Graphic cards for Creo2

[pmoore-2]

I have two schools, both with a large number of PCs that are having graphic card issues with Creo2

Does anybody know of a low cost graphic card which will support school use - i.e. reasonably complex, but not to industry standards.

They would appreciate your thoughts

Paul Moore

[TimBrotherhood]

It's really difficult recommending specific cards because it is best to balance the card/PC. Having said that I see a lot of entry level computers in schools so I looked at entry level graphics cards from the two main companies that mention suitability for 3D CAD and came up with the following:

AMD Firepro V3900 with 1GB graphics RAM. A Google search came up with prices £75+

Nvidia Quadra 400 with 512MD graphics RAM. A Google search came up with prices around £75+

Both of these support OpenGL 4.1 which is the key requirement for Creo.

I found this summary helpful when researching this: http://blog.grabcad.com/2011/07/how-to-build-a-faster-3d-cad-pc/

[pmoore-2]

Tim

Thanks, though I think the schools may hesitate at £75 per card for 30 or more PCs

Paul

[TimBrotherhood]

It seems ironic that a school is being given software with a commerical value of over $200,000 per seat and they won't find the budget for a graphics card to make it run effectively. Balance that with the press articles almost every week where schools are buying class sets of tablets. I wonder if d&t teachers are making the case properly to managers.

[TimBrotherhood]

The IT technician at Oakham School has tested a number of cards and settled on the one below which teachers report works well with students including complex assemblies at A level.

PC Spec

Dell optiplex 3010, i5 (ivy bridge) processor, with 4Gb memory.

Graphics card

ASUS Nvidia GT620-1GD3-L 1 £35.57 + shipping from Lanway

This card has multiple outputs for, SVGA, DVI and HDMI.

http://www.lanway.co.uk/products/product_details.asp?ProdID=58065578&sp=search

The PC spec is included because overall performance is the sum of all the parts and it's important the latest drivers for the card are installed and set up correctly.

Thanks to Oakham School for providing this information.