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Hi, I was wondering what would be the best card for handling 3D modelling software such as Maya. The machine won't be used for games, just modelling/rendering etc. I suspect anything current will be more than adequate but would be interested to hear if anyone has any opinions.
budget upto £200.
Thanks
There's two ways of looking at this:
Go the standard 3D card route or go for a professional 3D modelling card such as the FireXL (I believe that's what it's called from memory) and other similar ranges. These often enable specific options in the 3D apps. Their drivers are optimised for stability and you get better customer support, that's the theory anyway.
If it's for bedroom 3D modelling I'd just go for an GTX260 (216core version which is similar to the GTX280 in performance terns), bit over budget but worth the extra £15
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152386
If you want to reign on the cost a bit I'd go for the HD4850 for £118
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146705
Personally I wouldn't bother with 4870 now, I think the 4850 or the GTX260 are the best 'bang per buck'.
If your doing creative things i would go for an Nvidia option no matter due to the gfx+ features :)
The HD3850 and HD3870 have been softmodded to the equivalent FireGL cards:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=263809
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=256552
Does it matter which GPU you get if you aren't using a professional one?
Apart from being able to draw all those polygons and edges in wireframe does the GPU do anything else?
Not at the moment but the possabilities of CUDA do offer the capabilities for the future.
I guess what it boils down to is how professional are you looking to go? If so, get a FireGL or Quaddro which will give you more support and functionality with 3D software such as maya or 3Ds max. You can soft mod certain consumer cards to be the exact same as their pro counterpart (as Cat said) however if you do decide to do this make sure you buy a card which has been tried and tested successfuly or you might just end up with a dead card.
Problem with the "professional" ati and nvidia is they are pritty crap
the low end ones are still pricy and generally perform badly.
the high end one become "worth it" performance wise but far far too expensive.
With CUDA we may well see advantages in the future but currently for actual final renders your graphics card does nothing.
What a 3d card does is alow hardware acceleration of the "view ports" ie the actual creation windows, esp when using a shaded and textured view.
if this is for a new computer I'd say get something for under £100 put the extra into the cpu + more memory + hard drive.
If this is for an existing pc I'd say what have you currently got? There is no way anyone here can advise on a new card with out knowing the rest of the system.
(ie if the pc is currently a p4 with 512mb ram then sticking a gtx260 in it is pointless and a waste of money)
Just use the softmod driver.Many people saw measurable increases in performance. An HD3850 or HD3870 is not that expensive. The FireGL versions of these cards were quite well received.
Also bear in mind that you might get render issues on the gaming cards, although I'm currently supporting the devs a SCEE and all of our machines run on 9800's
ok thanks for the advice. Sounds like a professional card won't be worth bothering with.
It's going in a new build machine, so I will go with something like a GTX260 and look more at the CPU.
Thanks
if ur not going to game or softmod then i think u may aswell get a 9500GT or something like that, then spend the rest of the cash on upgrading CPU/RAM/Mobo/Hard drive array
I think the main feature with pro cards is programmable shaders for GPU rendering. But unless you plan on delving that deep, a bog-standard GPU will do the task nicely, just remember to use the layers/hiding capabilities properly so you aren't killing it with a whole scene. And anti-aliasing off for 3D progs too. There's no need for it.
Nope - all cards for the last few years have programmable shaders.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pyrii
Pro cards are guaranteed to be very compatible and stable with the 3d programs, and have been optimised for openGL. Any driver for them is also tested amazingly thoroughly.
I still lament the day that 3DLabs/wildcat pulled out of the professional market that was probably the biggest blow to the sector and both ati and nvidia free reign to produce overpriced knockoffs of there gameing cards under a professional lable.
As said before go for something under £100 not a gtx260