double or single graphics card?

011191 · 08-19-2008, 02:05 AM

I'm looking into building a computer for 3-D rendering on blender and Catia later this summer (late summer, early fall) for school.
I got 200$ish bucks for a graphics card, and i have narrowed it down to 2(EDIT: now 3) options. Buy 2 Ati Hd3650 graphics card and cross-fire them, or buy 1 nVidia 9800 GTX card EDIT: or the nVidia Quadro FX 370?

Which one will be better for:

Compatibility and performance for 3-D rendering? (honestly, no games)

EDIT: I've been told to stay away from ATI because most programs have been designed with nVidia cards in mind, true or lies?

Edit2: What if i go with a nVidia Quadro FX 370 (approx 145$), would that be better for 3-D rendering than the nVidia 9800 GTX or the ATI HD3650 crossfired?

benniemc · 08-19-2008, 05:20 AM

PNY Quadro FX 570 256MB DDR2 Workstation Graphics Card - PCI Express 1.0 x16, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, Dual VGA Support VCQFX570-PCIE-PB in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

Optimal specs for Hardware for Blender (Taken from their site)

* 2 Ghz dual CPU
* 2 GB Ram
* 1920 x 1200 px Display with 24 bit color
* 3 Button Mouse
* Open GL Graphics Card with 128 or 256 MB Ram

NVIDIA Quadro FX - Product Comparison

Features & Benefits

Also, when you build the machine, make sure you get a Server CPU with a big L2 Cache, like the new Xeons or Opteron CPUs, they're not much more expensive, but a hell of a lot more powerful.

Goblin · 08-19-2008, 10:23 PM

I'd go with a single stronger card. Preferably one with lots of memory, because if GDDR counts in any situation, it's 3D modeling. Dual cards only do much good if you're running huge resolutions. And no ATi isn't bad, but on some occasions you really are better off with an nvidia.

011191 · 08-21-2008, 12:13 AM

Yea, ive decided to go with a Quadcore intel( Core 2 quad) and the 9800 GTX nVidia.

Sure, 512 MG isnt huge, but it is DDR3. And worst case scenario, i put 2 in a few months.

YAY FOR MONEYIZ

benniemc · 08-21-2008, 12:18 AM

Oh well, at least if you give up on modelling, you can game!

011191 · 08-21-2008, 01:04 AM

Yea...gaming, not so much

thats y i have an Xbox

(been repaired, by myself so its alllll goood!)

Honestly, i do believe the crossfired or sli double cards are better. But, where i work (future shop) they been sold out

So, in a sence, im stuck with the 9800GTX.

Then again, it is a 9800 GTX, pretty good!

benniemc · 08-21-2008, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 011191

Honestly, i do believe the crossfired or sli double cards are better. But, where i work (future shop) they been sold out:eek

SLI doesn't mean shit if the software your using hasn't been written to support it.

Shike · 08-21-2008, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benniemc

SLI doesn't mean shit if the software your using hasn't been written to support it.

I think that goes for all hardware in general.

011191 · 08-21-2008, 01:40 AM

I'll be using Catia, which im pretty sure supports SLI.

By software, do you mean the program i will be running, or the software and drivers installed in my computer that directly have buisness with my computer?

Like, a specific SLI software to optimise SLI performance?

benniemc · 08-21-2008, 01:47 AM

The software, like Blender or Catia (just examples, I have no idea if they support SLI or not!) needs to be written to support the SLI APIs to run jobs on both GPUs, just like how MPI works on PCs.

Unless the code is written to run on parallel on GPUs, it just won't run, and you would have wasted all that money on a second card for nothing.