Quadro 4000 or Firepro v7800

[nikhilR]

Looking for a good workstation card for an AMD chipset

will be using Maya 2011, 3ds Max 2011, after effects cs5

Processor

AMD phenom II x6 1090t

Motherboard

Asus M489TD pro
(is the 16x crossfire better than 8x crossfire in ASUS M489GTD pro?)

RAM

8GB corsair XMS 3 2 x 4gb

Workstation card options

Nvidia quadro 4000 $760

(I've heard the performance drivers make quite a difference)
(can it be crossfired?)
(Is having Cuda support & phys-x that important?)

vs

ATI Firepro v7800 $686

(Are ATI's lastest drivers equal in performance to Nvidia's?)
(will ATI's drivers match Nvidia's?)

Please provide any latest benchmarks.

 

[COLGeek]

Doing a direct comparison of the 2 GPUs is difficult, but from looking at the specs for each, performance is going to be similiar for most applications. Driver support for both is generally very good, as well.

Even though I am a strong ATI user, for your purposes, I would recommend the Quadro 4000 based on CUDA and your plans to use CS5 (CS5 will take advantage of the GPU to off-load processing from the CPU).

BTW, you can't Crossfire any Nvidia products (they SLI their cards). Yes, CUDA support can be important, especially if apps (like CS5) can actually increase processing performance (such as when rendering).

If you want to see a good site for some indirect comparisons, look at this Tom's page:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/benchmarks,3.html

Good luck!!!

 

[wa1]

1. 16x crossfire is better than 8x crossfire, but you won't see the different in the real world. You don't even need to CF/SLI for 3D works, a single workstation card is enough.
2. For 3D works, you will get more benefit from NVIDIA cards, since they're support CUDA.
3. For workstation cards, both companies are make an equal performance of drivers, so don't worry about that.

 

[nikhilR]

So, if I were to go with Nvidia quadro 4000, is the motherboard I've chosen compatible with it?

Which AMD motherboard should I consider for an Nvidia GPU? (Should it be SLI compatible for future proofing?)

Also does SLI allow a Nvidia workstation card to be combined with an Nvidia gaming card?
(to get the best of both worlds

And is CUDA support important for Max and Maya?

Also are Ati gpu's optimized for working with AMD processors, I mean will there be a decrease in performance if I use an Nvidia GPU with an AMD processor?

 

[COLGeek]

CF or SLI really isn't needed for your planned work. Any mobo, as long as it has a PCI-E x16 slot will do the trick. Your choice is fine.

You really can't combine cards effectively as you are asking about.

No AMD GPUs are not optimized for AMD, Intel, or Nvidia chipset based mobos.

 

[nikhilR]

Okay then, I've decided against SLI,
so what is the best motherboard I could buy that has

AM3 chipset
no crossfire, no SLI
1 PCI-E 16x slot
SATA 6.0 Gb/s
supports RAM DDR 3 (4 slots upto 1600mhz)
Has USB 3.0 Ports
Imp: onboard graphics (like integrated ATI Radeon HD 4290 and above)

 

[Emperus]

If this for your home use, i'll recommend you to opt out of either of them.. Get a regular desktop video card.. Spend money of getting more ram and a stronger CPU..

 

[nikhilR]

Um, do workstation cards provide better performance than desktop video cards in the programs I mentioned?

Also I will be doing very light gaming (hence I though it important to get the onboard graphic card)

But I've read that a seperate (discreet) GPU once installed disables the on board GPU, is this true?

If this is the case, please suggest any AM3 motherboard options without on board graphics but having

AM3 chipset
no crossfire, no SLI
1 PCI-E 16x slot
SATA 6.0 Gb/s
supports RAM DDR 3 (4 slots upto 1600mhz)
Has USB 3.0 Ports

 

[Emperus]

Um, do workstation cards provide better performance than desktop video cards in the programs I mentioned?

Yes they do.. But only when you are working with huge polygons and textures which is not something which generally occurs in a single user and/or home environment.. Thus, workstation cards are best suited for industrial and studio setups whereas for home/learning purposes, a regular desktop card will suffice..

But I've read that a seperate (discreet) GPU once installed disables the on board GPU, is this true?

Yes.. Using a discreet video card requires the onboard video chipset to be disabled.. But having a onboard graphics chip is not bad as it gives you a backup display option which can be used in case your discrete card starts misbehaving..

 

[sebastien]

Yes indeed a mass market GC (graphic card will suffice). And yet, take my experience. I have a core 2 duo with a mass market nividia GTX 8800 (its old yes indeed), I can still play games if I do not push to max the features with a very decent FPS (frame per second). Although while I can work on max, I cannot go beyond 2 millions polygons.
You will ask... but what th heck... why do you use 2 millions polygons?
Well I assume you work in max and other autodesk products to design games which you never mentioned therefore I can only assume as other segments of autodesk products are very particular and you would not want a quadro 4000 in first place but something better suited for other products.
Anyway so why I need a GC that goes beyond 2 millions polygons. Well, for baking of course!
I import export a lot between max and mudbox. You may be more familiar with max and Zbrush perhaps... but it still is the same function.
Just like you, I need a quadro 4000 so I can push in 7~8 millions polygons in mudbox then bake it in max which then will go back to the low polygon set up (around 6 thousands polygons).
Not only I cannot push with a GTX 8800 but on top of it 1.5 million polygons is my maxed out polygon erformanc and I cannot use more than a couple of painting layers.
My point is, yes mass market GC are suited for your needs right now and you will play well. Though professional cards will last longer in terms of performance and rendering; therefore, choose well, and your choice should depend on your budget and how you envision the next 5 years...

 

[nikhilR]

Best answer selected by NikhilR.