Do I need a Workstation or Gaming card?

[lsixecho]

I'm building a new computer for home use and I think I've got most of the parts figured out except the video card.
My day job is an architectural designer and I'd like to be able to use Revit 2013 on my home computer for working on personal projects and for bringing work home. Autodesk suggests using "workstation" cards like the Quadro and ATI's FirePro for Revit but doing a little research it seems that professionals are going for GTX cards which I guess can get you the same results for less cost.
I'll also be gaming on this machine (BF3) so I'm leaning heavily on getting a GTX 670 to use it both for games and Revit. Note: I won't be rendering with Revit, most of the work will be work on modelling.
I'll also be doing some work on Photoshop and non-professional video editing; mostly family videos, no heavy use of effects or anything like that.

So what do you guys think? I would hate to have to get 2 separate cards. Not in the budget.

Monitor: will be getting either the 27" or 30: Dell ultra sharp. (Yes this is in the budget. I've been holding out for a large monitor for years)

 

[master_chen]

Both Quadro and FirePro are very good cards for extensive graphic work (like 3D modeling, CGI animation rendering and etc), but their main problem is that they are very old - they don't support quite a number of modern GPU and graphic technologies, thus getting them these days became almost pointless. They ruled 3~4 years ago, but not today. If you need a very powerful, high-performance video card that can easily do both modern video games and heavy working tasks, just get GTX 690, it's a dual-chip card with which you'll literally FLY on all maximum settings at very high resolutions. I personally highly recommend getting this one.

If you can afford it (I just assume, that if you can afford professional GPU like Quadro or FirePro, then you definitely can afford a 690), get two of them, put them into "SLI" combo, and you won't be worrying about modern graphics rendering for at least 3 years. That would be pretty much overkill, but, again, do this only if you can really afford it.
No matter what, even buying just one 690 would be cheaper than buying a professional GPU, and the performance would be waaaaay higher than that of any professional GPU.

 

[lsixecho]

I was actually planning on spending $400 to $500 on the GPU. I'm using a Quadro 2000 at work which is about $400 now and it does "OK" as far as performance.

So I was leaning towards a GTX 670 for $400. I would be willing to spend more and get a GTX 680 but the 690 for $1000 is out of my budget for the GPU.

I guess I don't know what I should look for in benchmarks to figure out the best performance for the right price. (OK, easy for games, not sure what to look for 3d modelling)

 

[master_chen]

I was actually planning on spending $400 to $500 on the GPU.

Then definitely get this, it would be more than enough (for that money) and it will definitely satisfy almost all (or all, depending on your plans) of your needs.
It's a much better option than GTX 670 (which is mainly a gaming card, not suited for actual work).

For 3D modeling benchmarks...usually, people use latest "Furmark", for that.

 

[lsixecho]

Best answer selected by lsixecho.

 

[master_chen]

You're welcome.
Have a nice day/night and I wish you the best of results.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey