Anybody do any high end 3d stuff?

[Wildfire]

Hi

does anybody use any high end 3d software, like softimage Xsi or Maya?

I was wonddering what the best card to use is? I'm talking about the difference between the Radeon 8500 and the GeForce 3. I hear that XSI v2.0 has in built Nvidia realtime shaders. So are the programmes geared towards Nvidia cards?

If anybody can help me choose a card on this basis it would be good. I do use 2 monitors and i have been thinking about a GeForce 3 Ti200 and a GeForce 2 MX PCI or just the Radeon. Obviously the Radeon is cheaper, but I kinda need the best for my work

Cheers

[CrystalMethod]

I use Maya, but I really have to sit down for a weekend and try not to do anything else while I'm working on something. Both programs will function with a normal graphics card, but if you're really serious about getting into it, you should be looking into getting a mid to high end graphics card tailored for that kind of work.

Here's two companies that make really good cards for the kind of thing you're thinking about.

http://www.3dlabs.com/index.htm

http://www.elsa.com/international/us/products.htm

Remember that graphics work cards, and gaming cards are two different things.

[funnyperson1]

i agree with Crystal Method, if you just want to do 3d creation then a 3dlabs card is the way to go, but if you are doing some gaming as well, the 8500 hands down.....

[Yodums]

The Radeon 8800 was designed for really high end art people put its like 1000 dollars, yikes.

Creative labs is a good one as well as Radeon 8500's quality.

Yodums