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Professional Workstation GPU's

AnAngelsDeath

AnAngelsDeath

Gawd
Joined
Feb 6, 2006
Messages
813
I was just curious, what are the benefits to a high end like NVIDIA Tesla or Quatro card that is meant for like Game Developers, Video/Movie Editing, and other Professional Work in the Visual Arts Field.

I was just looking at this one cause I have my own side business building/modding/repairing Custom PC's and Cases (as well as Modding and Repairing Consoles/Handhelds and Smart Phones) and I have a local client who wants a "Workstation" grade GPU (that's what he called it) apparently he is both into Game Design, he has started his own company, as well as Editing Movies and Doing high-end Digital Art.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814132008
 
Different "computing focused" drivers and better tech support... Some people (usually people who bought one) will tell you it does some mystical quality improvement during CPU renders somehow, but usually there isn't any difference, especially since normal Geforce cards have gotten "professional" features like deep color etc.

However, some models do pack a load more Vram (6GB) which can be useful for some things in movie/art editors (but then again to get over 3gb in film editing/art programs can take some doing...10 layers of 1080p isn't even over 1gb Vram, nor is 30kx30k 50 layer image editing...)
 
I would just get a normal geforce card people that need tesla or quaddro know that they need it. Not hey I need a workstation card
 
Filter said:
I would just get a normal geforce card people that need tesla or quaddro know that they need it. Not hey I need a workstation card
Click to expand...

I agree. Tesla is amazing for the sim work that my devs do, but I see no reason at all for a workstation card if all they're doing video or gfx work.
 
The big seller for teslas is the full speed double precision floating point operation.
 
Certain CAD and 3D packages will show more accurate thin line draws with a Quadro or FireGL card. Quadro and FireGL also offer pro features such as frame lock and gen lock. Packages such as Maya benefited in the past from the hardware frame buffers for accelerating certian GUI elements though this has been superceded by advancements to their OpenGL and DirectX viewports. As DeathPrincess mentioned support from software vendors that follow a qualified hardware list. Though the vast majority of GFX applications these days are tested with normal Geforce cards.

It should be noted that Adobe CS6 has support for hardware acceleration throughout the entire suite (Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects) but you will need to edit a text file containing the whitelist of 'allowed' GFX cards if you want to use a gaming card. It takes all of 30 seconds to change but it does throw some people off when they first come across the error.
 
Filter said:
I would just get a normal geforce card people that need tesla or quaddro know that they need it. Not hey I need a workstation card
Click to expand...

well its not my choice, as I said, I am building this rig for a client and he wants one of these. It's his money, so if he wants one, that's what I Will put in the rig.

Thanks for the info guys
 
Just remember, Tesla cards are not video cards. They're dedicated compute cards. They have no video outs.
 
Parja said:
Just remember, Tesla cards are not video cards. They're dedicated compute cards. They have no video outs.
Click to expand...

yea I am aware lol I do this for a living. This is my first time putting one of these in a system tho. He's not going with the Tesla one I showed tho, hes going with one of the cheaper Quatro's, you can get those for 1,500-1,700$, but that tesla is well over 3,000$...I am also putting a GTX 680 in there. He's want two if they will fit. He hasn't picked a case yet tho, so I have to wait til he picks up and then see, and then if it wont fit two, then I will have to recommend him one that is similar looking but with more room. Definitely gonna need a hefty PSU lol
 
AnAngelsDeath, you should really purchase a video card based on the applications used. He may get a larger benefit out of a 680 with 4GB of VRAM rather than a cheap Quadro that isn't supported and would give worse performance than a card 1/4th the price. The client is relying on your advice so don't put the onus all on his shoulders.

With that said: What GFX applications does he use currently or intend on using in the future?
 
i already gave him my advice, i dont just blindly build what people ask me to. Of course i give my input. But hen it comes to the kind of work they do, they are gonna sometimes kno more then I do obviously since I am not the one that does their job. And I do mods for games (custom maps, weapons, weapon addons, etc etc) and i have friends who have made games using just normal Video Cards and told him he could make dual GT680 work most likely, but he wants one of the quatros. so I am not gonna argue with him about it. If he feels he needs one even after I said he might not, I am assuming he knows more about it then I do, since I don't do that kind of work, then I will give him one. He didn't ask me, hey build me a computer that you think would be good for this. He said hey build me a computer with these specs. So in this type of situation when a client knows what he wants, then hes not relying on my advice, he just wants a system built to the specs he wants.

And I already said that he does Game Development and High end Visual Art, as well as Film editing
 
Last edited:
Parja said:
Just remember, Tesla cards are not video cards. They're dedicated compute cards. They have no video outs.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Tesla C2075 has a DVI out:

Hcn4p5F.jpg


But you're right with the the newer Kepler Tesla's, they don't come with a video out.
 
This is one of those "if you don't know the difference you shouldn't be asking" type things.
 
Krazypoloc said:
This is one of those "if you don't know the difference you shouldn't be asking" type things.
Click to expand...

so if you don't know about something then you don't have the right to learn about it lol that's a very messed up way of thinking. That's one of the major points of this forum, to learn and educate, help others, exchange knowledge, healthy debate, compare results, etc etc.
 
csshih said:
:p

you do this for a living, shouldn't you have known this already?
Click to expand...

lol i keep thinking of the shaving razor Shick Quattro haha i dont know why

and I don't know shit about these type of cards except for their meant for high end visual art and other related fields, hence why i made the post and asked about it lol
 
Safety said:
Forget it.
Click to expand...

did i miss something ? I was pretty sure i got what your saying, and I agreed with you, I was just saying that once i give my recommendation based on what I think, and he still wants what he wants, then what else em I supposed to do, tell him no ? And that in some cases people don't want my advice, they know what they want and they hire me to build something to specs that they want, not build something to the specs that I think they want/need. When a customer calls me and says hey build me a computer that will be good for gaming, then in that case obviously they want my opinion on specs that i think will be good for gaming, and I would ask them questions and so on and so forth in order to build them a system that does exactly what they want. But when a customer calls me and says build me a computer that has this, this and this, then that's what I'm gonna do.

I am sorry if I said something wrong. Like i said, I agree with what you were saying. And am using the GTX680 for Gaming and Video outputs.
 
I was trying to emphasize that you as a system builder, regardless of what the customer wants, should find out what applications are used and make recommendations based either on your experience and/or research. It's not that you necessarily did anything wrong but if the customer realizes that he just wasted $1.5k and is dissatisfied with his purchase, it may cause him to use another service in the future such as BOXX which has more experience building GFX workstations. On the other hand, if the customer sees that you tried your best to offer him sound advice then A) you may receive more business from him in the future or B) he may refer other clients to you because of your high level of customer care.

I work in the same fields as your customer and I am a system builder. I speak from experience when I say that it is not enough to know the technical differences between a Geforce, Quadro and Tesla card. The choice is dependent not only on the applications used but the specific version numbers of those applications. For example Maya 2012 went 4 months before a fix was rolled out to correct display issues with the 6XX Geforce series. As a system builder I would have done due diligence to make sure that there weren't any known compatibility issues. That kind of service is what ensures repeat business and having that knowledge better prepares you for future orders. Using umbrella terms such "Game Development and High end Visual Art, as well as Film editing" completely ignores the very specific hardware requirements of the applications being used by your client.

To illustrate this point here is a test: Match the following 4 applications to their corresponding hardware requirements. At stake is $1500 and an unreasonably angry client that requires hours of technical support to figure out why their new workstation doesn't work well with their applications:

1) Octane
2) Davinci Resolve
3) ZBrush
4) Marmoset

A) This application does not require a discreet GFX card and would not benefit from either a Geforce, Quadro or Tesla.
B) This application recommends using the latest Geforce card to gain access to the latest shader model. The use of Quadro cards is discouraged and is not officially supported.
C) This application can use Geforce, Quadro and Tesla cards interchangably and infact recommends the use of multiple non-SLI GPUs to attain higher performance.
D) While this application card may run on certain Geforce cards it is highly recommended that a Quadro is used for best performance.

The question of whether to use a Geforce, Quadro or Tesla card is dependent on the application.

-Safety
 
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