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> Dream Machine Storage

> Buyer’s Remorse

> GeForce vs Quadro

Gaming & Dev Work

Max PC, I intend to build a system for 2 primary purposes, to play the latest AAA games at max settings and to develop AAA games using Blender, GoDot, Gimp, Inkscape, and MakeHuman. What video card would I need for this? The latest Ti or a Quadro or both?

–Chris Williams

EDITOR ZAK STOREY

RESPONDS: Hi Chris, well at the time of writing, sourcing any form of card is like trying to find a 7nm transistor in a haystack, and that doesn’t look likely to change any time soon. But nonetheless you raise an interesting question.

Realistically there’s not a massive difference between a GeForce card and something like a Quadro. Traditionally, what a Quadro or enterprise-styled card would get you was access to way better customer support from Nvidia directly (if you’re having problems with its drivers, for example), more memory (which can be a massive boon in certain workloads), a maxed out GPU die (for slightly more computational performance), far better endurance and warranty (albeit at lower clock speeds), and a few other developer features too, used for more computeheavy tasks such as CAD rendering, AI workloads, and 3D modelling.

Theoretically, a Quadro is better, especially if you pair it with something like an Nvidia Tesla (I recommend doing some research into Nvidia Maximus, and how that works today). But I think the question that has to be asked is: “Is it worth it?” Quadro cards can cost upward of four to five times as much as the top-end equivalent GeForce card, and you’re definitely not getting that much more performance from it from a purely fps perspective, unless you’re talking about very specific workload demands again.