3D Max Graphics Card

[Jock]

I'm looking for some advice on a grapics card primarilly for 3DMax.

I'll not be doing any gpu rendering so its purely for viewport performance and for various reasons i'm looking at gaming cards as opposed to workstation cards like the Quadros.

Problem is i've heard mixed stories with some people saying its not as easy as just spending your budget because sometimes lesser cards perform better, so not sure really what I should be looking for.

Initially I had been been looking at either a HD5970 or a GTX680.

Any help would be great.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Wouldn't viewpoint speeds be better on professional cards due to the better drivers??

 

[Jock]

They are better but not an option in this scenario due to a few issues including cost.

 

[spoffle]

"Better" but not particularly necessary. I've used 3DS Max on various gaming graphics cards with no issues.

 

[andybird123]

in a comparison of GTX580 vs. quadro 5000 the 580 actually renders most things quicker due to having more cuda cores than the 5000/6000

it's only worth getting a quadro if you need the extra VRAM

I checked a couple of cad forums and they're recommending 680's over quadros

 

[Jock]

Is VRAM the part that affects the viewport performance?

 

[andybird123]

it depends on how complex the scenes you are working on are... if you are working on objects I'd probably say no, if you are working on highly detailed city scapes then possibly yes

 

[ltnmzh]

Is VRAM the part that affects the viewport performance?

No.

The raw power of the card and driver is the most significant factors here.

Really the driver should be the same across gaming card and professional cards, but this is how they make money.....

 

[Jock]

Most of my scenes with props etc added in, youre probably talking about 1-4million polys.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

"Better" but not particularly necessary. I've used 3DS Max on various gaming graphics cards with no issues.

Where are the objective benchmarks from you comparing the framerates your are getting with pro cards to the gaming cards??

Would like to see some TBH.

The benchmarks I have seen,indicate that for viewpoint speeds the drivers on the professional cards are much better for viewpoint,and that is what a few people I know who do such work have told me too especially for complex scenes. OTH,gaming cards can overcome the better drivers of the professional cards, in rendering benchmarks due to the much greater grunt they usually have over the similarly priced professional cards.

Edit!!

Another consideration is also image quality,which is usually worse on consumer cards.

Toms Hardware had this comment about it:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/firepro-v3900-review-benchmark,3153-13.html

"Workstation Card or Consumer Card?

We included the V3900’s desktop cousin, the Radeon HD 6570, and Nvidia's entry-level GeForce GT 430, which shares the GF108 chip with its workstation sibling, Quadro 600. Consequently, we see some massive performance dips attributable to the consumer-grade drivers. You're asked to pay a notable premium for workstation cards built on familiar graphics processors and their specially-optimized drivers. But even if that deliberate segmentation seems excessive, for folks whose jobs depend on good performance and validation in money-making applications, paying the extra money is probably justified.

Image quality is something that can't be quantified using the bar graphs from a benchmark. However, the mainstream gaming cards do have noticeably inferior image quality. We ran across plenty of examples of edges that should have been hidden, but weren't (see the picture above), which you simply don't see from workstation cards. The professional hardware also renders wire frame models and textured areas much better. If you use CAD software for a living and want the best results, you really should be using a FirePro or Quadro, and not a Radeon or GeForce. If you're just experimenting with professional software and don't require professional quality, you may get by with a consumer-grade card."

So I suppose,the question is whether you game more or do more 3D stuff??

 

[spoffle]

Where are the objective benchmarks from you comparing the framerates your are getting with pro cards to the gaming cards??

Would like to see some TBH.

Good luck huntin'!

The benchmarks I have seen,indicate that for viewpoint speeds the drivers on the professional cards are much better for viewpoint,and that is what a few people I know who do such work have told me too especially for complex scenes. OTH,gaming cards can overcome the better drivers of the professional cards, in rendering benchmarks due to the much greater grunt they usually have over the similarly priced professional cards.

It's a balance of price versus functionality. I've never had performance issues with complex models. I've not done benchmarks, I don't really "do" bench marks all that much, I just use them as I would normally. It's not hindered any sort of work flow or anything, so to me that's a card doing its job.