Newbie - Need GPU advice for my Dell t5500 12 Core

[bvz]

Hi,

 

I am new to the PC world (until now I have had Macs at home and an IT department to handle things at work).

 

I just purchased a used Dell t5500 with dual hexacore Xeon X5675's (12 cores total, 24 threads).  The machine comes with an Nvidia Quadro FX1500 GPU.

 

I will be using this computer for 3D content creation, although my primary software of choice (Clarisse iFX) does not really use the GPU.  That said, the little bit of googling that I have done suggests that this card only has 256MB of RAM and was originally released in 2006. So it is safe to say that I will probably not be happy with this GPU even when my primary software package doesn't hit it very hard.  Beyond that, I will occasionally make use of other software packages that DO use the GPU (Maya, Mudbox, Houdini, Blender).  So if this thing is pretty bad - and I suspect it is - I will have to upgrade it.  Note: I do not game at all, so gaming performance is not of any importance whatsoever.

 

As a point of reference, my current machine (late 2011 iMac 27") has an AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 2GB of RAM.  This is adequate (if only just barely) for the 3D work I do, so any card that meets the performance of this GPU would more or less be adequate for my needs.  Of course, faster is better.  That said, cheaper is better too.  So... there's that.

 

And so my question:  

 

What would you recommend for a GPU for my system?  (It has a PCIe x16 2.0 slot).  I spent $350 on the computer itself and am on a bit of a budget.  If I could get a decent card for under $150 that would be awesome.  Of course cheaper is even awesomer, but I don't want to waste money on a crappy card. If I have to go above $150, I'll just have to suck it up and do that as well.

 

I think the system has a 875W power supply, but I don't know how much is available for the GPU. The spec sheet for the computer says that it has support for 2 PCI Express x16 Gen 2 graphics cards up to 150W (no idea if that is each or combined).

 

More of my software seems to like Nvidia than AMD because more of it uses CUDA vs. OpenCL.  But I am not knowledgeable enough to know whether I actually prefer Nvidia to AMD, so I am open.  The machine currently is running Linux, but I might get a Windows license as well.

 

Thanks for any and all help!

 

Edit:  Oh, one more thing.  I would like to drive at least two screens.  One is 1920x1080.  The other would be at least QHD (2560x1440) and potentially up to WQHD (3440x1440)

[Ordinarily_Greater]

GTX 970 is your bet, i am amazed with that PC! It is a server PC before right?

[Jurrunio]

GTX 970 at around $180 is your best deal. It doesn't have ECC memory and other workstation mods, but it is much cheaper than Quadros with similar performance.

[Reglare]

You've come to the right place, for 150 dollars the best gpu in terms of architecture and render performance would be a 1050ti. it meets the system requirements for (Clarisse iFX) and make sure you meet the other requirements, i do believe its around 150$ msrp

[bvz]

Thanks for the insanely quick reply!  I'll check that out.

 

It is a workstation PC designed to do high end content creation.  These things with this CPU sold for about $8K when new (though I suspect this one had a better video card back then).  Now I got it for less than 5 percent of its original price!   It still scores at around 1438 on cinebench (compared to the Ryzen 1800x which gets around 1617).

 

Edit: and thanks for the other quick replies that were so fast they happened while I was typing this out

[Reglare]

ryzen cpus are optimized for games and streaming so I'm not surprised

[Reglare]

how did you find the LTT forum?

[Ordinarily_Greater]

Just now, Reglare said:

how did you find the LTT forum?

Maybe he watched NCIX tech tips or Linus Cat Tips

[bvz]

One more question:  Since I have never bought a discrete graphics card before, it looks like there are a bunch of manufacturers that make (for example) the 1050ti.  I suppose that this is because Nvidia licenses the design?  Is there anything I should look out for?  Or can I just buy the cheapest one?

[Reglare]

you know rocket died? one of the cats

[bvz]

1 minute ago, Reglare said:

how did you find the LTT forum?

I've been nerding out watching his Youtube channel for the past year.

[Jurrunio]

Just now, Ordinarily_Greater said:

Linus Cat Tips

I first thought you typed "Linus Cat Nips"

[bvz]

I didn't know he had a cat tips channel.  I'll have to check that out as well (secretly... my wife hates cats)

[Ordinarily_Greater]

1 minute ago, bvz said:

One more question:  Since I have never bought a discrete graphics card before, it looks like there are a bunch of manufacturers that make (for example) the 1050ti.  I suppose that this is because Nvidia licenses the design?  Is there anything I should look out for?  Or can I just buy the cheapest one?

NVidia makes the GPU (the chip inside the card) and Asus, EVgA and others try to give the best cooling

[bvz]

Just now, Ordinarily_Greater said:

NVidia makes the GPU (the chip inside the card) and Asus, EVgA and others try to give the best cooling

I see.  Thanks.

[Ordinarily_Greater]

1 minute ago, bvz said:

I didn't know he had a cat tips channel.  I'll have to check that out as well (secretly... my wife hates cats)

He has tips for guys that has to take their cats to bath

[Reglare]

in regard to your question, nvidia does license these 

 this should be a good video for you to watch rn I've watches this guy for a while, very good an reputable

[bvz]

Just now, Reglare said:

in regard to your question, nvidia does license these 

 this should be a good video for you to watch rn I've watches this guy for a while, very good an reputable

Brilliant.  Thanks.  Some nice bedtime TV...

[Jurrunio]

Just now, bvz said:

One more question:  Since I have never bought a discrete graphics card before, it looks like there are a bunch of manufacturers that make (for example) the 1050ti.  I suppose that this is because Nvidia licenses the design?  Is there anything I should look out for?  Or can I just buy the cheapest one?

1. Size your case has for GPU. Though it shouldn't be a problem, it's still better to measure it so you don't buy one that doesn't fit.

2. Amount of PCIe 6pin / 6+2pin on the PSU.

3. They all share the same chip from Nvidia, just different coolers. I'd say buy the cheapest one since a small cooler is enough for a 1050ti.

[Reglare]

but some of the cards have factory over clocks and for some reason this company made an 8g 1060 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAD7H5EX1953&cm_re=1060-_-9SIAD7H5EX1953-_-Product  

like wtf

[Reglare]

the 1050 ti does not require a pin connector, it draws from th pcie lane

[Ordinarily_Greater]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

3. They all share the same chip from Nvidia, just different coolers. I'd say buy the cheapest one since a small cooler is enough for a 1050ti.

Even ACX 2.0 can cool it? The one fan design?

[bvz]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

1. Size your case has for GPU. Though it shouldn't be a problem, it's still better to measure it so you don't buy one that doesn't fit.

2. Amount of PCIe 6pin / 6+2pin on the PSU.

3. They all share the same chip from Nvidia, just different coolers. I'd say buy the cheapest one since a small cooler is enough for a 1050ti.

I'll check the size out.  Thanks.  (The machine has not yet arrived so I'll have to wait).

 

Since this is a Dell, I am sure there are limited power outs from the PSU.

 

I'm not sure how to check the amount of PCIe 6pin.  Is that the 'size' of the slot I plug the card into?

[Ordinarily_Greater]

3 minutes ago, Reglare said:

but some of the cards have factory over clocks and for some reason this company made an 8g 1060 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAD7H5EX1953&cm_re=1060-_-9SIAD7H5EX1953-_-Product  

like wtf

I think it is a typo, it should be written as 1080

[Reglare]

Hey if you guys wana see the average cost and the closest to retail gpus you can buy rn check my thread