nVidia Quadro4 vs QuadroFX 500

[Matt]

Hi people!

I have a question regarding the benchmarks of these two cards:

nVidia QuadroFX 500
nVidia Quadro4 900XGL

I'm just about to buy a computer and I'm not sure which is faster,
according to the nVidia website the Quadro4 900XGL is faster . . .

NVIDIA Quadro4 900 XGL
AGP: 4X
Memory: 128MB DDR
proe-01: 17
ugs-01: 17.3
3dsmax-01: 16.5

Quadro FX 500 AGP
AGP: 8X
Memory: 128MB DDR
proe-02: 16.8
ugs-03: 12.2
3dsmax-02: 12.1

. . . but the AGP is only x4 compared to x8 on the QuadroFX 500.

My question is this, would the fact that the Quadro4 900XGL being faster
be outweighed by the fact that the QuadroFX 500 is 8xAPG?

Which would you go for?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Matt

[Aegis]

The general consensus of benchmarking websites on AGP x8 is that it's a marketing gimmick - most AGP x8 GFX cards show little performance improvement over AGP x4 (I've even seen some reviews where they're slower...)

I would without question go for the Quadro4 900 XGL - it's the best of the Quadro4 cards whereas the FX 500 is the worst of the Quadro FX range.

[Aegis]

Incidentally, there is an AGP x8 Quadro4 900 - It's called the Quadro4 980 XGL - just so's you know...

[A-D]

Dunno if anyone else has come across this, but I've had a heck of time with the quadro FX 500. Works great with everything except Lightwave's Modeler. Tech support at PNY, Tri Cad, and Lightwave are all stumped. Kinda makes the 900 look like a better go.