. PowerPoint

MS Visio
Visual Basic
Visual Basic.net
Crystal Reports*
SQL Server
Quicken
Top Down
Painter
MapTech Charting software (big boat)
Lorance Charting Softare (little boat)
Other programs:
Several electronics programs (names I cannot remember)
Hardware:

1. HP LaserJet 5000
2. HP Photosmart 7900
3. HP Office Jet 7210
4. Smart Label Printer 450
5. KeySpan Serial Adapter for GPS
6. Wacom tablet for PS
7. MX900 for home entertainment center
8. SATA FireWire External HD
9. USB External HD

Originally Posted by pak

casement,

Very interesting read on WikiPedia about Ubuntu and Virtual Box. Thanks for that.

m98custom1212



I am still not up on my primary computer, so I can’t give you details. But, without taxing my brain too much, this is what I recall using daily, weekly or monthly. I have asterisked programs that I seldom or rarely use and have not included programs that I can easily download for free or at minimal expense. Please remember, this is from memory. I intend to upgrade all programs that are not asterisked.

And FireFox is my browser of choice, so I didn’t know IE had the wrap problem. I appreciate the input. Now I have to do the research on what to get and how to get it synced with my current stuff. My video card came in yesterday, but I wasn't here. They will re deliver today.

SolidWorks Pro 2011
SolidWorks Pro 2012
SprutCAM 7
Alibre CAD
Alibre CAM
NCPlot
RenderWorks
KeyShot
Mach3
Adobe CS2 – includes:

1. Bridge
2. Photoshop
3. ImageReady*
4. Illistrator
5. InDesign
6. GoLive*
7. Acrobat Pro
8. Designer*

Internet Explorer
FireFox
Acronis True Image
MS Works*
Word Perfect*
MS Office Enterprise Edition – includes:

1. Word
2. Excel
3. Access
4. Outlook
5. Project
6. PowerPoint

MS Visio
Visual Basic
Visual Basic.net
Crystal Reports*
SQL Server
Quicken
Top Down
Painter
MapTech Charting software (big boat)
Lorance Charting Softare (little boat)
Other programs:
Several electronics programs (names I cannot remember)
Hardware:

1. HP LaserJet 5000
2. HP Photosmart 7900
3. HP Office Jet 7210
4. Smart Label Printer 450
5. KeySpan Serial Adapter for GPS
6. Wacom tablet for PS
7. MX900 for home entertainment center
8. SATA FireWire External HD
9. USB External HD

All the hardware will work fine.

Everything I bolded will work fine. You meant have called them for a 64 bit but thats it.

Well, once again, the advice here was spot on. I got my video card in and installed it without any problems. Then is was decision time. Since I bought my Dell Dimension 8300 in 2004 I considered the advice given by some of you to buy a new computer. What you get for the money just wasn't worth it, so I built my own. While I could have found lower prices from various different vendors, only NewEgg had everything I needed and their site is top of the line. I had never built a computer before, but with NewEgg videos "How to Build a Computer" part I, II & III it was a piece of cake - and a lot of fun. Here are the specs.

Gigabyte Motherboard w/Z77X Chipset
16m RAM
Intel Quad Core i7 – 3770K
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (radiator)
2 – 128gig Solid State Drives
1 – 64gig Solid State Drive
2 – 1 terabyte 7200RPM Hard Disk Drives
2 - CD/DVD Burners
NVidia Quadro 2000D, Duel DVI video card
SeaSonic 750W Modular Power Supply
Corsair Obsidion Case
Win7 64 bit Pro OS
Dual 27 inch HD monitors (existing equipment)

It POSTed the first time. It takes 12 seconds to boot Windows 7, but that's not the good news. I compared it to my old PC by doing a SW final render on an assembly having about 14 parts. On the Dell it took 30 minutes & 32 seconds. On my home-built it took 4.4 seconds. I used to go get coffee and donuts before. Not any more.

There are a couple of things I learned along the way about how to set up a machine like this. Some programs like SW process in a linear or sequential fashion, while others like PS process in parallel. So SW cannot take advantage of the quad core, but PS, Photoworks 360 and others can. The trick is to load Win7 on the first solid state drive by itself. Then create two partitions on the second SSD. Partition 1 is for all the programs and Partition 2 is a smaller one for active projects. The third SSD is dedicated as a PS scratch disk. The first 1 terabyte HDD will be used to store all final documents and the fourth is to backup all volumes using Acronis backup software.

Now my challenge is to install a switching matrix (coming from NewEgg) that will allow me to use one keyboard and mouse with both monitors. This will allow me to transition software over time so as not to break the bank.

I only had one glitch in this setup. The WIFI/Bluetooth card interferes with my Cisco Micro Cell, which boosts my cell phone signal to five bars anywhere in the house. I had one or maybe two bars before. I have disconnected the WIFI for now until I can move the PC off the desk farther from the MC.

Thanks again for all your help.

Regards,

Drew

Can you switch your wifi up to 5ghz mode? Usually clears most phone interference issues.

I've spent several thousand bucks at Newegg over the years. Good choice!

Originally Posted by PhillipM

Can you switch your wifi up to 5ghz mode? Usually clears most phone interference issues.

Phillip,

I don't know how, but I will find out. Thanks for the tip.

Drew