Rate my work rig - Rendering/Editing

MediaMind

Honorable
Jul 10, 2013
17
0
10,510
This is my work system. I use it for Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, and than a good amount of rendering. Than on a break, I'll get on a game. Whats good, what needs upgrade. Give me your opinion.

Corsair 400R with AF120 in front and side.
I7 4770K with Corsair H100i with SP120s
GIGABYTE Z87X-UD4H

G.Skill 1866MHz 8GB CL8
Corsair 650W Modular 80-Cert
Corsair Force GT 90GB (OS - Adobe Programs)
SeaSonic 1TB HDD
Windows 7 64-Bit Home

Now, I'm sure you noticed that there isn't a GPU there, that's because I am stuck between nVidia (Cuda) vs AMD (OpenCL) now I know Adobe is CUDA based BUT our work versions CS6 support/optimize for OpenCL. Is OpenCL the future? My GPU choice as of now is the new ASUS GTX 780oc (2304 CUDA Cores) or wait for the 7970 replacement? Be it a 9000-Series.. So go for a GTX 780 or go AMD route? Again, if someone could clarify which will be more significant as of now.. Cuda or OpenCL?
 
I'd definately get more ram. That will REALLY help. Otherwise it is good. ABout the gpu. cuda is more common as of now, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Nvidia produces far better rdrivers for 3d programs, which developers tend to like. The 780 is good. I would get it.
 


Yeah.. last time I had CrossFire MSI Lightning 7970s with 8GB DDR3 on the system and it blue screened while rendering. It was because a lack of memory. Learned from that. 16GB/32GB is a must this time around. Also, I wasn't impressed with the two 7970s either but shortly after I learned that SLI/xFire is no bueno for rendering only a real good single GPU like a Titan. Idk about a 690.

Someone asked me, why not choose a Quadro? Well, simply its too costly. A Quadro has only 448 CUDA Cores vs 2304 in a GTX 780. Although a Quadro has much more memory at 6GB. Quadro is PCI 2.0 (no biggie) and GTX is 3.0
 
Opencl is near irrelevant today. ANd by the way, it is possible to run multi-card rendering setups, but not in cfx or sli, you have to set them up as two individual cards for the system to use. I'm not sure how it is done, but I know it can be done.
 
I honestly wouldn't get the 7970, as I don't believe it performs well. Either get a geforce (not a kepler, e.g. 680/670), or a quadro, as cuda does have a significant impact on the rendering abilities, and the drivers are far less buggy (although that might change on the 31st).
 


Adobe is in the midst of switching to OpenCL for CS7, Sony Vegas has already made the switch and many more apps have switched to OpenCL now. How is OpenCL near irrelevant when it is where the industry is heading?
 


Well, I know nVidia also supports OpenCL just not nearly as good as AMD cards. I was just curious who is more relevant today. Looks like its CUDA
 


See.. this is what I wanted to know. I heard the same thing from many others that OpenCL is the future. This is exactly why I want to wait out for the RadeonHD 9000-Series or the 7970 replacement. AMD is rapidly growing.
 
While the industry might switch to opencl in a couple of years, cuda is still more relvant now, and will be for at least a few more years. By the time Opencl has become the industry standard, it is likely that gpus will be much stronger, which means that buying one now for a time that could occur years in the future is a waste of time and money. Besides, Nvidia does support opencl, although maybe not as well as AMD. But they are sure to optimise their drivers more and more for opencl, as the industry changes. AMD might be better optimised now, but Nvidia won't be far behind as things change.
 


Alright.. sounds good. This is why I'm thinking the ASUS GTX 780 is going to serve me very well. Even OC'd a bit, should do me well.
 

It'll be good, but not as good as a Titan or quadrophonic for the same price. It's built on a compute gpu, with the compute parts disabled.