Newbie graphics card question GTX 1070

smithco

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Jun 18, 2020
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Hi Folks,

I am new to the site, so apologize if this is a duplication. I did a bit of a search, and couldn't find specific answers.

I am not a gamer, but instead use my laptop for CAD work, including full color renderings, "fly-thrus", etc, and I want to maximize that process.
Currently have a laptop with these specs:
Intel i7-8750 CPU @ 2.2GHz
16GB RAM
500GB in C drive
2TB in D drive
Invidia GTX 1070 card

What would a good upgrade be (to any of the components if applicable), but specifically to the GTX 1070?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Cole
 
You won’t be able to upgrade anything in that laptop that would be worthwhile.

getting a new one with a better GPU Is probably your only realistic option.
 
Hi Folks,

I am new to the site, so apologize if this is a duplication. I did a bit of a search, and couldn't find specific answers.

I am not a gamer, but instead use my laptop for CAD work, including full color renderings, "fly-thrus", etc, and I want to maximize that process.
Currently have a laptop with these specs:
Intel i7-8750 CPU @ 2.2GHz
16GB RAM
500GB in C drive
2TB in D drive
Invidia GTX 1070 card

What would a good upgrade be (to any of the components if applicable), but specifically to the GTX 1070?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Cole
I think it will help if you gives us a budget, but if it is for productivity, a laptop Ryzen 4800H will helped a lot as you get 8 cores 16 threads and pair it with a AMD 5500M or Nvidia 1660Ti or RTX 2060, you will have a decent gaming laptop. You will probably spend around $1,100 to $1,200.
 
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I think it will help if you gives us a budget, but if it is for productivity, a laptop Ryzen 4800H will helped a lot as you get 8 cores 16 threads and pair it with a AMD 5500M or Nvidia 1660Ti or RTX 2060, you will have a decent gaming laptop. You will probably spend around $1,100 to $1,200.
Thanks! Budget is not a real concern...I spent over $4K for this laptop, and frankly it still does not render as quickly as I'd like, so I am definitely open to any recommendations!
 
I think it will help if you gives us a budget, but if it is for productivity, a laptop Ryzen 4800H will helped a lot as you get 8 cores 16 threads and pair it with a AMD 5500M or Nvidia 1660Ti or RTX 2060, you will have a decent gaming laptop. You will probably spend around $1,100 to $1,200.


The 5500 and 1660 Ti are the exact same performance as a 1070.

If you want better GPU performance in your laptop, maybe it's time you give desktop a try? Then it's pretty easy to buy a beefy system, and then upgrade the GPU.
 
Thanks! Budget is not a real concern...I spent over $4K for this laptop, and frankly it still does not render as quickly as I'd like, so I am definitely open to any recommendations!
If that is the case, a laptop with 2070 Super non max q or 2080 non max q will help a lot in any GPU rendering. Though it is only available for Intel laptops for the time being, I haven't seen any laptop paired with a AMD CPU yet. I have not seen any laptops available with a 2080 Super non max q variant. Though defaultuser does have a point, if you don't need to lug a laptop for work, 4k goes a lot farther if you are building a desktop.
 
Do they throttle CAD performance on GeForce cards still, in which case you may want something with a mobile Quadra instead? Or is that not an issue anymore?
 
If it has to be a laptop, can you at least settle on an eGPU for when you need the extra GPU? Both razer and alienware offer solutions.
 
The 5500 and 1660 Ti are the exact same performance as a 1070.

If you want better GPU performance in your laptop, maybe it's time you give desktop a try? Then it's pretty easy to buy a beefy system, and then upgrade the GPU.
That would be ideal, but my work takes me to 5 states, so I have to travel with this thing. LOVE the weight in my ba
If it has to be a laptop, can you at least settle on an eGPU for when you need the extra GPU? Both razer and alienware offer solutions.
I was not aware of an external unit. 75% of the time I am at the home office, so that could work well for me, and just work without it when on the road. Suggestions as to model? And is it accessed through a Thunderbolt cable or the like?
 
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/alienware-graphics-amplifier/apd/452-bcfe/gaming

https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops/razer-core-x

The razer core x will work on pretty much any thunderbolt 3 egpu supporting laptop. The Alienware only works on Alienware and I believe uses a proprietary dell connector only on the supporting Alienware laptops.

The Alienware combo is cheaper, even more so if you get typical Dell discounts of 15%-20%, however, it is more limiting given being locked down to Alienware and it doesn't support quite as large GPU's.

The Razer one is better all around though. Far better support and works with both PC & Mac, and supports larger GPU's. That being said, i'd likely buy a Razer laptop anyways just to ensure you never have issues with drivers/software support that almost always exist with things like this.

There are other options on the market, but I wouldn't recommend them given that they are kind of doing their own thing and you can't be sure you'll have rock solid support.
 
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https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/alienware-graphics-amplifier/apd/452-bcfe/gaming

https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops/razer-core-x

The razer core x will work on pretty much any thunderbolt 3 egpu supporting laptop. The Alienware only works on Alienware and I believe uses a proprietary dell connector only on the supporting Alienware laptops.

The Alienware combo is cheaper, even more so if you get typical Dell discounts of 15%-20%, however, it is more limiting given being locked down to Alienware and it doesn't support quite as large GPU's.

The Razer one is better all around though. Far better support and works with both PC & Mac, and supports larger GPU's. That being said, i'd likely buy a Razer laptop anyways just to ensure you never have issues with drivers/software support that almost always exist with things like this.

There are other options on the market, but I wouldn't recommend them given that they are kind of doing their own thing and you can't be sure you'll have rock solid support.
Thank you!
 
Thank you!


You can also buy a Thunderbolt 3 external dock, but then you need to make sure you buy a laptop with a a full x4 dedicated slot for Thunderbolt expansion bus (you're going to need the bandwidth to feed a fast card).

https://3dinsider.com/thunderbolt-3-external-gpus/

But the upside Thunderbolt 3 is it's a universal standard, so you should be able to continue to upgrade cards/reuse the enclosure.

Do you think you could cart around an expansion box? You could always leave it in your car, and only break nit out when you need to do ma demanding render.
 
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That would be ideal, but my work takes me to 5 states, so I have to travel with this thing. LOVE the weight in my ba

I was not aware of an external unit. 75% of the time I am at the home office, so that could work well for me, and just work without it when on the road. Suggestions as to model? And is it accessed through a Thunderbolt cable or the like?

Second the egpu option. Heard good things about it but never looked into it myself. Get the case and toss in a 2080 with the right specs you're looking for. I wonder if you can dual card it with egpu? Since budget isn't a concern. Do it, if you can. You'll be blazing.
 
Thanks for all of the input! I have verified that I have the Thunderbolt 3 port in my laptop, and that the Razer Core X egpu will work well with my laptop. I just ordered a Quadro P6000 as I use my laptop for CAD graphics rather than gaming. Looking forward to see the difference!
 
Keep in mind that thunderbolt only operates at PCIEx4. Not sure if that will affect the performance for your purposes or not.
 
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