Which graphic card to get for rendering computer animation

[miziggy]

I would like tot know which would be the best graphic card for rendering primarily in Maya 2017 and any other computer animation programs that could possibly see use. I am a computer animation student and am getting an used computer (was a research rig) and a new graphic card to do animation at home, since I live far enough from school do go there whenever I need to render something. Here are the specs:

CPU i5-4690
MB Asus Z97-A
RAM 32GB, Kingston 1866MHz
Power Supply EVGA 750G2 Super Nova
SSD240GB, Crucial

As for the graphics card, I heard many things, that gtx 1080 is good, 1070 is good, etc. What I want to know is if its worth it to buy the best, how much performance I can expect say from a 1070 compared to CPU, maybe not a 4690 exactly but a decent comparison. Money isn't an issue, to a point but I am not made of money

 

[Philballer17]

The GPU's for rendering are Nvidia's QUADRO Series Cards. Other than that, you're looking at a gaming GPU where the GTX 1080 TI will probably offer you the best performance per dollar.

 

[captaincharisma]

if this is only going to be used for rendering then the best GPU's to go with are NVIDIA Quattro or AMD radeon pro (or older firepro series)

 

[miziggy]

I guess I will go for the gtx 1080 ti, once the new cards come out. Unless the new cards are even better for the price.

 

[Philballer17]

I guess I will go for the gtx 1080 ti, once the new cards come out. Unless the new cards are even better for the price.

Once the new cards come out, the only realistic upgrade over the GTX 1080 TI would be the next x80 TI card of the new generation. But, that won't come out until a year after the new cards come out as you can see the pattern below.

Model Launch

GeForce GTX 970 September 18, 2014
GeForce GTX 980 September 18, 2014
GeForce GTX 980 Ti June 2, 2015

GeForce GTX 1070 May 27, 2016
GeForce GTX 1080 May 27, 2016
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti March 10, 2017