which Graphic card for my application?

[skapie1]

Hi all, I'm working on a graphical simulation program written in C++. Without going into too much detail a good comparison would be a cloth and knife simulation. I basically have 1 complex model (the "cloth") and one simple model ("knife"). I'm simulating soft properties of the cloth using deformable meshes, and of course the cutting algorithms.

So with regards to harware, what would you recommend? What is more important. GPU,CPU, Ram, but especially some info on the required GPU since that is something I'm definately upgrading (currently using a Riva TNT2 model 64 8O . (AMD Athlon XP 2000+ 1.67Ghz, 512 mb Ram)

As far as I know I'll have to access the hardware buffers and update the geometry there. I know reading from the buffer is slow, and I'm not sure how much I'll want to do that. The software I'm using does allow me to have a copy of the buffer in main memory. So it means I'll have to write two times to the buffer (real and shadow), but then the read would be faster.

So, my question is what type of graphics card will be best in this situation. I don't want to buy something that will be insufficient, but also not too expensive...

I was considering using an ATI radeon 9550 (256mb 128 bit I think), since it's a decent card and cheap, but I can go better if I really need to.

Thanks

 

[yourmothersanastronaut]

I'm assuming your motherboard has an AGP slot, so that's what you'll be limited to.

What is your budget? How much are you willing to spend on a video card?

Ideally, you should save up some money to buy an entirely new computer. That would let you buy a much faster PCI express card.

 

[SciFiMan]

Are you in the USA? I have an AGP 9600 Pro 128 (128bit interface) that you can have for free. It's a DX9 card. It's just sitting in my garage at the moment. If that doesn't work well enough for your needs, you can look for something stronger. But I previously used it to play BF2 online, Far Cry, Painkiller, etc. so it may be okay. If not you may need to look at something newer but low cost like a 6600 or x1300.

 

[skapie1]

Hi
Yes at the moment I'm limited to AGP, but like I said, if the hardware I need forces me to get PCI-e then that's what I'll have to do. It's a project I'm working on, so the hardware has to support my software, otherwise there's no point. With regards to agp and pci-e, I know the technical bandwidth differs quite a lot between the two, but I read somewhere that no game actually utilises the pci-e bandwidth and therefore, agp cards are still comparable with their pci-e counterparts. My point being, maybe agp is good enough for me?

If I have to estimate my project's budget I'd say not more than $250, but ideally (they'd) like to spend as little as possible, hence this post, otherwise I couldv'e just ordered the best.

Are you in the USA? I have an AGP 9600 Pro 128 (128bit interface) that you can have for free.

That is extremely kind of you to offer, but unfortunately I live in South Africa! :roll:

Thanks for your comments