The list below is intended for those of you who are considering the purchase of a new video card for your Professional Level SSP system. This is not a recommendation to upgrade your current video card if it is working for you sufficiently. These cards have undergone rigorous testing and have passed the tests. These are also cards that were generally available for sale at the time they were tested with the drivers listed below. If the card you are considering is not listed here it does not mean that we know it does not work, only that we have not specifically tested it.
If you are looking to purchase a new card, we strongly recommend that you consider picking one from the list, including the specific manufacturer named. Use of other manufacturers, models, and drivers may be a source of problems and could limit technical support.
We have completed testing on the video cards/drivers that have been added to the list above. Other drivers or cards in a similar family (7xxx, 8xxx, etc.) *may* work, however items from this list should be selected first if possible.
Use the newest driver listed for your selected card. The BIOS on your particular video card may behave differently than our test cards did with certain drivers listed. If this is the case, try one of the previously tested drivers before trying the latest driver from the Manufacturers website.
NVIDIA Quadro Cards
We do not specifically test the Quadro line so we do not include them as recommended in our list above. This is not to say they will not work, only that they are untested by us. Some users have experienced problems with them in the past, but others state they work just fine. While the Quadro cards, by design, have all the same capabilities of the GeForce line, the Quadro cards are built for a specific purpose and have features that SSP will not take advantage of.
The Quadro line is also much more expensive than the consumer level GeForce line due to the more rigorous and specific testing and certifications that NVIDIA does on the Quadro line. The 2x to 4x price increase from the GeForce line make the Quadro cards a poor choice for SSP from a budget perspective.
ATI/AMD Video Cards
Continued testing on the ATI/AMD line is still showing some problems. The X1xxx and HD3xxx ATI/AMD products have had some testing and, for the most part, appear to be good cards. While these cards may work fine for you with SSP, our testing revealed some problems with Visualizations and Transitions when used with certain SSP features and therefore are not recommended at this time.
*For NVIDIA Users with SSP builds PRIOR to the April 2007 Edition Release ONLY*
Until further notice, you will want to run the nVidia Fix utility found HERE when using one of the 7xxx Family or newer NVIDIA cards with SSP builds PRIOR to the April 2007 Edition Release. The April Edition Release has changes that eliminate the need for the nVidia Fix utility. You are encouraged to return all related settings back to the default settings. You can find additional information about the nVidia Fix utility and default adjustments in KB article (DI007) found HERE.
This article will be updated as new cards are tested.
(DI009)