Radiology compare nvidia quadro 2000d and gtx 560 ti

[mrivision]

I am a first time builder setting up a home solution for, primarily, viewing radiology images (CT, MRI, xray) using PACS software. I will run 4 monitors with 1600x1200 resolution each. These are DVI monitors. Most, but not all of my images are 12-16 bit depth grayscale. I will scroll through multiple stacks of images on all monitors simultaneously.

I am looking at using 2 Nvidia GTX 560 Ti or Nvidia Quadro 2000 video cards. I need at least 1 gig vram per card.

Other planned specs...
Intel i7 2600
Cooler Master V8 cpu cooler
ASUS P8Z68 mobo (prob deluxe/gen3)
8-16 gig RAM.
850+ watt PSU
Corsair Obsidian 650D case.

Can anyone give some guidance as to the best cards. I will NOT be using the system on an everyday basis, at least not yet. I do not do any architectural or CAD applications. I do not plan on any major game playing on this system.

Thanks!

 

[kajabla]

I don't know much about pro GPUs, but I know that you should get a 2500K. At $80 cheaper (or $140 cheaper at a Microcenter), it can easily be overclocked to provide the 2600's performance. This is very easy, even if you've never done it before, and it won't have any negative effects.

That case is quite expensive. Get it if you like its look, but don't expect it to perform much better than an $80 one. Trawl Newegg and see what catches your eye.

You'd do absolutely fine on a $150 motherboard. Expensive mobos sell either for their features, like tons of SATA ports, or their overclocking capability. You won't need to push your 2500K anywhere near its limits, though, so this'll be fine. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498

 

[mrivision]

I did not list but will need at least 2 SSD and 1HDD. I need to load different PACS and dictation software on each hard drive sine they are site specific and do not coexist well on the same drive. Obviously, I need to reboot to each drive as needed. Do you think I'll have any need for fans directly over the dual GPUs? I tea Ike the 650D is expensive but I have not found anything I really like. Probable could settle for a 922 HAF-X Cooler Master and turn off fan LEDS.

I am concerned whether the gaming cards have enough accuracy for radiology work! I realize they would not be a great choice for CAD. further thought?

Thanks

 

[ko888]

What is the system requirements stated by the PACS software vendor?

Some PACS software is web browser based so the system requirements will be different than that required for a custom PACS application.

If you get a full size ATX motherboard with the proper PCIe x16 slot spacing your graphics cards will get enough cooling air.

 

[kajabla]

There's no "accuracy" in graphics work, only speed. No card is better than another, only faster. It's possible, though I don't know, that a professional graphics card would be slightly faster, but honestly I don't think it can possibly take too much power to display many images.
Coming to think of it, I don't think the graphics card is at all important, beyond the need for four displays. This single 6770 would almost certainly do fine. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102938
What makes you think that you need so much graphics power?

You can boot multiple operating systems off partitions on one hard drive, by the way.
Maybe two 64gb Crucial M4s.

 

[mrivision]

The PACS developer is recommending higher powered graphics cards. Many of the systems used to use Matrox cards. They are currently recommending a minimum of a 1 gig GPU and seem to point to a GTX 560 Ti as a reasonable solution. Nvidia tech support cautioned me against using these cards for this application and pointed me to the Quadro 2000D knowing it is a much more expensive solution.

I certainly can partition the hard drives but my IT dept, at work, has had difficulty with the integration of PACS, RIS and dictation systems from multiple vendors running on partitioned drives. The biggest reason is probably that it is easier to reload system software and drivers on a drive that is dedicated to only one set of software rather than having to reload everything!

I was originally looking at the Nvidia NVS 450 but, again, Nvidia convinced me that it was a card made for charts, graphs, etc. such as used by stock brokers, etc. They did not think it was an appropriate choice for radiology. They were concerned that there could be grayscale errors in image display that may be important when looking at diagnostic images.

Thanks again!

 

[Guest]

The Quadro 2000 IS the 560, just using a slightly different BIOS to optimise it for CAD / CUDA. The effect on it's ability to accurately render greyscale images will be zero.
In fact i'm thinking that for what you want - accurate rendering of scanned images - almost any 1GB video card will do. Matrox used to have a good name for this type of work as they were one of the first card manufacturers to move to 24/32 bit colour which alow for 256 geyscales, but now?
Now i'm kajabla, as long as you haver enough vram to support the resolutions you require then any card either by nVidia or ATI will acccurately produce the 256 greyscale you need. The biggest limitation will probably be the monitors you use.
Save your money on the cards any invest it in monitors with good contrast.

 

[ko888]

Many of those PACS systems used Matrox cards because those were the only affordable consumer grade cards available, way back then, that had dual head video ports to support more than one display.

The Quadro 2000D is more like the GeForce GTX 550 Ti since they both use a 192 CUDA Cores GPU. The GTX 560 Ti uses a 384 CUDA Cores GPU. There is also the new GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores Limited Edition that is now available.

The memory bandwidth of the Quadro 2000D is less than half that of the GeForce GTX 550 Ti. The GTX 560 Ti has at least three times more memory bandwidth than the Quadro 2000D.

The Quadro 2000D supports 10-bit and 12-bit gray-scale.

You need to ensure that your display panels are properly calibrated so that they are able to display the gradations of the gray-scale images properly.

 

[kajabla]

Now i'm kajabla

Well, hello.

If I'm not mistaken, it's not easy to do four displays on an Nvidia card. Eyefinity works better; I still recommend the 6770.