Quadro vs Geforce

[rajeev84]

I've got a question for you guys that I hope you can answer.

I need to start developing relatively simple content in 3D studio Max.

I've just begun using the software a month now and I am a bit overwhelmed by it. I can do simply animations and create some chess piece model etc, but I know I haven't begun to scratch the surface.

Anyway, I have to get a new laptop soon, so...as the topic says....i need to decide if to get one with a Geforce of Quadro.


I know there is quite a lot of stuff the Quadro drivers allow that the Geforce doesn't. However, some friends tell me that for the stuff I need to do, I really don't need a quadro.


Is that true?

It basically comes down to me picking between a Dell 1530 or Dell Precision 6300.

 

[kyetech]

Sometime ago GF cards wouldnt display 3D wireframe /shaded viewports very well in 3D software, and sometimes had buggy refreshes to the interace.

I dont know if that still holds true today. But Quadros are certified to run with these OGL apps where as GF cards are not.

So I guess you risk not having 100% compatibility with key software if you go GF route.

Can someone with current experience update on that please?

Also how good are quadros at running gaming stuff?

I wanna get a dell d830 but Im worried that games may not run well on quadros

(I dont mean performance, I mean compatability?)

 

[Rys]

Sometime ago GF cards wouldnt display 3D wireframe /shaded viewports very well in 3D software, and sometimes had buggy refreshes to the interace.

I dont know if that still holds true today. But Quadros are certified to run with these OGL apps where as GF cards are not.

So I guess you risk not having 100% compatibility with key software if you go GF route.

Can someone with current experience update on that please?

Also how good are quadros at running gaming stuff?

I wanna get a dell d830 but Im worried that games may not run well on quadros

(I dont mean performance, I mean compatability?)

I run a G80-based Quadro and performance is mostly on a par with the GeForce equivalent in D3D and OpenGL apps, under Vista (only Windows I've used the board with). Quadro differentiates itself most these days with memory density (lots per GPU, compared to lots per GPU) and specific driver paths for various applications commonly used with the hardware, rather than specifically different acceleration when running as the Quadro personality.

If I had to say one way or the other, I think the D3D portion of the driver is the same one as with GeForce (and they build that part out of the same code in the GeForce tree). You can see that by poking around in the driver.

Obviously you won't get a Quadro driver as often as you will with GeForce, which might annoy you as a gamer (that specific driver for XYZ hot game won't show up on day zero like you get with GeForce), though. It's not the same customer experience there.

For the OP, distill all of that and it really comes down to the apps you'll run. Do you know for certain what the Quadro driver buys you in Max? You get a completely different experience there compared to GeForce, depending on what you're doing with Max.

 

[Zengar]

If you as you say "develop simple content", I would save the money and go for a GF.

 

[Blazkowicz]

most second hand reports I've read say a gf is good for 3ds max (it even has a d3d viewport), and regarding the memory : you can also get lots per GPU with 8600 and 8800 1GB (and forecoming 9800gx2). don't know about the mobile variants though.

 

[rajeev84]

Some of my friends were in fact telling me that Geforce cards nowadays can do a lot in 3DS.

I know the Quadro cards will be better in 3DS, depending on what I'm doing.

But like I said, all i need 3DS for is to develop basic 3D models of products (nothing really advanced) to use in creating simple animations.

Of course I'd like some things to appear lifelike, but it isn't a great necessity.

Will a Geforce suffice for these applications?

 

[swaaye]

Of course a GeForce will suffice. People used to use far less for these apps, after all. I used a Matrox G200 for 3DS Max once. And I've run Lightwave with an original Radeon. Quadro might be nice if you are going to be heavily using these apps, but otherwise it's going to be a waste of money and actually be at a disadvantage for gaming due to fewer driver updates.

I have seen benchmarks that show a low-end Quadro outperforming a 8800GTX at CAD apps. It's because there is hardware support and driver certification that simply isn't present for GeForce. They are different products designed for different markets and apps, even if the underlying tech is the same.

I don't think you'll see any worthwhile benefits from a workstation card until you get into some very complex modeling and scene setup. And, the fastest Quadro in the world will not help at all for final rendering. That's all done on the CPU. I'd consider CPU vastly more important than the GPU in these apps.

 

[zsouthboy]

Save your money and go for the Geforce.

You'll never know the difference.

I consider Quadros (and FireGLs) remnants of the days when you HAD to have a certfied board to work with High End Software A, or it wouldn't work.

Nowadays, everyone supports OGL and D3D - and you're only using those for your modelling and animation previews anyway.

 

[Pantagruel's Friend]

Also how good are quadros at running gaming stuff?

I wanna get a dell d830 but Im worried that games may not run well on quadros

(I dont mean performance, I mean compatability?)

I got a new company notebook just today, which is accidentally a dell d830 :smile: I tried one OpenGL and one D3D app, both ran fine with good image quality, and at around 1/3 speed of the HD2600XT in my home desktop.

 

[Nick]

I have a Dell Precision M65 with a Quadro FX 350M, and I kindof wished it was a GeForce...

Performance is ok for this small chip but stability hasn't been the greatest. There's about six months between driver releases and each of them has an annoyance or two.

More powerful (and expensive) Quadros probably get better support, but I don't think 'compatibility' is significantly better than the GeForces, if at all. I guess most people are absolutely fine with a GeForce, but your mileage may vary.