GeForce vs Quadro

[Schraufabagel]

I use AutoCad, Solidworks, and other rendering software. Currently, I don't use 3ds max, but I will start using it soon. 

 

What I'd like to know is, what benefits does Quadro ofree over GeForce for these applications? I intend to also do gaming, so I'm wondering if I should run two separate systems or if one of them can handle both.

[Electronics Wizardy]

Budget?

 

Get a geoforce.

 

Its all in the drivers(and a bit of rare hardware goodies)

[App4that]

For both get something like a 980ti or 1080ti. But the real difernce is drivers and accuracy. 

[AlwaysFSX]

More VRAM, aside from cost that's about it. Driver support for games has gotten much better in the past few years so they're actually multipurpose now.

[PCGuy_5960]

Which Quadro and which GeForce?

[en1gMATIC]

quadros are more expensive and have much higher quality control, but otherwise nothing

 

oh and they have more memory

[Schraufabagel]

1 minute ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Which Quadro and which GeForce?

GTX 1080ti or Quadro P4000

[shadowbyte]

10 bit color is the major selling point for quadros iirc

[Schraufabagel]

3 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Budget?

 

Get a geoforce.

 

Its all in the drivers(and a bit of rare hardware goodies)

$900 max for a gpu

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, Schraufabagel said:

$900 max for a gpu

get a 1080ti

[App4that]

1080ti

 

[PCGuy_5960]

Just now, Schraufabagel said:

GTX 1080ti or Quadro P4000

Get the 1080 Ti it is MUCH faster than the P4000. (Unless you need 10 bit color)

[bimmerman]

Engineer here, who does CAD professionally. You're primarily asking people who do not use these software packages, and are getting predictable results.

 

Get the Quadro.

 

Solidworks specifically disables hardware rendering unless you have certified drivers for Solidworks. In essence, this means you MUST run a Quadro or Firepro to get the best performance, most accurate geometry rendering, and especially the RealView features. In many benchmarks the Firepro outperforms the Quadro in Solidworks, as an FYI. Using a non-certified card sometimes makes no difference, sometimes is a huge PITA and causes graphical errors on your part, especially with nonmeshing components and poorly merged features. It's maddening to chase those down to fix them only to realize 'oh, shit, it's not the model it's my Titan X5000 LN2 edition graphics card that sucks ass at this'

 

You can game on a Quadro, albeit slower. You can't do CAD well, at all, on a Geforce.

 

However. If this computer is not going to be a tool for making you money, don't build it around CAD use. Better yet, buy a refurbished Dell Precision laptop or desktop off ebay for ~$1k, and use that for the engineering stuff and have a gaming PC for the rest of the time. That's the route I ended up going for the home shop.

[Lord Nicoll]

7 minutes ago, Schraufabagel said:

I use AutoCad, Solidworks, and other rendering software. Currently, I don't use 3ds max, but I will start using it soon. 

 

What is like to know is, what benefits does Quadro ofree over GeForce for these applications? I intend to also do gaming, so I'm wondering if I should run two separate systems or if one of them can handle both.

They're based off the same GPU core, the differences are mainly

• Quadro cards have ECC GDDR5
• GeForce cards have game ready drivers - The drivers have minor tweaks and optimisations that don't always get put into the quadro ones. 
• Quadro drivers are validated more and are much less likely to be buggy or cause issues, they also get hardware tested more.
• Quadro cards are only reference design, there are no AIB versions
• GeForce cards tend to be binned differently for the GPU, they tend to prefer more clocks regardless of how much voltage or heat is needed/made
• Quadro cards usually have a rear PCIe power cable for use in servers, and almost always just a single 8 pin, as the GPUs usually use less power as they're binned for different things as mentioned
• GeForce cards cost substantially less because the development cost is somewhat absorbed by Quadro cards themselves and the number they sell, thus they cost less for what is not a lot less.
• Quadro cards usually have more displayport ports, and usually new ones, as well 10 bit panel support. 
• Quadro card should last longer in 24/7 environments thanks to binning, but I suspect this one isn't so true as I've had a few older ones not die, but just become less stable. 

[AnalogCanavity]

 

[Enderman]

You need the quadro if you want solidworks realview to work.

[scottyseng]

21 minutes ago, Schraufabagel said:

I use AutoCad, Solidworks, and other rendering software. Currently, I don't use 3ds max, but I will start using it soon. 

 

What is like to know is, what benefits does Quadro ofree over GeForce for these applications? I intend to also do gaming, so I'm wondering if I should run two separate systems or if one of them can handle both.

If you're doing this professionally, then yeah, get the Quadro due to Solidworks. Some features of Solidworks are disabled without a certified GPU.

 

Alternatively, look at the Radeon Pro series. They have some killer performance at the price.

 

If not, then stick to a 1080 Ti.