[citation][nom]Evolution2001[/nom]Somewhat off topic here and probably better off in the forums, but...I know Toms has done a comparison of "upgrade CPU or GPU?". When it comes to apps like Maya, 3D Studio and others, I'd like to see a similar comparison. When working with 3D rendering, I'm assuming that the drivers must offload some of the processing to the GPU if drivers alone make such big differences. So would I benefit more from spending, say $330 for a Q9650 C2Q chip (upgrading from a low end C2D) or spending over $1000 for what is essentially a software upgrade ("drivers")?[/citation]
3D Rendering programs feast on optimized stream processors.
That C2Q will help but not even close to what the an optimized card with drivers will do.
It's the same thing as using a faster processor to offset the performance of an IGPU versus even a midstream dedicated gaming card.
Only in this case the performance variance is even higher.
Upgrade the CPU if you want, but don't do it for better 3D rendering performance.
You're better off spending a few hundred and either soft modding, or if that's not your thing, purchasing a legit (if not old) FireGL/Quadro
As far as gaming on a workstation card goes, this is the rule of thumb (as I've understood it, and practiced)
Gaming cards and Workstation cards are identical in terms of hardware, but as someone correctly identified before it's the BIOS and drivers that are the "special sauce."
Gaming cards are optimized for higher and more steady framerates at a cost of image quality.
Workstation cards are the exact opposite, with more thrown in for high-performance OGL work.
You can absolutely game with a workstation card (I am) but you will notice a framerate hit compared to it's much-less-priced gaming brother.
For example my FireGL V7700 compared to an actual HD3870.
Is it an enormous drop in performance? Not really, it still performs leaps and bounds better than it's X1950XTX predecessor.
Is it a leap in image quality (for games) impossible to say. Games may often be made on workstation cards but they are optimized for games anyway.
My 3dmark scores are slightly worse but my gaming benchmarks are right inline with a 3870 (so I've gleaned from reviews and others running similar cards) and there's the ability to limit the video quality in the drivers anyway.
All that said, I certainly wouldn't buy a workstation card for gaming under any circumstances.
However if you obtain a sample card for customer required tests that are no longer in use and the company providing said sample said they
couldn't care less what happens to it because they can't sell a used card.
That's a different story.
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