general GPU advice
Hello everyone,
I am looking at building a new computer (or maybe just getting a new video card) and I figured instead of just asking a pointed question about this or that specific bit of hardware I figured I'd make this thread a bit more general. Therefore I am trying to frame these questions such that they will be relevant for other ppl too. Here goes:
1) What is the real world difference between a pro level video card like a quadro/firepro and a consumer card? Pro cards supposedly have drivers optimized in conjunction with the software devs. In some cases (esp CAD work) this makes those cards vastly superior but in other cases (like udk or photoshop for instance) it seems consumer cards which these days are vastly more powerful tend to come out on top. What about something like 3ds max or maya? Is the viewport performance better with a pro card? What is meant by better? Less artifacts, consistent framerate (instead of dipping below 5 fps for no discernable reason), better aa performance, etc? Importantly, at the same price points, which type of card will give better overall performance in productivity software (not gaming) specifically for 3d content creation for games/film? Take for instance the firepro w5000 (which is currently the best mid range pro card) which costly roughly the same as a gtx 780 - is the pro card worth it? why or why not?
2) What difference does VRAM make? What is it used for and what is the difference between the kind of data kept open in vram and in regular ram? My understanding is that graphics programs like photoshop or 3ds max keep the open file in the vram. So if I have a 3ds max file with a large environment and characters and high res textures the vram makes things better. Also I understand extra vram is good for multitasking so if I'm texturing and going back and forth between photoshop and max for instance I can keep those large files open at the same time with less problems? Is this understanding correct? What difference (if any) does vram make in this comparison:
> w5000 2gb 256bit - best mid range (aka affordable for human beings) pro card, optimized drivers but not very good specs otherwise
> 280x 6gb 384bit - no optimized drivers but lots of vram and decent specs
> gtx 780 3gb 384bit - no optimized drivers, super specs
Does the raw power of the 780 trump the w5000 or the extra vram of the 280x?
I would very much appreciate if anyone has practical experience of using pro cards vs consumer cards. If you are knowledgeable on the subject please respond as well but I am really curious to know what the everyday experience, speed, stability, performance, etc is like with a pro card relative to a consumer card.
My apologies for the wall of text. I don't often post on forums, I hope I am in the right section and not repeating things that have been posted before. Thanks
Just as a note about my specific needs (in case anyone cares). I am currently doing visualization work for engineers and architects and my own background is in industrial design. Therefore my software needs are broad. My preferred software is zbrush, max, photoshop, vray for rendering, premiere for editing, and also rhino and autocad as cad software. I also plan on learning a bit more about texturing using 3d coat and I am looking really hard at animation in maya and modelling in modo and wondering whether that's worth my time in learning vs time saved in actual production. I will also probably have to learn my way around revit for architecture, unreal 4 for real time visualizations, and maybe also solidworks.
In terms of specific build I am considering this:
CPU: fx 9370 w liquid cooling
MOBO: asus sabertooth 990fx r2
RAM: 16gb 1600
GPU: firepro w5000/r9 280x/gtx 780
My current computer:
CPU: i3 2100
MOBO: oem that came with computer (aka i dont know)
RAM: 8gb 1333
GPU: gtx 560ti 1gb
I am looking at building a new computer (or maybe just getting a new video card) and I figured instead of just asking a pointed question about this or that specific bit of hardware I figured I'd make this thread a bit more general. Therefore I am trying to frame these questions such that they will be relevant for other ppl too. Here goes:
1) What is the real world difference between a pro level video card like a quadro/firepro and a consumer card? Pro cards supposedly have drivers optimized in conjunction with the software devs. In some cases (esp CAD work) this makes those cards vastly superior but in other cases (like udk or photoshop for instance) it seems consumer cards which these days are vastly more powerful tend to come out on top. What about something like 3ds max or maya? Is the viewport performance better with a pro card? What is meant by better? Less artifacts, consistent framerate (instead of dipping below 5 fps for no discernable reason), better aa performance, etc? Importantly, at the same price points, which type of card will give better overall performance in productivity software (not gaming) specifically for 3d content creation for games/film? Take for instance the firepro w5000 (which is currently the best mid range pro card) which costly roughly the same as a gtx 780 - is the pro card worth it? why or why not?
2) What difference does VRAM make? What is it used for and what is the difference between the kind of data kept open in vram and in regular ram? My understanding is that graphics programs like photoshop or 3ds max keep the open file in the vram. So if I have a 3ds max file with a large environment and characters and high res textures the vram makes things better. Also I understand extra vram is good for multitasking so if I'm texturing and going back and forth between photoshop and max for instance I can keep those large files open at the same time with less problems? Is this understanding correct? What difference (if any) does vram make in this comparison:
> w5000 2gb 256bit - best mid range (aka affordable for human beings) pro card, optimized drivers but not very good specs otherwise
> 280x 6gb 384bit - no optimized drivers but lots of vram and decent specs
> gtx 780 3gb 384bit - no optimized drivers, super specs
Does the raw power of the 780 trump the w5000 or the extra vram of the 280x?
I would very much appreciate if anyone has practical experience of using pro cards vs consumer cards. If you are knowledgeable on the subject please respond as well but I am really curious to know what the everyday experience, speed, stability, performance, etc is like with a pro card relative to a consumer card.
My apologies for the wall of text. I don't often post on forums, I hope I am in the right section and not repeating things that have been posted before. Thanks
Just as a note about my specific needs (in case anyone cares). I am currently doing visualization work for engineers and architects and my own background is in industrial design. Therefore my software needs are broad. My preferred software is zbrush, max, photoshop, vray for rendering, premiere for editing, and also rhino and autocad as cad software. I also plan on learning a bit more about texturing using 3d coat and I am looking really hard at animation in maya and modelling in modo and wondering whether that's worth my time in learning vs time saved in actual production. I will also probably have to learn my way around revit for architecture, unreal 4 for real time visualizations, and maybe also solidworks.
In terms of specific build I am considering this:
CPU: fx 9370 w liquid cooling
MOBO: asus sabertooth 990fx r2
RAM: 16gb 1600
GPU: firepro w5000/r9 280x/gtx 780
My current computer:
CPU: i3 2100
MOBO: oem that came with computer (aka i dont know)
RAM: 8gb 1333
GPU: gtx 560ti 1gb
Replies
But it doesn't sound like you will be working with game engines that much, so it might be better for you to get a pro card.
2) Extra VRAM doesn't make a huge difference if you aren't currently running out. But it does allow you to work with larger files, bigger models and scenes, and less optimized scenes. There's very few times where you actually run out of memory when you have 2+ gigs. For Knald, 4GB of VRAM is recommended for 8192 textures, I assume most other applications recommend similar specs for that large of files (Mari? Working with large terrain maps, etc).
Pro type cards are really good at things like drawing anti-aliased wireframes which is good for CAD etc, but price v performance, gaming cards tend to be way more powerful. You can get a pro card that also excels in game related stuff, but it will cost you $1000.