VFX Workstation: Which Video Card to get? GTX680 or Quadro4000?

May I have some advice on Video Cards for my dual Xeon-E5 workstation?
PC Specs: SR-X Classified Mobo. Dual Xeon E5-2670 (32 simulated cores at 3.1Ghz Turbo)
64GB memory, 4x 2TBCavBlacks in raid 0 (one raid0 for Content Drive, another raid0 for Render Drive)
and 2x SSDs (one for OS, another for scratch or Apps)
Main App: AE CS6 / Secondary: Premiere Pro CS6 / Want to Practice: Cinema4D
GTX 680
Pros: 4GB Memory. 1500 cuda cores & Certified for AE CS6 by Adobe.
Cons: Premiere CS6 has not certified it... yet.
Quadro 4000.
Pros: Comparable performance to the GTX 680 + Certified Pro Card. Allegedly has cleaner performance. i.e. when GPU memory fills up on GTX it can get mad sluggish.
Cons: Hasn't been updated in 3 years. 1/6th of the Cuda (256 cores). 1/2 the memory (2gb). Twice the Price.
All specs considered... I'm inclined towards a single GTX 680 (upgrade to SLI in future).
Any practical advice on which route to go based on my Main Apps? Which has performed better in your experience?
PS: Keep in mind, currently using 7D footage in .264, requiring conversions etc. Eventually will switch over to BlackMagicCinema 4K footage primarily.
PSS: Budget is getting somewhat tight. Rather keep it between $500 and $1000. Not much cash left after all the expenditures so far - I wanted to focus my budget on mobo/chips/memory first. Figured by around Black Friday is a good time to snag a Video Card? or are these not likely to get price cuts?
Thanks in advance!

Upon further research, I'm feeling like the best option would be to save my money for a Quadro K5000 when it (hopefully) releases on PC eventually (MacPro Exclusive right now it seems).
In the meanwhile, maybe I'll just nab one or two super cheap GTX 580 on Black Friday (which are certified for AFX and Premiere Pro apparently)
Opinions and considerations?

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Which video card to get for my late 2005 Dual 2.0 G5

Sorry if this has been answered in others posts. I have been a bit confused on what card I should be getting for my G5.
I have a late 2005 model (last generation of the PPC) and it came with a 6600LE PCIe 128mb card.
I would like to get a better video card (256 or 512) but I don't want to break the bank. I read about the ATI x1900 but I wasn't sure what the differences were between the two versions. There seems to be an x1900 MAC edition and an x1900 XT. Can someone let me know which card I need and whether or not there are other choices that might be cheaper.
Thanks.

I recently purchased an ATI Radeon 9600 Pro PC & Mac edition and installed it in a PowerMac G5 2.0 DP to power a 30" Apple Display ... installed easily and worked perfectly. It was $186.98 at Amazon, but is currently unavailable there; $204.99 at Small Dog. Here is the detailed description:
+"Maximize your creative potential and gaming experiences with ATI's Radeon 9600 PRO PC & Mac Edition, the first hybrid 256 MB, ultra-high resolution graphics card for both Power Mac and PC users.The Radeon 9600 PRO PC & Mac Edition is a perfect upgrade for design professionals and gamers who demand exceptional graphics performance. The Radeon 9600 PRO PC & Mac Edition delivers stunning 3D capabilities at an incredible price for both Mac OS X and Windows XP users with AGP-based systems.The Radeon 9600 PRO PC & Mac Edition provides the most up-to-date display support, powering the market's latest, digital flat panel monitors and dual-link DVI ultra high-resolution flat panel monitors, including Apple's 30-inch Cinema HD Display (2560 X 1600 resolution). Equipped with ATI's breakthrough dual-link DVI output and support, the Radeon 9600 PRO PC & Mac Edition offers Power Mac and PC users the output capability and performance needed to maximize their design and gaming experiences."+

Which video card is best to preview in 2 monitor

hello all,
please I need help with video card and advice me with which video card shall I buy for this system I have.
I also need to preview 2 monitor in adobe after effect and adobe preimere. like i need to work with timeline and the secound monitor i get preview the video.
My system:
GIGABYTE Motherboard P35-DS3R
processor intel core 2 Qaud
8 GB DDR2 Ram
SATA hard drive 500 GB
thank you very much
best regards,
imam

I like the ATI 4890
make sure you have 2 slots open since it wide.
And it has: OpenGL 3.0 support
One more space to get that hot air out.
Also:
500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
make sure you have 2 power connectors to run the dual monitors:
Glenn
Message was edited by: poweredbydeign

Which video card to buy for Mac Pro and AE CS3

I am about to purchase a new Mac Pro and am curious which video card to buy - particularly when it comes to rendering speed.
Apple offers the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 as a standard option, with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of GDDR3 as a $150 BTO option.
I primarily use AE CS3 using adaptive resolution in lieu of Open GL. The projects are very 3d intensive. My initial thought is that the NVIDIA card has more VRAM and would be a better pick - but would my $$$ be better off toward more RAM? Does using CS4 make a difference?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. And yes, I have searched the forums but have not found anything definitive.

Personally, I'd buy more RAM. The standard display card supplied with the Mac Pro will have perfectly good specs for AE and Prem Pro.
Yes, CS4 should render faster than CS3.

Which video card should I get?

Just got a BMPCC, and I shoot in raw. I color grade in Resolve and transfer it over to Premiere and I notice that Premiere and Resolve are laggin.
My system:
i7 3960x
16 GB Ram
nVidia 480 GTX
3x raided SSD's (don't know the read our write speed on the top of my head)
Never had problems with premiere till recently. I'm thinking it's the video card, and probably the rams (prob going to upgrade to 32 gb.)
I'm willing to spend $200-$500. From what I've been reading on Google, Cuda works a lot better in premiere then AMD's OpenCL. Obviously, the less the price, the better. I bought the GTX 480 when it was about 2 generations old, but I bought it because of the price compared to performance.
Also, looking to get into After Effects. So any card that is balanced between Premiere and Effects would be great.
Any recommendations would be appreciated!
edit: I'm using all Adobe CC programs.

Read reply #1 in http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1366106?tstart=0 in the hardware forum

Which Video Card To Choose?

I am looking to buy a Mac Pro and I'm not sure about what video card to buy. Looking at the Apple onlinstore I can configure with either a NVIDIA GeForce 7300 or the ATI Radeon X1900. My main use will be to run Final Cut Pro and other graphics programs like Flash and Photoshop. Which card is better to have? Also, Why is there an option to buy up to 4 of NVIDIA 7300 cards, but only 1 of the ATI Radeon? What is the advantage of buying multiple NVIDIA 7300 cards? Can you use multiple ATI Radeon cards?
Any help would be great. Thanks!

Get the ATI Radeon X1900 by all means.
See http://www.apple.com/macpro/graphics.html and
http://www.barefeats.com/quad05.html
Quoting: …Apple's Mac Pro GRAPHICS page shows the X1900's specs and performance so close to the $1650 Quadro FX 4500 and so far above the GeForce 7300 GT that the choice is a no-brainer for most consumers and professionals.…
12" PB G4/1.2GHz- Mac Book Pro 17" - 12" iB G3/500 MHz - Mac mini G4 as server Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Which Video Card??

I am sure this has been asked many times, but I could not find previous discussions regarding my question:
I will be ordering a new iMac soon. I plan on purchasing the 2.93 or 3.06 - leaning towards the 3.06 just to get the most I can afford. 1 TB HD. 4 GB RAM (moving to 8 GB when I can afford).
Here is my question:
What video card to choose: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 512MB OR the ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
I mainly do:
photo editing using PhotoShop CS4, Lightroom, Aperture, Bridge.
HD video editing: Final Cut Express (moving to Studio soon), and I might eventually try 3D editing.
I rarely game, but might more in the future.
Thanks in advance for any advice, recommendations, etc!!
And if you need more info to determine which card would fit my needs better, let me know!
rob

Look at the data.
http://www.MarketingTactics.com/Speedmark/
See Barefeats.com
http://www.barefeats.com/imac09.html
http://www.barefeats.com/imac09b.html
http://www.barefeats.com/imac09c.html
http://www.barefeats.com/imac09d.html

Which Video Card for MDD - Nvidia or ATi Radeon?

Mac nVidia GeForce 4 Ti 4600/Ti4600 128MB Video Card G4
BRAND NEW
I saw this item on eBay, and it looks like a good deal, but elsewhere on this forum someone said the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro was preferred for the Mirror Drive Door model.
The NVidia seems to have the best price. Assuming either are compatible (need AGP) which would be recommended, and why?
My present card is 64MB. I would hope that one with 128MB would improve performance with my Final Cut Express and 3D programs, such as Carrara and SketchUp, and give better results with an LCD monitor (and the card supports dual monitors, I think)
many thanks,
K.

Hi Keith-
The biggest problem with the Geforce4 Ti is lack of Core Image support. This is of major importance in OS X, important to some graphics/video editing applications and is indicative of a GPU that is more powerful than the cards that don't support Core Image.
The Radeon 9800 Pro is a card that supports Core Image, and does so with ease.
For applications, Quartz Extreme is a given, but Open GL is also of concern. The Radeon 9800 Pro scores higher in Open GL benchmarks than the Geforce4 Ti.
As for 3D, shaders are of importance. The Radeon cards often offer better shader support than the Geforce cards. This is true when comparing the Geforce4 Ti and the Radeon 9800 Pro.
Not only is the architecture of the Radeon 9800 Pro better, 8 pixel pipelines vs. 4, but the drivers for the Radeon are superior. In fact, it is a gamers secret in some applications, to use Radeon shader drivers to get better performance out of their Geforce cards.
Not to be overlooked, but the amount of VRAM is not as important as the GPU clock speed, and the memory (VRAM) speed. The Geforce4 Ti has a GPU of 300mhz, and DDR VRAM at 325mhz (effective 650mhz).
The Radeon 9800 Pro has a GPU clocked at 378mhz, and DDR VRAM clocked at 337.5mhz (effective 675mhz).
Again, the Radeon 9800 Pro is superior in architecture.
Both cards can support dual displays, both having a DVI and a VGA port. A big difference is if you use OS X Leopard. Again, the Radeon card stands supreme, with many OS 9, or "legacy" Geforce cards loosing dual display ability in Leopard. This problem is often reported here.
If, however, the majority of your work is in OS 9, the Geforce4 Ti is a better card, with better native support +in OS 9+. The Radeon 9800 Pro came much later than the last OS 9.2.2, so it doesn't have the benefit of native 3D drivers. It works fine as a basic graphics card in OS 9, but doesn't support accelerated 3D as well as the Geforce4 Ti.
As for price, since we're comparing flashed cards, the Radeon 9800 Pro costs the same (as the Geforce4 Ti) from a very competent, reliable seller, though you have an extra $10 in shipping.

Which Video Card for G5 dual 2ghz?

Would there be a significant difference between running Aperture with the ATI RADEON X800 Mac Edition - 256MB 8X AGP Pro Video Card and running it with the ATI RADEON 9800XT 8X AGP 256MB Video Card?
There is a big difference in cost.
G5 dual 2g processor Mac OS X (10.4.8)

my G5 is like yours and i do occasionally get it ... not nearly like i did with my old card (9650) but more frequently than my MBP (which is virtually NEVER) ...
the X800XT is the BEST card that you can get for an AGP G5 ...
barefeats.com has test results about this card, but that won't give you your real world experiences ... my experiences are positive, very positive and i work with 5D RAW files ... ~12MB ...
there are a lot of threads in this forum where people give their experiences with the X800XT ...

Which Video card is best?

Looking for a Video Card replacement to view full screen movies on my 22in Widescreen, went from a Radeon 9200 Mac Edition PCI to now an Nvidia 6200 AGP (400Mhz 512mb) <Flashed> so far apart from a few glitches it works fine under 10.5.3 but it has limitations i.e. driver support. Would goto the 9800 128mb but think it would be a step down...
Thanks in advance for the information and recommendations.
Jim

Hi Jim-
Would goto the 9800 128mb but think it would be a step down...
Unless the 6200 has been hacked to unlock 4 pipelines (using modified 6600 or 6800 ROM) and has had the memory and GPU overclocked, the 9800 will pretty much eat the 6200 for lunch. Even with all the radical mod's, which most vanilla 6200's can't handle/aren't capable of, the hot-rodded 6200 would just come in close to even with an un-modified 128MB 9800 NP (Non Pro).
It's the architectural differences, and the better ATI drivers that make the difference.
For 2x AGP, the top dog is the 9800 Pro. Get one with 256MB VRAM and gain 10-15% over the 128MB version. Add an aftermarket cooler, and OC the 9800 beyond any 9800XT.......
BTW- the flashed 9800's have no limitations what-so-ever in any version of Leopard.......

Which video card is being used?

I need help. I'll keep it simple:
I have an NVIDIA Quadro 1000m card on my Lenovo w520. However, dxdiag and the ThinkVantage Toolbox both give me a summary of my system that says the current video card is Intel HD Graphics Card Family. The Quadro is enabled in the bios, and the up to date drivers are all installed. Device manager reads that both the Intel HD Graphics Card Family and the Quadro are installed and are "working properly." If I disable the Intel card, the screen goes black and I need to force-restart in safe mode to enable it again.
My question is, which card is actually working? And how can I get the Quadro to run as opposed to the Intel (so that dxdiag and the ThinkVantage Toolbox accurately read that the Quadro is my video card)?
Ps. I've called tech support 4 times..they're no help... and thus I turn to the interwebs for assistance. Your help would be tremendous.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

You have an "Optimus" configuration, this is what switchable graphics has morphed into. The machine will only run the 1000m when it is necessary to run cooler, run quieter, and use less battery power. The machine decides when to turn on the card. When the nVidia card is off, it uses no power. The latest nVidia drivers should have a taskbar utility that tells you when the 1000m is active. You can override this in the BIOS if you need to for some reason.
When asking for help, post your question in the forum. Remember to include your system type, model number and OS. Do not post your serial number.
Did someone help you today? Press the star on the left to thank them with a Kudo!
If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"! This will help others with the same question in the future.
My TPs: Twist 2HU: i5-3317U Win 8 Pro, 4GB RAM 250GB Samsung 840 | T420 4177CTO: i5-2520M, HD+, Win 7 Pro x64, 8GB RAM, Optimus, 160GB Intel 320 SSD, Intel 6300 WiFi, BT 3.0 | T400 2764CTO: P8700, WXGA, Win 7 Ult x64, AMD 3470, 8GB RAM, 64GB Samsung SSD, BT, Intel 5300 WiFi | A20m 14.1" PIII 500 (retired). Monitors: 2x Dell U2211h IPS 100% sRGB calibrated w/ Spyder3.

24" iMac--latest models. Which video card option to choose?

I am going to buy a new iMac 24" with 4 GB RAM. There is a $300 difference between two of the models, based mainly, so far as I can tell, on a processor speed difference of 2.6 to 2.9 Ghz, but mainly on the video card.
The lower priced iMac has a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
The higher priced iMac has NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
I use my current iMac (mid-2007 version, 4 GB, Radeon 2600 HD with 256 MB VRAM) for all the usual things like email, word processing and web surfing, but also for watching movies, high def streamed TV, including sports events. I do not do video editing nor do I play games on the computer. I am using approx 1 GB of RAM all the time for Fusion to run Windows, since I have a couple of programs that have no Mac equivalent.
Am I losing 256 MB of system RAM with the GeForce 9400M since it doesn't have its own memory like the Radeon 2600 HD, and will I miss the memory? Is the GeForce still a better video card than the Radeon, even with the shared memory?
The only real question is, should I spend the extra $300 to get the video card with its own memory, assuming I don't need the faster processor speed?

_+The only real question is, should I spend the extra $300 to get the video card with its own memory, assuming I don't need the faster processor speed?+_
I see from your new thread today that you have not yet made this purchase.
To get the upgraded hardware you really want, and for only $50 (not $300) above the cost you're willing to pay for the new 2.66, you can buy the refurbished 2.93 current 4GB RAM model direct from Apple, and it will have exact same warranty (and be treated by Apple) as a new one.
While it is not in today's list of refurbs at the online Store, it was there Monday - simply call now and they will put you on the waiting list for a refurbed MB419LL/A @ $1,549 w/ free shipping, and you will have it in a week or two. Just a few days extra wait for the model of your dreams, and yes it will come with Snow Leopard:D

Which video card for Aperture and dual monitors?

I have a G5 dual 2.0 with a GeForce FX 5200 video card that is driving one 23" Cinema display. I need to upgrade my card per the specs to run Aperture. I have also been thinking of getting a second 23" display. Can someone recommend the best video card for me. I know very little about video cards and have been reading a lot this morning. Thanks,
Dave

Hi Dave;
No. PCIx and PCIe or PCI Express are not the same thing.
PCIx is an extended or slight sped up version of PCI. While PCIe is a switched bus structure instead.
Hence they are not the same. That is what all of the big news is about Apple has made the leap over to PCI Express.
Allan

Which video card for 24-inch iMac?

I am not a gamer... is there any reason for me to get the 7600 card over the 7300 in the 24-inch iMac? Thanks.

Hello,
I am not a gamer... is there any reason for me to get
the 7600 card over the 7300 in the 24-inch iMac?
Thanks.
If you are not playing games, then either card will be fine.
But, the better card will improve almost any program that displays a lot of graphics, animations, or video to the screen.
So, if you do any video editing, graphical animation work, drawing, 3D art, or anything else where fluid video and fast processing of graphical information is important, then you'll appreciate the higher-end card.
If all you are doing is e-mail, web-browsing, and office related tasks, then you probably don't need it.
But, consider that it is a one-time upgrade. So, if you think that your needs could change, then perhaps you should get the upgrade to help "future-proof" your computer.
On the 24-inch iMac, the video card is a portable / laptop-type video card that is installed in a socket. So, it is removable and upgradeable later. But, it will cost you more to replace it later than you'll pay in the price difference now. And, those cards are not exactly available everywhere (though they may be in the future).
The video cards on the other iMac models are not upgradeable at all. They are permanently embedded into the main logic board.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if you have other questions.
P.S., if you'd like, go ahead and click the "Helpful" or "Solved" buttons on any of the posts / replies above if you feel they were helpful or adequately answered your question.

Which video card for Mac G4?

I have Mac G4 that has been upgraded to Ram 1536ram, Cpu-PowerPC7400. I have a17" lcd studio display. I would like to know what would be a good video card for my Mac. I have been advised to get a ATI Radeon 9200, would this be a reliable card and give me the power I need with graphics?

Be sure to go ATI, I am not very happy with the results of my Nvidia card; on that note, don't let the amount of VRAM fool you like it did me, I'd be happier with a 128mb ATI card than my 256 Nvidia card; its just not fast enough for intense graphics (mostly gaming)

VFX Workstation: Which Video Card to get? GTX680 or Quadro4000?

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