GPU For CAD Acceleration

[winningsince1337]

I'm going to be starting studying engineering in college this fall.  I've been told this will entail a fair amount of CAD work. My main question is what is a good GPU for AutoCAD or other CAD programs like Civil3D, ect.? Is there a particular reason to pick either nvidia or AMD over the other for CAD work? I'm not very knowledgeable about CUDA acceleration but, is CUDA acceleration present in a lot of CAD programs where AMD is not supported?

 

My current PC specs are in my signature. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

 

[Judahnator]

If those programs use CUDA acceleration, your best bet is to grab a GeForce gaming card (think GTX 760).

 

If you have money to blow, grab a good Quadro. The price/performance ratio will be a little worse though.

 

 

Also, stay away from the GTX 600 series. They were nerfed and are actually WORSE than the 500 series in terms of compute performance.

[WoodenMarker]

Don't worry too much about the graphics card. Any modern graphics card will be fine. College engineering CAD projects are generally very light. 

CUDA is generally only used in specific renderers in CAD and you likely won't encounter them unless you're working on finished rendered pieces using a renderer like iRay for some odd reason. 

[Moredeath]

At this time, there are only Quadro cards that have drivers specifically for AutoCAD. That being said you can get away with good performance with a GTX 780 6GB (I use my main PC below for CAD quite a lot.) But any decent card really will suffice

[winningsince1337]

If those programs use CUDA acceleration, your best bet is to grab a GeForce gaming card (think GTX 760).

 

If you have money to blow, grab a good Quadro. The price/performance ratio will be a little worse though.

 

 

Also, stay away from the GTX 600 series. They were nerfed and are actually WORSE than the 500 series in terms of compute performance.

 

I'd rather pay a bit more to get a higher end gaming card than a laower end Quadro/Firepro card so I can still play a game or two if I wanted. I'm probably gonna sell my 290 and 7790 so I'd have ~$400 to spend.

[Moredeath]

I'd rather pay a bit more to get a higher end gaming card than a laower end Quadro/Firepro card so I can still play a game or two if I wanted. I'm probably gonna sell my 290 and 7790 so I'd have ~$400 to spend.

 

You have a R9 290? Keep it. Use it for CAD

[Real_PhillBert]

Don't worry too much about the graphics card. Any modern graphics card will be fine. College engineering CAD projects are generally very light. 

CUDA is generally only used in specific renderers in CAD and you likely won't encounter them unless you're working on finished rendered pieces using a renderer like iRay for some odd reason. 

 

^^^ Bingo.

 

I went all the way through a Mechanical Engineering program with a GTX-570. 

 

Quadro's are great, but kinda limit your options for fun on the PC as gaming on a Quadro is a horrifying experience. The Quadro line will really shine once you get into industry where you are working with much much larger assemblies and the companies are willing to pay a lot more money for some more reliability.

 

CUDA does help you once you get farther down the curriculum with classes in computational analysis, FEA and CFD courses most notably. But my 570 had no troubles so pretty much any modern Nvidia card will do perfectly fine, as the demands in those programs has been pretty stagnant. 

 

I cannot comment on the use of AMD cards as I and pretty much all of my PC literate friends used Nvidia cards. 

 

@winningsince1337

[winningsince1337]

^^^ Bingo.

I went all the way through a Mechanical Engineering program with a GTX-570.

Quadro's are great, but kinda limit your options for fun on the PC as gaming on a Quadro is a horrifying experience. The Quadro line will really shine once you get into industry where you are working with much much larger assemblies and the companies are willing to pay a lot more money for some more reliability.

CUDA does help you once you get farther down the curriculum with classes in computational analysis, FEA and CFD courses most notably. But my 570 had no troubles so pretty much any modern Nvidia card will do perfectly fine, as the demands in those programs has been pretty stagnant.

I cannot comment on the use of AMD cards as I and pretty much all of my PC literate friends used Nvidia cards.

@winningsince1337

Thanks so much! That clears up a lot of my concerns.