Quadro/Firepro vs GeForce/Radeon for architecture purposes (CAD, SketchUp, Revit etc)

[feluda]

Hello everyone,

I'm a student of architecture. So, soon I'll have to work with softwares like autocad, sketchup etc. Now, I have a PC which I built in 2012. But since I am not into gaming, I never bought a graphics card. The onboard graphics was enough for me. But now, I need to get a dedicated graphics for using those softwares. Speaking of softwares, as of now, primarily we'll be using CAD, Photoshop and Sketchup. Sometimes we also might be using Revit, 3ds Max etc. So my big question is should I get a normal consumer card or one of those professional ones? Now, I've done some research over the internet. Mostly they say, professional cards like Firepro/quadro are basically the same thing as Radeon/Geforce but with a much higher price tag. Obviously, as a student, I can't afford for the high end ones. My budget is as low as possible, best if within 200$. Hence, My options aren't much. On the quadro/firepro side I can afford a Quadro 600 or Firepro v4800 at max, which are quite old cards. On the consumer card side, I can get a Geforce GTX 750 at max. Also, there are the cheap old cards like GT 610/630 etc... So what do you people say? What should I go for?

Thank you. Any help will be appreciated.

My specs:
i5-2420
Asus P8H67-M pro
8gb corsair ram
500gb Seagate HD (will be upgrading to a SSD soon)
LG 1080p monitor.

 

[okcnaline]

I'd recommend selling what you currently have (sans the monitor, RAM), and try to grab a very cheap but reliable motherboard, and a Xeon E3-1230V3. Best to get those 4 extra threads.

And as for the cards, try looking up hard-modding nVidia cards. A GTX 670 which sells for about $100 on Reddit Hardwareswap subreddit forum, and I've found those to be moddable to a Quadro K5000 which does great in 3D worlds. However, CUDA doesn't take advantage of a few newer video editing programs, and a lot of these professional 3D software is beginning to migrate to OpenCL.

 

[feluda]

I'd recommend selling what you currently have (sans the monitor, RAM), and try to grab a very cheap but reliable motherboard, and a Xeon E3-1230V3. Best to get those 4 extra threads.

And as for the cards, try looking up hard-modding nVidia cards. A GTX 670 which sells for about $100 on Reddit Hardwareswap subreddit forum, and I've found those to be moddable to a Quadro K5000 which does great in 3D worlds. However, CUDA doesn't take advantage of a few newer video editing programs, and a lot of these professional 3D software is beginning to migrate to OpenCL.

Thanks for the suggestion. But if I am going to sell my monitor or RAM, I'll have to buy those again. (It'll be difficult to work on a computer without a monitor, lol) And already, my monitor or RAM are quite cheap. So not much money will come out of that. Anyways, I'll definitely consider that for my next upgrade. But as of now, I'm worried about the graphics card.
GTX 670 costs about 350$ in my place. So, its quite a bit out of my reach. I'll go for it if I see there's no other option. So, can you suggest of any card within a lower price range?

Thanks, again.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, hardwareswap is not available at my place. I only have the option of buying a new card.

 

[okcnaline]

I mean keep the monitor and RAM.

And what's the cheapest Quadro or FirePro you can conjure?

 

[feluda]

I mean keep the monitor and RAM.

And what's the cheapest Quadro or FirePro you can conjure?

As I wrote in the post, Quadro 600 or Firepro v4800 is the maximum I can afford. But those are quite old. Are those good enough to pull off those softwares? and also how about GeForce or Radeon cards like gtx 750?

 

[okcnaline]

Hm... The GTX 750 may be able to be soldered into a K2200... As for the old cards, grab the V4800 (it's what I have, costs like $40 on eBay), and I'd say it's pretty good performance for the price.

 

[feluda]

Hm... The GTX 750 may be able to be soldered into a K2200... As for the old cards, grab the V4800 (it's what I have, costs like $40 on eBay), and I'd say it's pretty good performance for the price.

Thanks. Will there be any difference in performance between these 2 cards? I mean, gtx 750 is way more powerful than any k600 or v4800... but again these cards are specifically made for workstation purposes... so, ultimately which one will be better in running these softwares?

 

[okcnaline]

V4800will probably have better acceleration.

 

[feluda]

V4800will probably have better acceleration.

Thanks.. I'll research a bit more before settling for one...