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By bud_20121023184423262 - 11 Years Ago
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Hi All,
I'm considering the NVIDIA Quadro K600 video card as an upgrade from my FX 580.
I've been thinking about upgrading for awhile after learning I can't use the 580's GPU on Blender Cycles rendering because it's compute capability is 1.1 and Blender's looking for 2.0.
Then there's iClone . . . I can never seem to use "pixel shading" in any scene of any complexity while previewing/working. I tend to think upgrading to the K600 would solve that problem.
Would love to hear what anyone has to say as New Egg's running a special right now and I can pick one up for $139 after instant rebate (usually $199).
Thoughts?
Thank you to all,
Bud
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By Rampa - 11 Years Ago
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You really should be looking at the GTX series of gaming cards. Quadros are more than likely hurting your iClone performance, and probably no better for Blender Cycles. Not to mention a lack of CUDA cores (which is what iClone 6's physics will need and what accelerates Cycles).
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By prabhatM - 11 Years Ago
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NVIDIA 680+ should help.
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By bluemidget666 - 11 Years Ago
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I am going to see how my gtx460 performs with Iclone 6 before running out and buying a new card, the 400 range came with tessalation capabilities, Iclone just never used them before.
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By wires - 11 Years Ago
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While the K600 does have CUDA cores, I think that the fact that it only has 1GB RAM will cause more grief regarding performance. It's being replaced with the K620 which doesn't really cost that much more - but has more CUDA cores and 2GB RAM.
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By justaviking - 11 Years Ago
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What's your budget? I've fallen in love with the Nvidia GTX 980, but my budget will likely restrict me to the 970. ADDED... This review of the 970 includes a nice (brief) table that lines up some AMD and Nvidia cards at various pricepoints. http://anandtech.com/show/8568/the-geforce-gtx-970-review-feat-evga
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By animagic - 11 Years Ago
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I think 2GB graphics memory is the minimum and the latest nVidia cards have 4GB, which is more in line with what is required today for quality work. I don't think the Quadro has any advantage as has been pointed out. I also have my eyes set on a GTX980. I actually have to build a new system, but that will be expensive.
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By Sen - 11 Years Ago
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Hi ,
Same here . I wait for 970 TI or 980 TI ......
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By bud_20121023184423262 - 11 Years Ago
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Wow, thanks for all the great advice. Glad I asked before jumping on the one I saw.
I have some links to research above. I did see the 620 for not much more, but it sounds like the consensus is against the quadro line.
I do have one question at the moment. What caused me to look at the quadro line is that I'd heard it was specifically geared toward video editing & animating.
But it sounds like iClone would be more compatible with cards geared toward gaming?
Do I have that right?
Thoughts?
Peace,
Bud
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By prabhatM - 11 Years Ago
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Even most NLE's have liking for CUDA.
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By Rampa - 11 Years Ago
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bud_20121023184423262 (11/8/2014)
Wow, thanks for all the great advice. Glad I asked before jumping on the one I saw.
I have some links to research above. I did see the 620 for not much more, but it sounds like the consensus is against the quadro line.
I do have one question at the moment. What caused me to look at the quadro line is that I'd heard it was specifically geared toward video editing & animating.
But it sounds like iClone would be more compatible with cards geared toward gaming?
Do I have that right?
Thoughts?
Peace,
Bud
Yes, that is right! iClone is programmed to work with directX game cards.
The Quadro line is really aimed at CAD type software. These programs require higher accuracies in certain areas that these cards provide.
In 5.5, this was not the case, but because iClone 6 is using Nvidia PhysX for it's physics, an Nvidia card has a potential advantage over an AMD card. You'll get hardware acceleration through CUDA. You also should look no older than the GTX 600 series cards. The current generation is 900. The second two digits denote power, and you want over 50, so 660, 770, 970, 980. Something like that. Make sure the card is a GTX, and not a GT.
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By wires - 11 Years Ago
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Almost every major VFX software manufacturer recommends the Nvidia Quadro line of cards for best performance with their software. They are the "card of choice" for products like DaVinci, Boris RED/BCC & Smoke. These are GPU hungry applications, and rely more on the GPU than the CPU. A lot of software developers use the Quadro cards to programme their products. It's true that they are the tool of choice by CAD users due to their higher accuracies, and for this very reason they are used to create VFX and run complex animations. My NLE has only been tested and certified using Quadro cards - with a version dependent driver release, and I have never had any problems when working with iClone. My next card will either be a K2200, or the K4200 - depends on how the Kepler/Maxwell chip tests work out. @bud_20121023184423262. If you do not do any serious VFX work, and also don't do heavy video editing then you should be more than happy when using something from the Nvidia GTX range of cards. Just make sure that your PC power supply can deliver the juice needed to run the one that you decide on. The main thing is that IC 6 seems to be geared to using the Nvidia GPUs to their max, and an AMD card may not deliver the desired results.
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By rampart - 11 Years Ago
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The past few times I have bought nvidia card...
I used nvidia website and their application tools on the internet to determine my system, etc.
I had a few questions about things and made those direct to support.
They recommended a card in my price range.
550Ti was recommeded. It is a PCI-Express 2.0 card installed in my 1.0 slot and it works fine.
No, it isn't being used to capacity. I planned at the time I bought the card for upgrading my system and the card worked well enough I didn't do it.
Reading the requirements for IC6 it may be I have to replace my system. I will make the rounds on all the gamer sites where they max out systems. Then I will come to a reasonable solution for what I'm doing.
This is probably an OK site for that as well in some instances, but there are plenty of people that use RL software that don't have the latest and greatest systems and do quite well with them.
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By animagic - 11 Years Ago
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People are usually talking about more high-end Quadro cards such as the 4000. Years ago, OpenGL was the standard for high-end 3D systems. However, with DirectX having advanced so much, especially DX 11 and with 12 around the corner, software such as Maya now supports DX 11 as well . Games are more and more about visual quality not just FPS and this has pushed the card makers forward. I'm no expert but that is my take on it. I always check various benchmarks. For video work check Cinebench. I use Sony Vegas for editing, which likes OpenCL (not GL). AMD cards were superior in that area for the longest time, but the new GTX 900 series cards have finally caught up.
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By bud_20121023184423262 - 11 Years Ago
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Hi All,
Thanks for all the great advice. After weighing the info here and at a post I had at blenderartists.org, it seems my best fit for both softwares (as well as others I run), in my price range, is the GTX970.
So I have one on the way from Newegg.
Will let you all know how it goes. I imagine I'll be able to run iClone 5.5 in pixel shader mode without any troubles once I have this puppy installed.
Probably my physics simulations will run better, too. Can't wait to try it all out!
Thank you all for the help!
Peace,
Bud
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By justaviking - 11 Years Ago
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bud_20121023184423262 (11/9/2014)
Hi All,
Thanks for all the great advice. After weighing the info here and at a post I had at blenderartists.org, it seems my best fit for both softwares (as well as others I run), in my price range, is the GTX970.
So I have one on the way from Newegg. Congratulations. A very fine choice.
Will let you all know how it goes. I imagine I'll be able to run iClone 5.5 in pixel shader mode without any troubles once I have this puppy installed. Looking forward to your reports. Yes, you should have no trouble at all using pixel shader. I wonder what sort of iClone project it would require to bring that card to it's knees.
Probably my physics simulations will run better, too. It might not make much difference in iClone 5, but should make a huge different in iClone 6, courtesy of the PhysX support.
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By Rampa - 11 Years Ago
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A very good choice for iClone!
I run a 770, and have NEVER had it slow down at all. In Pixel shader!
Maybe with bazillion lights in iC6......:P
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By wires - 11 Years Ago
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Leaving aside the differences between AMD and Nvidia, and even the differences between a GTX7xx and a GTX9xx, just trying to pick a GTX980 looks like a nightmare. :crazy: One online store that I use a lot has a total of 24 cards with the 980 GPU from 9 different companies, ranging in price between €539.00 and €659.00 (incl. 19% VAT). They all have some things in common, such as RAM, connectors and CUDA cores. Differences are very apparent in things like Boost and Core clock speeds - and power consumption varies between 165 and 300 Watts. :w00t: Trying to find a good price/performance deal out of the available permutations would require the services of a math genius - or a blindfold and a dart. :pinch::unsure::(
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By justaviking - 11 Years Ago
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wires (11/10/2014)
One online store that I use a lot has a total of 24 cards with the 980 GPU from 9 different companies...(One significant difference is how loud the cards are. Many will differentiate themselved by their cooling approach. One fan or two? Fast spinning or slower fans? Exaust out the back, or into your case? How much control do you have over the fans? How do they change speed in response to the work the card is doing? I've become less tolerant of fan noise over the last few years. I don't need a silent system, but I prefer it to be very quiet. I'd rather have less noise than a 2% increase in performance. That was one feature that really surprised me (in a good way) with the 980 reference card from Nvidia.
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By wires - 11 Years Ago
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@justaviking, Dennis, I agree with you on the noise issue. The problem is that the spec. sheets published on most online store pages don't contain the required information. To check the noise levels a user would either have to visit the makers site, or plough through a whole bunch of reviews and comparisons. :w00t: After making a few choices on a price/performance basis it would reduce the research field somewhat - and that brings us back to the math genius or the dart. :crying:
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By justaviking - 11 Years Ago
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@Gerry, Agreed. That's why I continue to be a fan of AnandTech.com. Here is their review of the GTX 980. If you scroll down on this page, you'll see noise levels. http://anandtech.com/show/8526/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-review/21 That was what really impressed me with that card; that it was that powerful AND was also one of the most quiet. Since this was an early review, it was the Nvidia card only, but lot of times they'll also include cards from various other companies (EVGA, ASUS, PNY, etc). One of my favorite things about AnandTech is they tend to combine analytical test resutls with personal opinion and observations. They also sprinkle in some background information and industry insight. Speaking of fan noise, for example, I remember one case where the one product was louder than another (probably a GPU), but the reviewer complained about the "pitch and sound" of the "quite" fan. He'd actually opt for the one that was technically louder because it was a less annoying sound (to him). They might also mention that some fans ramp up nice and gradually, while others go from a quiet idle to a loud wooshing very quickly, and that makes it more noticeable. That sort of stuff you just don't see on the retail box. Tom's hardware is also another popular sight.
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By bud_20121023184423262 - 11 Years Ago
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Trying to find a good price/performance deal out of the available permutations would require the services of a math genius - or a blindfold and a dart. :pinch::unsure::(
This is a sickness on all of society. One night I had a craving for fig newtons. Just plain ordinary fig newtons. Went to the grocery store and couldn't find just a plain, ordinary fig newton! There were apple newtons, apple-strawberry, apple-fig, low sodium, low sugar, nonfat, blah, blah, blah.
I just wanted A FIG NEWTON. Like when I was a kid. And my mom would come home with them after Saturday morning grocery shopping. There was only one kind. With a cold glass of milk, they're great!
Try to find one NOW!
;-)
Bud (I feel your pain)
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By bud_20121023184423262 - 11 Years Ago
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UPDATE:
Got & installed the GTX 970 yesterday and boy-oh-boy -- Day & Night. Easily handles real-time playback with pixel shading on and renders are FAST (compared to what I had).
Rendering to AVI with MPEG compression seems to proceed at about 1/3 realtime, which is amazing.
Because of this card, I will now never become a famous rock star. Before, while awaiting long renders, I would go out to my living room and play my guitar. Now there's no time for that!
Just thought I'd update the thread. Thanks, all, for the help. It would have been a heartache had I bought the wrong card.
Thank you!
Bud
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