AutoCAD Video Card

[Timaphillips]

I know nothing about what is needed from a graphics card for AutoCAD. I'm running AutoCAD 2007LT on 2 seperate computers. Here's the skinny:

System 1: Sony Vaio from about 3 or 4 years ago. 512 MB RAM, standars onboard ATI Graphics. Runs OK.

System 2: HP pentium D 820 with 2 Gigs of RAM and HIS X800XL Ice Q 2 card. Runs clean as well.

The laptop is getting the boot and the HP is my home computer. We are upgrading computers and I am going to upgrade whatever HP Core 2 Duo I get. The question on my mind is what graphics card should I use? Looks like GPU's for AutoCAd and the like are pretty pricey for less memory and speed. Why not spend the same $300-400 or even $200 on a gaming based NVidea 7600 or something? I know RAM and CPU speed matter alot, so those will be taken care of. Focus mainly on the GPU. I should also note that I will not be rendering any intense 3D models such as games or the like. I am mostly drawing in 2D space with the possibility of getting into 3D designs later on. If you must know, our company designs grocery store layouts just to give you an idea of what I'm working on. Thanks all!

Edit: I should add that I will be running two moniters on this card.

 

[KBlair]

Those $300-$400 FireGLs and Quadros are specifically designed for CAD/modeling applications, but if you want to go cheap, a 7600GT should do the job.

 

[lancec2c30]

I dont really see the purpose in any quadros or the like, those are for rendering like 3d animation. I think for 240 you can get a 7900gt if it is PCI-E.

 

[Timaphillips]

My thoughts too. Thanks.

 

[Jumping_Bean514]

I dont really see the purpose in any quadros or the like, those are for rendering like 3d animation. I think for 240 you can get a 7900gt if it is PCI-E.

Is that even English?