Donated computer hardware from Smoky Mountain Regional?

[Gary Dillard]

At the Smoky Mountain Regional last year each team was given a big electronic/computer hardware/part/thing. We were told they were donated to us, we had to sign for it, and we signed a card thanking whoever it was that donated it to us. I don't think we received anything telling us what it was or what we do with it, and I haven't looked at it since then - I'm pretty sure it's in one of our storage boxes. Does anyone know what this was/is and what we do with it? I think I guessed at the time it was a graphics card on steroids for a workstation.

[Thad House]

It is and Nvidia Graphics card. it is either a gtx 460 or 480, i cant remember exactly which at this point. but it is one of those 2.

[Gary Dillard]

Great - thanks. We don't have a desktop at our build facility but I'm looking at getting one to run Creo there and I figured if this was a graphics card it might meet the need. Are gaming graphics processors adequate or better for high end CAD applications?

[AcesJames]

It's a consumer desktop graphics card. It's made by Nvidia, specifically the GTX480. Because it came directly from Nvidia (who makes the PCBs for the cards) and not one of the companies that actually sells the cards (EVGA, MSI, Palit, Zotac, etc), it is unbranded, which is why you may not have known what it was.

Here's a link to a branded retail version of what we all received:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130617

The cards aren't sold anymore, and have since been replaced with the Nvidia GTX500 series of cards. The GTX480 was the grand-daddy of the Nvidia line up when it first came out though. Historically, the GTX480s have been plagued by issues including outrageous heat output and very high power consumption.

If you plan to use your GTX480, make sure the computer you put it into has a case with very good cooling, and a strong power supply. Look for a supply that has at least 40 or so amps on the +12v rail. Any quality power supply at or above 550 watts should do nicely.

[buildmaster5000]

It also should be stated that these cards tend to be buggy. Why else would nVidia be giving away hundreds of top of the line graphics cards. I have spent more time than I care to admit troubleshooting my machine because of this card.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by buildmaster5000

Why else would nVidia be giving away hundreds of top of the line graphics cards.

One reason a company would give them away is because the market place moves so fast, they may have developed a superior performing card, at a lower price. You cannot sell an older product you make against a new product you make. Existing inventory has to be depleted. Either fire sale it, or give it away.

The trick product managers have to do is deplete existing inventory at the same time the new product come out. If you mis-time it then either you don't have a product to sell, or you have too much of the old stuff. When the economy slowed down it may have depressed their burn rate, hence the excess inventory.

There are a lot of reasons why a company would give it away other than these also.
.

[Mk.32]

That card is the Nvidia 480GTX, used to be one the of the fastest consumer GPU's you could get.
The card is known for his ridiculous heat output, idling at 81C and getting up to near 100C under load.
If you plan on using it in a PC, make sure it has a beefy PSU at least 550Watt, a good amount of airflow and the newest drivers installed. Also note the fan can get loud due to the massive cooling it needs.
For me the card has never given me a single issue, runs Solidworks beautifully and anything you can throw at it.

[Chickenonastick]

Originally Posted by buildmaster5000

It also should be stated that these cards tend to be buggy. Why else would nVidia be giving away hundreds of top of the line graphics cards. I have spent more time than I care to admit troubleshooting my machine because of this card.

These cards might also be refurbished units.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by Chickenonastick

These cards might also be refurbished units.

They are not refurbs.

Don't forget, there could be a problem with BuildMasters's computer itself..............

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by ebarker

They are not refurbs.

Don't forget, there could be a problem with BuildMasters's computer itself..............

We've used them in multiple machines now, no stability issues.

[Tom Ore]

Originally Posted by Gary Dillard

Great - thanks. We don't have a desktop at our build facility but I'm looking at getting one to run Creo there and I figured if this was a graphics card it might meet the need. Are gaming graphics processors adequate or better for high end CAD applications?

Check the supported cards on PTC's website before you set up a machine to run Creo. That card is not supported. I wound up buying an ATI FirePro V5800 for my home computer.

[Trent B]

It does help a little bit in some CAD apps but not as much as a Quadro or Fire Pro or similar workstation card and unfortunately there is no way to softmod it into one as there isn't an equivalent quadro card.

I will agree with what has been said, do not be alarmed if you see temperatures of over 90C, the things need a ton of juice to power and can heat up a room. That being said there have been no stability issues with mine, artifacts or crashes even running nvidia beta drivers

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Trent B

It does help a little bit in some CAD apps but not as much as a Quadro or Fire Pro or similar workstation card and unfortunately there is no way to softmod it into one as there isn't an equivalent quadro card.

I will agree with what has been said, do not be alarmed if you see temperatures of over 90C, the things need a ton of juice to power and can heat up a room. That being said there have been no stability issues with mine, artifacts or crashes even running nvidia beta drivers

It performs better than my quadro 1800, which is still comparable in price.

[Trent B]

There are some view options in solidworks you can't enable with the GTX 480 simply because it is not a supported graphics card so in that respect the quadro would outperform it.