workstation GPU vs gaming GPU

[John Lin]

hey guys I have a question regarding the two, what is the major difference?

I looked up passmark benchmark and notice GTX980 has a higher score than NVIDIA Quadro K6000 but yet the quadro is over 5 grand and gtx 980 is around 500 bucks.

Is GTX 980 better?
and who do work station GPU cost so much, like 5x more than regular GPU

 

[Brillis Wuce]

Quadro video cards are meant for incredibly high precision accuracy in things like 3D modeling and CAD programs.

Cards like the GTX series are meant for high FPS in games.

 

[spentshells]

the workstation cards cost so much more due to the firmware.

 

[John Lin]

I dont suppose a GTX 980 would perform just as well as quadro in a workstation?

 

[Brillis Wuce]

Depends. What will you be using it for?

 

[John Lin]

I do not know. I never own or worked with a workstation computer. I was browsing around and notice the BOXX website sell prebuild workstation computers, and they only offer quadro GPU which i found very werid. i did a quick google search and benchmark, notice the performance difference. i got curious and wanted to know more.

how about these categories
video rendering
animation creation
gaming
graphic designing

 

[Brillis Wuce]

Animation and maaaybe graphic design are really the only things that would noticeably benefit from a Quadro. Video rendering is a CPU intensive process, and gaming actually suffers in Quadro's.

 

[DarvinKManwah]

Hmm what about RealFlow simulations, Vue xStream renders or The Foundry's Mari? That's my software of choice. Would the quadro K6000 be worth the money for those? Or would it make more sense to go 980 SLI?

Also check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eieP69lHGGE

 

[Brillis Wuce]

DON"T go the SLI route. Your performance will suffer and you'll have bugs till the end.

For the price of a 980 SLI setup, you could get this, and it will outperform it in every way (except gaming 😉).

As far as the K6000, if you can afford it, go for it. It's a beast.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195130

 

[11sphere92]

LOL don't buy Quardro, simply go get AMD 295x2 or Radeon R9 290x Crossfire(which is the same like 295x2(but this one is single card))

 

[Robin McCaffrey]

I've compared a Firepro V7800 to a 980 in Solidworks, inventor, autodesk showcase, and a few other programs. Both cards are a comparable price, but the 980 hands down beats the workstation card. No you won't get fancy real view graphics on the gaming card in Solidworks, but you will get a far smoother/faster modeling/designing/rendering experience with the gaming card.

 

[Wake Pulse]

I've compared a Firepro V7800 to a 980 in Solidworks, inventor, autodesk showcase, and a few other programs. Both cards are a comparable price, but the 980 hands down beats the workstation card. No you won't get fancy real view graphics on the gaming card in Solidworks, but you will get a far smoother/faster modeling/designing/rendering experience with the gaming card.

That's just the thing though- The ability to view layers is the really issue for me. There are certain things that I just can't "see" on my gaming GPU when I'm modeling on SketchUp, for instance. That is what you would pay for in a Professional (workstation) GPU: the precision of the drivers and support from AMD in the case of FirePro cards. There are a lot of technical solutions available for VERY high end systems- I'd bet that a multi-sync system of various workstations working together on the same workload could get extremely complicated very quickly. Add in to that the ability to scale up to video walls and high end professional needs like those and that price might become a lot more appealing if it can save you thousands when you need tech support from the few people that actually know what you are really into.

-Gaming GPUs use high clock-rates and thermal design power limits to achieve the most frames per second possible in order to deliver the player the smoothest picture possible.

-Workstation GPUs are concerned with accuracy, especially when it comes to 3D modeling. There are a lot of professional uses to add to that as well, but modeling is the one I care for. Think mechanical engineers, aircraft designers, etc

And by way of a small note if not correction: The AMD Firepro V7800 is nowhere near the same generation in GPU technology as the Nvidia GTX 980. To compare the two is not only apples to oranges but also they are almost 5 years apart in GPU development/ competition (if you are comparing the silicon that the two are based on). The GTX 980 was released by Nvidia in September of 2014 whereas the Firepro V7800 is based on Evergreen silicon that was the basis for the Radeon HD 5000 series. The Radeon 5870 was released in September of 2009. That is a long time for development in the GPU world. If you are going to try to make a comparison of a gaming card from Nvidia to a workstation card from AMD's Firepro it might be a little less misleading if you were to at least pick a FirePro that has a basis for its silicon in the current generation. This might fit the bill: http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/graphics/workstation/firepro-3d/9100#

OR the next FirePro release that will be based on Fiji silicon (390X).

In short, the PRICE of a GPU should never be the basis for comparison when involving PRO cards at a gaming price point. The 980 is $550 US and that is its MSRP. That workstation card is so old however that I would bet that it has a reduced price because of its age. I'm would bet that it currently sells nowhere near the original MSRP it was listed at the time of its release.

If any of you really want to learn something interesting about this topic, I highly recommend this read on Tom's:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/workstation-graphics-card-gaming,3425.html

It all comes down to how serious your needs are- but some workstation GPUs are apparently VERY good at gaming on the side as well- IF you can afford one.