Quattro and FireGL Cards vs. Normal Gaming Cards

[gahleon]

Alright, I just first want to clarify, I searched the forumz for an article so no complaining about multi posting.

Now, I am building a system for a friend who is into video editing supposedly. He is making a movie but I am not entirely sure what software he is using. I just wanted to know will there be a noticeable difference in using either fireGL or a Quattro card vs a normal graphics card like x1900 series or 8800 series. I want to know what features are lacking from the 8800 say that the Quattro has. I can't find a good review on the workstation cards and please I don't want to hear anyone say Quattro and FireGL are for cad type programs. DUH, I know I want to know some technical stuff that I can't find anywhere else but from highly skilled tom's nerds so please all you guys give me some juicy info here.

Thanks guys in advance

 

[tool_462]

/waits for Cleeve...

 

[cleeve]

No real difference. Quaddros and FireGLs are for pro 3d apps mostly, for video editing a good old Geforce or Radeon will do.

If he's not playing games with the machine, an X1650 PRO or 7600 GS will do just fine.

 

[gahleon]

well this still hasn't answered my question. What features do these workstation cards have that the high end gaming cards don't have. I am sure they must have something that makes their prices so high. If no one wants to type it, if you know of an article to explain the difference hit me up with a link I would greatly appreciate it. I really appreciate the replies at least but I don't want to put a card that I know nothing about in a machine I'm building. I would never get a workstation card so I need to know. Thanks again guys

 

[prozac26]

They're basically the same.

It's mostly drivers that let the card shine in one thing or another.

Workstation cards usually struggle in gaming because of the drivers.

 

[cleeve]

well this still hasn't answered my question.

I did, actually. I said they're for pro 3d apps.

A pro 3d app is Maya, 3dsMax, etc. If you use these apps, the quadro/FireGL drivers will allow you moire control over texture/visual settings and will offfer more stability for those apps.

If you're looking for some magical huge difference, it's not there mate. It's the same hardwarew even, just with drivers optimized for Pro 3d.

 

[dsidious]

well this still hasn't answered my question. What features do these workstation cards have that the high end gaming cards don't have. I am sure they must have something that makes their prices so high. If no one wants to type it, if you know of an article to explain the difference hit me up with a link I would greatly appreciate it. I really appreciate the replies at least but I don't want to put a card that I know nothing about in a machine I'm building. I would never get a workstation card so I need to know. Thanks again guys

The workstation cards have better precision (that is, more decimals). They also have more people working in Support. The prices are also higher because the number of units sold is lower. There was some thread on Tom's a few days ago that explained all this pretty well.

 

[AdamBomb42]

For video editing what is going to make a difference is a lot of ram and a powerful multi-core cpu. Video cards are for rendering graphics. If your friend is making a computer animated movie then the quattro or firegl would be what he needs. If your friend is filming live action and then editing the video, then he could use crappy onboard graphics and be fine. Get him 2 Gigs of 800 RAM and a quad-core chip and he will be in transcoding heaven.

 

[chenBrazil]

If your intention is to create 3D animation , Quadro cards will offer more rendering horsepower , for each frame . Besides that , Quadro will offer better multiple monitor handling for display and working.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro_fx_product_literature.html
Check this link for more details . For common quicktime editing , no beneffits from Quadro cards will be enjoyed. You can use 6800 Ultra PCIexpress card converted into quadro using Rivaturner , a more economical option to enjoy Quadro cards power (only card higher than quadro 3450 will be more powerfull than this modded card) .
If you get improvements, you may invest on 8xxx based quadro card .
In 3D modelling , 6800 Ultra x 6800 Ultra Quadro - you will get over 70% improvement in time rendering, which means better performance, more works done in business time...

 

[NaDa]

FireGL or a Quattro have hardware accelerated lines for programs like 3ds max, maya, autocad and other...
I think they basicaly make the professional FireGL card and then cut out the hardware acceleration for those programs. How they cut it (hw or software) I dont know. Ppl used to mod the bios or the drivers of certain nvidia or ati cards to unlock the pro features but it's a thing of the past.
They are basicaly the same cards but the professional ones are much more expensive.

 

[crazytim77]

Ppl used to mod the bios or the drivers of certain nvidia or ati cards to unlock the pro features but it's a thing of the past.

That has intrigued me. Why is it a thing of the past? Is it no longer possible?