Graphics Card for 3D Graphics Work?

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Geshtar

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 15, 2004
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227
I have been asked to give a recommendation on a graphics card for someone who wants to start doing 3D graphics work. One of the things I don't do with my computer is basically any sort of graphics work, so I am a bit out of my element.

Can regular graphics cards that we use for games be used to help accelerate these programs, or do you need to step into the realm of 'pro' graphics cards like quadros and firegl cards?

I wish I knew more about what kinda work this person is going to try to do, but I don't think they quite know either since they are new to it.
 
I may be wrong, but from my knowledge.. the professional versions are near identical to the consumer counterparts, with optimized drivers and software for professional software.
I've always views the quadros and fireGL's as overpriced cards that big corporations and universities will pay for. Heck, I think they pay about $4,000 per license for programs like Maya, and 3Ds Max...

3D work isn't very GPU dependent though, so a quad-core cpu is more essential than a expensive gpu. A 512mb 3850, or any of the 8800 series would suffice imo
 
And when I took a class where we used auto cad two years ago they had p4 2.4's , 512mb ram and
Nvidia mx 440's or Intel Integrated both with "Microsoft" drivers :(
They kept wondering why Autodesk Inventor was crashing lol.
 
Mostly any 3D card that gets good scores for 3D games will help with 3d graphics programs (like 3ds max or maya). The 3d packages mostly all have directx and opengl viewport functionality so you can see what you are working on in real-time with hardware acceleration. If he's doing pre-rendered work then he might want a quad-core cpu as JamesL suggested, since the GPU won't really help as much with the render times.

The Quadros FX series is the top of line for professional 3d applications, but if your friend is asking you for a recommendation then he surely doesn't need a Quadro! They also run in the thousands $$$ so unless he's working for Pixar or something its pretty much out of the picture. He'd probably be fine with a mid-range card like a 8800GT.
 
A 9600GT / 8800 GT/GS will be plenty. That said, you may be better off with a Radeon HD 3850 512MB if they're moddable to their FireGL counterparts. Haven't looked in to it. I know that there was /once/ a softmod for Geforce to Quadro, but it doesn't work with the 8 and 9 series cards.
 
Sounds good. I tell him to get a 3850 or 9600GT and get a better processor/ram.

Thanks guys.
 
Geshtar said:
who wants to start doing 3D graphics work..
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I don't see this person putting together a 60FPS ray tracer with full global illumination across 16 reflections. This person will likely be rotating cubes and moving lights about with opengl, or making low poly swords in blender. I'd suggest an 8600 or above and a C2D, that way he can still play games when he gets bored of graphics work.
 
The best thing to do is to find out what software this person intends to use and go with the vendor's suggestions. Since nobody seems to know at this point the question is a bit premature.
 
SharpieFiend said:
The best thing to do is to find out what software this person intends to use and go with the vendor's suggestions. Since nobody seems to know at this point the question is a bit premature.
Click to expand...

Well, I went to the Maya website and the only thing they were recommending were FireGL and Quadro cards. :rolleyes: I did run into a white paper on the difference between geforce and quadro though, and for a beginner it definetely seems that it would be overkill for a beginner.
 
Geshtar said:
Well, I went to the Maya website and the only thing they were recommending were FireGL and Quadro cards. :rolleyes: I did run into a white paper on the difference between geforce and quadro though, and for a beginner it definetely seems that it would be overkill for a beginner.
Click to expand...

It's pretty much different drivers and a different ID the card sends back that allows the use of those drivers. Sometimes they have more video memory onboard, but rarely anymore with how much comes on your standard high end gaming card. Some cards can be basically made in to their FireGL/Quadro variant with a BIOS flash, others can be "softmodded" to run the Quadro/FireGL drivers... but with current generation stuff, it doesn't appear that's an option.
 
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