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GPU for Photoshop, 3DS MAX, Maya, and other 3D modelling and animation programs

Tags:
  • Photoshop
  • 3D
  • GPUs
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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March 27, 2013 9:34:31 AM

Hi,

My gf is going through college for a 3D animation and modelling program. I need to buy her a new system to work on since her current one is not enough.
I know how to build systems for gaming, but not so much for work with Photoshop and 3D modelling/animation programs.

For example if I was building a system for gaming I'd be looking for a good balance of the three major components - CPU, RAM, and GPU.
But for Photoshop and 3DS MAX, I'm not sure what's required.
I know you would want a lot of RAM (how much?) and a good CPU for fast rendering, but what role does the GPU play? Does it assist in rendering?

Would regular consumer type cards and CPU be enough to get her through college projects, or should I start looking at workstation products instead?

Thanks for any advice!

More about : gpu photoshop 3ds max maya modelling animation programs

July 17, 2013 2:31:08 AM

i don't know much - But
Nvidia Quadro cards are for 3d modeling, they work faster than a gaming card like GTX
you should Google the Quadro range
July 22, 2013 9:19:49 PM

Rendering programs require lots of cpu juice, but certain ones also utilize cuda cores. Based on my research, aim for the I7 -4770K or sandybridge-e or ivybridge-e which has 6 cores and 12 total threads. Each thread becomes a render bucket (Vray, Mental Ray rendering) in those rendering programs.
As far as ram goes, the more the better especially when your gf starts to build and design high polygon models.
For the gpu, it's best to get any Nvidia GTX card, however the 500 series, ie 580 has best results as compared to the 670-680. Don't know too much about the 700 series yet, though 780 is built on the GTX Titan which is very powerful, however not very cost-efficient. To throw a twist into this choice, on another forum someone found a way to use 7950's to do GPU rendering through modified firmware.

my suggestion would be to spend money on the fastest cpu with the most cores you can afford, with lots of ram, and a decent Nvidia graphics card 580 + / 660 ti + .
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