Thanks for the input, Jason. It was obviously not was I was hoping to hear, but I appreciate your help. Obviously, there are a ton of variables that might effect how the card performs on a specific machine, but you implicating the drivers confirms things I have read elsewhere. However, you are the first person I have heard mention the FirePro line and its drivers specifically. If you wouldn't mind, I would greatly appreciate any more information you might share regarding your setup. Specifically, how long ago you experienced the problems with the FirePro, what model FirePro, what driver version(s) you were using (if you happen to remember that detail), and the obvious question of whether the change to the Quadro solved your problems. It is clear from our post that you stuck with the FirePro long enough to experience a driver update that made things worse. This is perhaps the most disturbing bit to read, as I was under the impression that the drivers while lagging behind Nvidia were steadily improving and had even pulled ahead when compared to the drivers for the newest 'fermi' Nvidia cards.

Thanks again for your help and insights. I hope to hear from others, but these workstation cards don't seem to have a large user base.

• Mike

In roughly descending order of usage I currently use the following; Rhino 3d/MOI, Sketchup, MODO/Blender, Photoshop, AutoCad (though Draftsight is quickly becoming my go to 2d software for bid packages), Skethup Vray plugin, Layout. Not all of these are used for every project, but I am always surprised how many different bits of software touch everything that I work on. I don't currently do any animation so my renders are static scenes. I have a dedicated desktop for rendering, but will do some with this machine out of the office. I work in a scenic design studio doing conceptual design, renders for client approval/discussion, 3d modeling, and ultimately generating 2d drafting packages for the sets and scenic elements of the attractions we design.

With the exception of Adobe CS5 software I don't use anything that will currently take advantage of CUDA on the Nvidia card.

I hope that gives a bit more information, and thanks for any help.

Mike

I am considering a workstation laptop (Dell m6600) as a desktop "replacement" for a workflow that uses Sketchup Pro pretty heavily. I am confident in the capabilities of the laptop, but am undecided on the GPU. I have the option of an Nvidia Quadro m3000 or an AMD FirePro m8900. I have looked through all the old posts regarding ATI issues with Sketchup, but have read nothing concerning the FirePro cards or recent drivers (which I understand have become quite good with AMD at the helm). Anyone out there using FirePro cards (mobile or desktop) with Sketchup care to comment on performance or issues encountered? I would love to give AMD a chance as the card on paper is more powerful than the Quadro I can afford, but I am fairly risk adverse when it comes to this choice and would rather pay a bit more for something that I won't have to struggle with. All that being said, any first hand accounts of FirePro cards in use would be a great help.

Thanks in advance,
Mike