Quadro vs GeForce?

[Jim Bancroft]

The GeForce series is aimed at the consumer user I know, but I'm curious if a $300 Quadro GPU would rate well in Doom3 too, or if it's more for CAD applications?

A GeForce 6800 ultra costs plenty, but some of the Quadro prices are well over a grand....what does the Quadro do so well, that calls for a price like that? Are there AutoCAD functions embedded in the hardware, for instance, and does it interpolate curves on the fly, and for $1000+ can it make coffee?

 

[Gamingphreek]

No it will not do nearly as well in DIII as its cousin the 6800.

The Quadros commonly are just geared toward real time rendering. They have specific optimizations.

Sorry im kinda vague i gotta read up on this stuff again, kinda rusty

-Kevin

 

[Schadenfroh]

Hardware wise they are very similar. The drivers is what makes the big differance. Quadros are geared towards proffesional graphics (like C.A.D., Photoshop, Industrial 3D Rendering, etc.) but lack many of the optomizations for games that its brother, the geforce line, enjoys but the geforce line also lacks the strengths of the quadro in the prior mentioned areas.

 

[mwmorph]

also, the bios handles instructions differently. for example, the top of the line quaddro will only run about 15-20fps on doom3 high settings 12x10.

 

[Creig]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
also, the bios handles instructions differently. for example, the top of the line quaddro will only run about 15-20fps on doom3 high settings 12x10.

Where are you getting this information from? Do you have a link?


From what I can recall on the difference between the Quadro and the plain GeForce is that they both use the exact same GPU core, but the Quadro uses specific optimizations within the GPU for use by AutoCAD®, 3ds max?, Maya®, Microstation, Pro/ENGINEER, SoftIMAGE®|3D and other workstation software. The optimizations are part of the GPU but aren't able to be accessed on a regular GeForce card unless you flash the card with a Quadro BIOS or use some sort of softmod. A Quadro should have almost the exact same game benchmarks as its GeForce equivalent.

The reason Quadro cards are SO much more expensive is that they have to undergo an exhaustive number of tests which vary from vendor to vendor. For example, some tests are performed on the graphics product only; other tests exercise an entire graphics workstation. Passing certification guarantees software and hardware compatibility for that particular company's software. As this battery of testing is performed on so many different software packages, it does not come cheaply and the added expense is passed on to the consumer.

 

[Jim Bancroft]

Thanks everyone. So the Quadro and GeForce chips aren't all that different, it sounds like? Those must be some drivers then, that ship with the $1k Quadro cards

 

[darkswordsman17]

It is possible to mod some of their performance cards (FX5900, 6800) into their workstation cards.

 

[mwmorph]

yes. a bios flash should do it. i works for ATI cards. ATI Radeon 8500, 9500, 9600, 9700 and 9800 to FIREGL z1, t2, x1 and x2 mod

 

[Creig]

NvWorld Soft-Quadro FAQ
and
Guru3D Soft-Quadro FAQ


Adrian's Rojak Pot - Radeon to FireGL mod guide

 

[Delitus]

Is it possible to flash a Quadro into a GeForce then?

 

[chinkgai]

probably, but why would u want to? they cost a grip

 

[mwmorph]

quadros cost a lot more than a geforce of the similar quality. unless you can get them for free from work or something, its not worth the money. the top of the line quadro is 1500 dollars. the top of the line geforce is 500-600 dollars. they both use the same core.

 

[dug777]

if u want an idea of the differences b/w the Quadro/geforce and ati equivalent comparison, there's a review of high-end agp workstation kards-with comparison 2 their mainstream counterparts, on the anandtech homepage

 

[gwag]

Quadro's and Fire GLs cost more even though they are the same hardware, because of what the intended market does with them. and ATI and Nvidia can charge more for them because other workstation cards cost even more and they have to develop the technology and drivers for it and its not worth it for them to do so if they dont charge that much.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Jim Bancroft
Thanks everyone. So the Quadro and GeForce chips aren't all that different, it sounds like? Those must be some drivers then, that ship with the $1k Quadro cards

No. You can download them. Some cards (check Rivatuner) can even be fooled in Windows into being seen as Quadros. A few others can have the BIOSes flashed to them to be Quadros.

 

[Genx87]

It is kind of funny but people pay good money for those optimizations in the professional market. But then gamers piss and moan when they get optimizations for much less money on the geforce cards lol

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Genx87
It is kind of funny but people pay good money for those optimizations in the professional market. But then gamers piss and moan when they get optimizations for much less money on the geforce cards lol

yeh, if they took out all optomizations, the games would run like sh!t