Upgrading a Dell Workstation

[BlueFireAngel]

I work for a small construction company. I am currently running a Dell Precision 380 Workstation, P4 630 HT with a Quadro FX540 GPU. The card is starting to go bad, plus the fan is so loud that it's driving me crazy. I know eventually I'll upgrade the whole computer but for the time being, I'd like to replace the GPU. I hope that if I make a good selection on the card, I can use it for the next machine.
Primarily I use the workstation for multitasking internet, takeoff software, and estimating software, but the GPU needs to be able to handle CAD programs including Civil 3D, Terramodel (and it's new sibbling/counterpart Business Center), etc.
The current PC is a Dell with 1 PCI-E 1.1 slot and 4x1GB of RAM. I believe it has a 375W PSU. I have 2 monitors right now. One is 1900x1280 with a DVI connection and one is a 1280x1024 with an analog connection. I know that eventually the older monitor will be replaced with a larger, higher resolution digital monitor so I'm not concerned with the new card having an analog connection.
Any advise on selecting a new WS GPU is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[COLGeek]

What is your budget?

 

[BlueFireAngel]

Less expensive is better. A few hundred dollars at most.

 

[COLGeek]

Here is the complete offerings that Newegg has for the Quadro line-up. Pricing runs from very reasonable to obscene depending on the GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008333%20600044686&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

I am keeping you with Nvidia since that is what you have now and you should be used to how their drivers work and support various apps.

I would recommend this one as a good balance (perf/$$$) at $410US:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133272

However, the 600 at $170 looks decent as well:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133354

Good luck!

 

[BlueFireAngel]

Thanks for the quick responses! Why do you recommend the 1800 over the 600? When I look at the specs on each it seems the 600 has more memory, DX11 support (not that that's an issue for this particular computer), OpenGL 4.0 insteand of 3.0, etc. And it's ~$240 less. Is there some logic that I'm missing?
As far as staying with Nvidia, from everything I've seen that's the consensus of AutoCAD users but I'm not sure why. Do you have any insights as to why Nvidia seems to be better than ATI/AMD?
Thanks!

 

[COLGeek]

The factor was costs. Looks like the 1800 has better overall performance, but at $240 more than the 600. The 600 will meet your needs.

Personally, I would prefer ATI over Nvidia. I stayed with Nvidia because you have now. I would recommend this ATI as a budget option:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195096

 

[BlueFireAngel]

Have you come across any direct comparisons between the ATI V4800 and Nvidia 600 or 1800? I've searched google some but haven't really seen anything yet.
Thanks for your help!

 

[COLGeek]

Have you come across any direct comparisons between the ATI V4800 and Nvidia 600 or 1800? I've searched google some but haven't really seen anything yet.
Thanks for your help!

I have not seen. There are some comparisons on Tom's that you can make reference to, but unlike gaming/general purpose GPUs, you just don't see the comparisons seen with professional grade stuff.

That being said, here is the Tom's link:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/benchmarks,3.html

I think all 3 discussed, thus far, will out perform what you have substantially. You really can't step up in class beyond these types of GPUs because of your PSU.

 

[BlueFireAngel]

Thanks for your help! I don't really thinkI'll need much more than one of those three regardless of the PSU but it's nice to know that when it comes time to build a new WS I don't need to find twice the PSU. But that's a discussion for another day on a different thread.
Thanks again!

 

[BlueFireAngel]

Best answer selected by BlueFireAngel.

 

[COLGeek]

Thanks for your help! I don't really thinkI'll need much more than one of those three regardless of the PSU but it's nice to know that when it comes time to build a new WS I don't need to find twice the PSU. But that's a discussion for another day on a different thread.
Thanks again!

You are most welcome. So, which one are you going with?

Good luck!