NVIDIA Quadro 4 XGL 900 Gaming....

[butchrecon]

How well would this card work for Video Gaming? Lets say compared to like an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro or NVIDIA FX 5900? I have an opportunity to get one, but if it is not good at gaming what would be the use? I know it works great for AudoCAD and other workstation graphics. Any thoughts.

James Collins
Systems Analyst
A+, MCP, MCSA, Network+

 

[felixc]

If you have no use for it for CAD applications (still, it's got to be a real high-end user app because every standard card can run AutoCAD and such), then don't lose your time with this card.

 

[pmonett]

I have not been able to find any game benchmark results for Quadro cards (at least, nothing more recent than one published in 2000). To me, that says that such cards are not meant for this usage, which probably does not bode well for their performance.
I do remember reading a review of such cards a long while ago, I think it was on Tom's Hardware, where the article said more or less that, while the Quadro line is a stunning performer in rendering static scenes, gaming is not its forte.
Last nail in the coffin, so to speak, is the fact that on Nvidia's site, the Quadro is touted exclusively for work applications. The word game is not even present on the page that talks about Quadro line.

Finally, I'd remark that a Radeon 9800 is a better choice than the FX line. If you really want to go Nvidia, go for the newer 6xxx generation. As you can see here, the Radeon 9800 XT does much better than the FX 5950 Ultra, but both are squashed by the 6600 GT.
On Shipzilla, a 5950 is apparently hard to find and has a going price of $438 to almost $600. If you're ready to spend $600, you can get an FX 6800 Ultra, and there isn't much better on the market at this time.
For less than $300, you can get a 6800 GT, and a 6600 GT is going to fetch $212 at the most. Of course, these are models with 128MB of RAM. You might think of getting the more expensive version with 256MB - if you're a serious gamer, it will be worth it.
Forget the 5950, its performance is not worth the price today.

Pascal.

 

[butchrecon]

Unfortunatly I cannot afford a Radeon 9800 at this time. I will purchase a new card (X800)at the end of summer. I am just looking for some thoughts on how well a Quadro 4 900XGL 128 Meg card would perform in games.

James Collins
Systems Analyst
A+, MCP, MCSA, Network+

 

[pmonett]

Having checked prices again today, I find the curious situation where an obsolete card (the R9800pro) is priced higher than a mid-range or top-level latest generation card (the FX 6600GT), even though the latter outperforms the former in every way and by a comfortable margin.

I understand the basics of storage, ROI and supply and demand, but still - this is quite a puzzler for me. Seems to me that the older gen should be shoved aside in price as well as performance.

Oh well, live and learn.

Pascal.

 

[paparazi]

butchrecon
With specifications and physical build similar to the Geforce4 4600Ti expect gaming performance to be some what less than this.
Obviously this card is optimized for professional 3D desktop work CIRCA 2001/2002 if I had to stick my neck out and have a guestimate I would say your looking at the same sort of performance (used as a gaming card) as a GF4 4200Ti and as such doubt it has DX9.0 instructions unlike a Radeon 9800 or an FX5900.
See this review that does have a little open GL gaming comparison, so will give you a very rough idea.

http://www.digit-life.com/articles/profcards/profcards-04-2002-part5.html

Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[TruthInSatire]

It could be the best gaming card on earth... if games don't support the drivers, it will be no good to you. check specs and requirements first.



Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand. - Putt's Law

 

[paparazi]

Latest forceware driver for quadro series is the 71.84 which was released march 11th and supported previous nvidia gaming cards as well as the quadro so no problem with games compatibility.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_71.84.html

Martin


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