Workstation GPU advice: SLI GTX 980 vs Titan Z

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kgyalla

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Oct 8, 2014
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Hi,

I am building a workstation computer and have decided on the 5960x overclocked rig from origin pc. Yes I know I can probably build a machine for much cheaper, but i need end support and this will be used mostly for work. My questions right now is, which GPU combo would yield the best performance for applications such as premiere pro, after effects, Cinema 4d, etc. A SLI combo of GTX 980s or a single 12gb titan z?
 
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kgyalla

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I do not want to get a quadro card. It also has been shown that these programs don't need direct access to quadro drives to take advantage of gpu acceleration. I ask again, which cards would someone recommend?

 
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coovargo

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GTX 970 SLI would be superior to a single GTX 980. GTX 970 SLI is about 70% faster than a single GTX 980. But for workstation solutions I would recommend a Quadro. It really depends what you're into but the 970s are a great deal right now. The 980s are only about 15% more power a piece, and the SLI only scales to about 3 cards. On average it goes with both generations, Performance:
1 Card - 100% Performance
2 Cards - 190% Performance
3 Cards - 250% Performance
4 Cards - 265% Performance.
For any inquiries to power look up Gpuboss. If you're going to be doing gaming (Highly unlikely?), Look up benchmarks. I really don't understand why you would go anything but Quadro for a workstation solution.
 
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kgyalla

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My reasoning is that the programs are leveraging more CUDA cores which the GTX series offers. Currently Origin is offering extremely discounted titan z cards that fit with the same pricing as a dual sli 980 build. I won't be using high texturing and shaders that quadro offers. So why pay even more for that?
 
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Maurdekye

Maurdekye

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The 980's would be an almost universally superior choice, especially seeing as the Titan Z has the equivalent performance and drawbacks of two SLI Titans but for an extra $1000. Which 980's are almost definitely better than.
 
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Jason3D

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For your software don't waste money on quadro. I've had luck going with as much gpu memory as possible but found with some software sli isn't as good as one card with alot of memory. I use maya and it gets buggy on my sli rig but seamless on single card rig. I have a sli rig with 2x460's and quadro 5000 and a rig with just a quadro k5000 and am thinking of changing to either 980 or titan because I work with very large scenes and pointclouds it's nice loading and rendering off gpu but glitchy when I reach mem limits of my cards.
 
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creationsof12

creationsof12

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Updates will now be posted here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2392232/quadro-gtx-workstation-graphics-card-comparison-testing-results-work-progress.html

Currently testing this very thing with 3ds Max, After Effects, Photoshop, etc. and lots of different graphics cards. Definitely avoid the Quadros. Not worth it even for workstations. They just aren't that powerful (even with the specialized drivers) for the price. in 3ds max viewport, I get much higher fps and much better VRay-RT (real-time) render times with new GTX cards. GTX Titan Z will render thing very quickly when using GPU-accelerated rendering methods but GTX 980 or 780 TI will give you better performance in the viewport. That's because 3ds Max, like most other professional programs out there, can only utilize one of the GPUs in the Titan Z (as in, SLI doesn't work in many of those programs). After Effects, for some reason, seems to work better with the FirePro cards but also works very well with GTX cards like the 780 TI.

I've constructed a Google Spreadsheet that shows a comparison of several cards for professional programs. Note that this is a work in progress. I've tested many of the cards myself but haven't had a chance to test the K6000 or GTX 980.

The "bang-for-your-buck" score is just how much power you get for the money your spending (incorporating GB of RAM as well). Still working on the equation for that, though, as I learn more about the inner workings of the different types of graphics cards and drivers (yes, drivers taken into account as well).

Spreadsheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13afhWgHv6xqthlC1YIZhg7mDV6wdPunUaa3lqH8gMX4/edit?usp=sharing

Let me know if you have any problems viewing it. I think you can also copy this spreadsheet to make your own if you'd like. Again, this is a work in progress. Something I've been working on and testing for a while now. I've ran many of the cards through the 3ds Max test but haven't run them all through all of the other programs I have (Photoshop, After Effects, etc). I'll also try to run some tests in C4D.
 
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pcfoo

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Nov 26, 2014
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The engines for those programs don't support SLI in viewport acceleration.
You might use both (all) compatible GPUs if you were computing/transcoding/rendering on the GPU, but not for viewport. SLI - as the physical connection for syncing the two cards - is not supported by many apps outside gaming. Certainly not the mainstream 3D modeling apps.

SLI is for gaming.

 
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TheOJO

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Mar 1, 2014
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According to Amazon(http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Dual-Link-Graphics-12G-P4-3990-KR/dp/B00JZ4SN4C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417654882&sr=8-1&keywords=titan+z) The Titan Z is a 768-Bit Card.

What are your opinions on using a Quadro for 10-Bit Monitor support and a high CUDA card like The 5760 CUDA Titan Z for CUDA/OPEN-GL acceleration. Refer to this video to better understand http://youtu.be/PhkJLF3oyI8?t=49m26s. I know this would be expensive at about 2k but would that beat the performance of a 2K Quadro like the K5200 which only has 2304 CUDA cores?
 
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creationsof12

creationsof12

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TeslaK20

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Well, for workstation purposes where you might need double precision go for the Titan Z, if you can get it cheap enough. It has more VRAM and is easier to handle than two cards.
 
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Mark Cash

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i have two 12 gb titan z's sli together with the 5960x on a msi motherboard and all in all it is fun having bragging rights but in all honesty either i am a dumbshit or they have too many glitches when you sli them together i get a bsod almost daily playing bf4...i know they weren't meant for gaming but i figured i had the money to blow so why not. However if i were to do it again i would go with 980's they are 1/4th the price and when you sli them together there is very little noticeable difference not worth spending the money on the difference that is for sure. if you are just wanting to blow money like i did then go for it, but i would seriously advise only using 1 titan z not 2 or more.... hope this helps
 
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creationsof12

creationsof12

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The problem you are having is that it is actually 4 GPU's in SLi since each Titan Z is actually like 2 Titans smashed together... and most games are NOT made to work with 4 GPU's. Normally 3 at the max and even then, it may have trouble. 2 GPU's (or 1 Titan Z in your case) seems to be the sweet spot. Titan Z's, as you mentioned, are not really made for gaming though. More for high computational power (great with GPU rendering from 3ds Max).

As for a good workstation GPU though, you get the most bang for your buck and viewport performance when you go with the GTX 780. For GPU Rendering, you may want to go with a GTX 780 TI 6GB or a Titan Black. I WOULD NOT advise going with a quadro, as they are way overpriced for what they actually accomplish.

NOTE: DO NOT SLI WORKSTATION GRAPHICS CARDS - as most professional software can't handle SLI.

See comparison chart for workstation graphics cards:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13afhWgHv6xqthlC1YIZhg7mDV6wdPunUaa3lqH8gMX4/edit?usp=sharing
 
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marcinr1977

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Mar 11, 2015
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HI GTX780Ti is 3GB card not 6GB
 
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Saradeva

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Mar 17, 2015
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@creationof12

In your spreadsheet, you said dont sli titan z for gpu rendering! Titan z is a single card with 2 titan black inside which is already in sli mode i guess (correct me if am wrong). So meaning will the renderer uses only one titan black inside the titan z. Sorry if my phrase seems funny lol! And how Is the GPU rendering for maya(vray,etc) with the gtx 980?

Does dual titan z(non sli) with its massive 11520cuda accelerates GPU rendering? Its like 4 GPU now!

Base on gtx 980 new maxwell chip, it has an agregate of 5.2 compute capability, does it outclass the titan z (3.5 compute capability) which gas kepler chip for professional use such as heavy GPU rendering, particles simulation (turbulence FD, fume fx , hybrido realflow - all software mentioned take advantage of GPU simulation for now) which is better in this situation ? And does dual titan z (sli & non sli) accelerate things or doesn't matter in this case, particle simulation will only use one GPU? Titan z dual GPU is pretty tricky to understand :/ how it works on professional 3D software packages!

Anyway thanks for reading, hope a respose from you soon!
Cheers
 
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Saradeva

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Mar 17, 2015
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@creationsof12

As you said earlier, dont sli graphics card for professional workstation, can i use a gtx 980 for viewport (open GL in maya) and titan z for other stuffs like GPU Rendering and simulation? Basically like nvidia maximus technology lol! Is this possible ?
 
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mikeflavaz

mikeflavaz

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The new Titan X looks to be a superior choice to both. $1,000 gets you a great middle ground between gaming and professional gfx cards which is kinda what the Titan has always been. It just dropped.
 
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Saradeva

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Mar 17, 2015
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For workstation purposes, creationsof12 said dont sli graphics card as most 3d software packages dont take advantage of sli! What happens if you dont sli them? Does 3d software packages then takes advantage of the 2 GPUs?
 
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HexDust

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The Titan X is probably about 30% stronger than a GTX 980. It can run 4K no problem. But Iam not too sure a Titan Z is stronger than a Titan X. The X is a Maxwell based chip as the X is a Kepler. Maxwell CUDA Cores are faster than regular Kepler CUDA Cores
 
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Goundar01

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May 6, 2015
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Hi,

If you can do a dual GTX 980 or dual R9 290X. For CUDA cores, that's really what you need. The GTX 970 has 1664, which is terrible. The GTX 980 has 2048 and the R9 290X has 2816. The R9 290X also has 8GBs while the GTX 980 has 4GBs. The 8GBs for the R9 290X is very good for the amount of work you will be doing. I personally wen't with the GTX 980 4GBs. Mostly because the power consumption is lower and I believe the GTX 980 works a slightly bit better for Autodesk Maya and the other programs as well. I use the same applications as you.
 
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