I got another quick question about computers...

[JJ McKool]

I was wondering with programs like maya or 3d max if a graphics card is a good idea. Like I mean a good graphics card, and if you guys think so, about how powerful one would generally do the trick.

Also, not really as important, but how good of one would u need for a game like WoW, or a similar game.

[Silvertone]

You might want to take a looksee through here under graphic card/drivers.

http://www.alias.com/glb/eng/support/maya/qualified_hardware/index.jsp

[JJ McKool]

Thanks, I didn't see that be4, I'm guessing they dont run on vista yet, eh?

[Puck]

Graphics cards won't speed up renders in 3dsMax or Maya, neither will they help with polygon counts or shader effects, they will only help with viewport preview speed. Any low end graphics card today will do the job fine. The more high end gaming cards (8800's etc) are overkill in my opinion but there are 3d people who will use it all up on heavy scenes. If you want a serious 3d card then you can buy one that is specifically made for 3d applications (like the Quadro FX or FireGL)- they cost 20% more than consumer cards and are crappy with games, but they give you more bang in 3d applications (I personally think they are a waste of money though, any decent gaming card handles 3d apps fine).

Max has been patched to work with vista now - for max 9 it's called the productivity booster patch. I'm sure Autodesk has done the same for Maya.

Any low end graphics card will run World of Warcraft perfectly, that game is not a system hog at all (I have an old computer and I run it in windowed mode while using other programs on the second monitor and it runs smoothly).

[JJ McKool]

huh, those bastard computer salesmen, they all say, "Oh no, you need an $8000 Graphics card, the fastest CPU in the world and a bijillion Terabytes of RAM if u want any hope of runnin WoW!" K, so that's an exaggeration, but still, good thing I don't listen to salespeeps, eh? Anyways, thx 4 the info.

[onona]

Graphics cards won't speed up renders in 3dsMax or Maya, neither will they help with polygon counts or shader effects, they will only help with viewport preview speed. Any low end graphics card today will do the job fine.

Funny how you contradicted yourself in your last two sentences. How can you say that any low end graphics card will do when the primary function of your display card when working in a 3D suite is viewport speed? Viewport speed is an important part of an efficient workflow and "any low end graphics card" is going to slow you down, and chug on scenes with a heavy polygon count.

If you're dealing with heavy geometry (and many, if not most people eventually do), then it's absolutely worth it to cough up for a good display card. Nvidia's Quadro range are fantastic - I've worked with many of them in the past and they're absolutely worth every penny. High end gaming cards are a viable alternative too, especially if you're going to be using the same computer for gaming.