I’m researching graphics cards to add to a future rig/setup and looking for some advice on a few different questions. My goals with building/buying the rig should help inform some of the points on the graphics, as I’m aiming for affordability (~$1500 total, the less the better), upgradability (pros of building vs buying some specialized systems), and versatility (video editing/gaming/design, in that order).
Here are some general questions on Graphics Cards I have right now –
1. I’ve heard that price point being the deciding factor rather than specific brand/type of card is the prevailing decision on buying graphics cards. So I’m reiterating that here (I’ll dig a little deeper in the next question). My price range for the card would probably not be too much higher than $250-$300.
2. I initially didn’t think there was much of a difference between Nvidia vs AMD, and the general rule was “pick a price point, go from there.” As I’ve dug a little deeper, across a wide spectrum of sources, I’ve noticed some purported differences. One idea that was floated out with some interesting points was that Nvidia = high end gaming (excepting Quadros…more later) vs Video Editing/rendering work.
I’m trying to avoid purchasing cards that are built primarily for gaming instead of for video editing, since I’ll do more video editing (freelance and narrative work keeping me busy). Specifically The differences between Nvidia cards and AMD cards have been described to me in the past as Nvidia is great for “direct to render” performance used in game environments, where AMD cards thrive on “DirectCompute” tasks that video editing demand. A friend described to me that Video Editing applications are concerned with being “accurate” and that “video editing suites and the like don't use the same on-board functions of The GPU as games.” It was explained that Nvidia and AMD used to be fairly comparable, but “from the GTX 680 onwards, Nvidia hasn't included that part of the die on the chipset (that part of the die being on board video editing functions)”
If I go the Hackintosh route (still up in the air), FCP X/Apple’s documented utilization of OpenCL for performance acceleration is something to consider. Many other, non-Apple editing programs do seem to use CUDA, but the support for OpenCL is broadening as well, from what I’ve researched.
For what it is worth, I am not currently considering Premiere Pro or the Creative Cloud toolset, so Adobe’s CUDA workflow is not an essential I would need.
TL;DR: is this the case? Are the very specific/specialized tasks that are intended for Nvidia and AMD GPUs?
3. In the same breath, what are the documented differences between Quadros vs FirePros aside from brand? Both are workstation cards, but there seem to be enormous price differences between them! And I’ve watched the LTT videos regarding workstation GPUs and their prices, so I’m not referring to general GPUs vs workstation. I understand the difference there, and what workstation ones are intended to be used for.
This question is honestly more out of curiosity, as I’m not currently having to render/edit workstation grade projects…not yet. That’s why I’m looking for the future to try and see the benefits to one of these workstation cards vs another.
4. If a smaller form factor PC route were taken (i.e. Intel Skullcandy NUC), are there any bottlenecks when connecting eGPUs as compared to just throwing one in a normal desktop? Is the Razer Core the best option or are there other, more affordable ones?
I can say right now, based on the info I’ve gathered, I’m thinking the RX 480 Sapphire 8GB. I think it will be a good card that will fulfill my needs, but I want to clarify a lot of the above questions I’m uncertain on. I realize I won’t get all my answers I’m looking for, but just looking for some direction.
Thanks in advance – Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
