Graphic Card recommendations

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  • Hi, we use Enscape with SketchUp in the architecture visualization. My users always complain about long rendering times in Enscape and would like to do a test with other graphics cards. We currently use HP workstations with Xeon processors, 32GB Ram, SSD hard drives and an nVidia Quattro P2000 (5GB). Can you recommend a graphics card that works particularly well with Enscape on SketchUp?

    Best regards,

    Marc Scherer

    • Official Post

    CADensaege , it basically depends on your budget, but the top choices currently are the following GPU's which work very well with Enscape:


    - RTX 2060

    - RTX 2070

    - RTX 2080

    - RTX 2080 Ti


    All of these above are also available as "Super" model, which means they are simply called RTX 2060 Super .. etc. You can go for either the Super or normal models, but the "Super" models will be a bit faster and eventually replace the regular lineup.


    If these are outside your budget range, check out the GTX lineup too. For example the GTX 1080, GTX 1080 Ti, or even cheaper but still capable, the GTX 1070 or GTX 1060.

  • I can confirm that at GeForce RTX 2080 Ti works brilliantly with Enscape and sketchup.


    - Runs Enscape real time in full screen (1920x1080) with no slow down or stuttering. Changes in the model are updated in Enscape instantly

    - Renders still images in 4K (3840 x 2160) in literally seconds.

    - Renders panoramic images (8192 x 4096) in literally seconds. They look so crisp, love it.

    - Renders 4K video files in a few minutes.

    - Renders full HD (1920 x 1080) in a few minutes. I've just rendered a 1 minute long 1920x1080 video at 60fps and it took 2 minutes to complete. 4K would probably have been about 4-5 minutes so still pretty swift.


    I tend to stick to HD resolution videos at 60fps, as no one can run 4k 60fps videos acceptably :D..... Not even my machine (i9, RTX 2080ti, 64Gb RAM) can run them smoothly so its presumably something that no amount of raw power will resolve....

  • Not necessarily. For certain applications Quadro cards are well worth their price. Enscape though is built on realtime rendering where consumer grade products such as the Geforce RTX lineup just offer a much better price to performance ratio. The P2000 is on the lower end when looking at quadro cards. Upgrading to a RTX2080 ti will more than double your PassMark score, therefore probably yielding the performance boost you're looking for.

  • I was wondering if there is any downside to quadro vs 2080 etc.. if price is NOT the main consideration. (Understood that GeForce cards and drivers are the most cost effective power to $)


    Nvidia just announced a number of "studio" laptops with quadro cards that should deal with updates better and be better optimized to many of the other programs I use. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/d…ization/creators/laptops/


    So a machine with a quadro 5000 and a "studio" Nvidia driver is there any downside in Enscape?

    • Official Post

    dvsone1440 , you can always simply google "quadro [modelnumber] vs RTX 2080" and the first few results should give you some performance comparisons. So for example, here is one for the Quadro 5000 vs RTX 2080:


    https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/…uadro-P5000/4026vsm197331


    So overall, for example, if you would go for the Quadro 5000 instead of the RTX 2080, you'll have about 30% less performance in Enscape. This could be a downside of course.


    I hope this helps with making a decision. ;)

    Demian Gutberlet , have you tested them with external (Thunderbolt 3) cases for use with laptops? Trying to select the best card/TB3 case for the use with our Dell Precision mobile workstations and looking for any feedback.

    I'm afraid, we have not yet. As far as I know, using a GPU externally will result in about 20-30% of performance loss over all, this is what I can add to your question.

  • Understood about the comparisons however you were comparing to the 2016 quadro 5000 to the 2019 RTX 2080 not the new 2019 RTX quadro 5000


    Results differ significantly comparing apples to apples

    https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/…ro-RTX-5000/4026vsm712800


    Regardless I think you answered my question.. its literally just comparing Graphics horsepower. Ie there is not necessarily any advantage to a gaming card over a quadro card for enscape short of specific power.

    • Official Post

    Ah! Apologies! :) And correct, if you go with the Quadro RTX 5000, you should not have any less performance in Enscape compared to using a RTX 2080.

  • Thank you all, that’s really helpful. So this means all the Quattro “Pro” Stuff is crap when it comes to render things?

    They're great for certain CAD applications, but you need to go quite high up the range to get big performance in most 3D/rendering applications. And then the higher you go, the more expensive they get. The Quadro RTX 5000 mentioned above is around £2,000. The RTX 2080TI is almost half that, the price/performance ratio is a lot better with the Nvidia GTX cards.


    And if running AutoCAD/Revit etc is a concern, the RTX 2080Ti is great is those applications too, certainly I've not noticed any downsides to having one.

  • Understood. I currently have a GTX 2070. Performance really has not been a major issue but every time there is an update I start having "issues". I can't always say its on Nvidia Gaming drivers (which seems to come out every other week) but I think some of them have been. 1 or 2K$ extra for a graphics card is peanuts if it means my machine is actually running when I need it. My hope is that with the new "studio" drivers that are tested for my applications (not Games) that also are supposed to be updated a lot less often with more testing and a graphics card that is designed more for stability I might have more luck. Agreed on paper the performance to cost ratio does not make sense.. but if it saves me one or two days a year fighting to get my computer running again, it will more than pay for itself. Of course that is completely intangible but at this point I will try anything. (Windows is often the culprit for these gremlins as well)

    They're great for certain CAD applications, but you need to go quite high up the range to get big performance in most 3D/rendering applications. And then the higher you go, the more expensive they get. The Quadro RTX 5000 mentioned above is around £2,000. The RTX 2080TI is almost half that, the price/performance ratio is a lot better with the Nvidia GTX cards.


    And if running AutoCAD/Revit etc is a concern, the RTX 2080Ti is great is those applications too, certainly I've not noticed any downsides to having one.

  • Hello!

    Let me just get from you a more assertive answer.

    I'm interested in the new version 2.6.

    I own a GTX1070ti. I've been reading that this older boards that don't support RTX will not take full advantage of the new version, so I ask you:


    1) Will my GTX1070ti take full advantage in terms of final render image quality, concerning reflex, light, shade, metalic materials etc.. ?


    2) Is there any uptade in terms of driver to the GTX boards so they can "emulate" RTX, so then this users could benefit of full render results and capabilities?


    Thank you for clarifying this for me!


    Otavio

  • The only downside to having a gaming card is that you cannot remote in to run Enscape on an OpenGL system. The standard Quadro card that is recommend/tested with most architectural programs will allow you to remote in and run Enscape. And of course it will only run as fast as your pipeline. If this is not an issue, the gaming card is the way to go.

    They're great for certain CAD applications, but you need to go quite high up the range to get big performance in most 3D/rendering applications. And then the higher you go, the more expensive they get. The Quadro RTX 5000 mentioned above is around £2,000. The RTX 2080TI is almost half that, the price/performance ratio is a lot better with the Nvidia GTX cards.


    And if running AutoCAD/Revit etc is a concern, the RTX 2080Ti is great is those applications too, certainly I've not noticed any downsides to having one.

  • I know that as of current, you can get a Nvidia GTX 1080Ti for relatively cheap money, considering the performance it pushes out with Enscape.


    I used to have a Dell workstation with the exact same card as you. I built a new workstation from scratch with a 1080Ti and alas, my renderings in Ultra process within a couple seconds. Animating a 5 minute video in less than an hour on ultra specifications.


    Although I will be building another station with a Nvidia 2080 RTX, I am still content with the performance I got now. Mind you, my current station is 3-4 years old.

  • I know this is an old thread but wondering if there are any thoughts on how the new RTX 3080 compares with the 2080 Ti and if it would be a good choice.

    I'm particularly curious about GPUs that can handle large models.

    I'd imagine the 3x series additional RTX cores won't be a massive help (yet) in Enscape. Not until we get full-on RTX raytracing in Enscape which will be some time (if ever). Compared to a 2080ti, it'd be wasted money IMO if "upgrading". More like a sidestep. Buying new, I'd be buying a 30x series no questions. The biggest thing that seems to matter at the moment is GPU memory and the 10x, 20x and 30x series all have plenty for now.


    I'm plenty happy with my 1080ti, actually. The 3x series is tempting, though. Especially for my other gaming machine with my trusty GTX980...

  • Hi -


    I have been looking into this issue myself since I have an 8 year old workstation with an Nvidia GTX 1080, which by the way performs great with Enscape.


    The main issue I have found is the power supply requirement for the new Nvidia RTX series. I have a 280 Watt power supply in my trusty old Dell T5400 and I would need a dual-slot rated at 320 W to run the new 30x monster cards. Upgrading is not an option. Is best to buy a newer more powerful system with no bottlenecks.


    That said, the RTX 2080ti is a hell of a card by many metrics and far less expensive than the newer generation. I would get that one for my T5400 even if I could only get 80% out of it due to the limitations of my current chipset.

  • 280W system supply with a 1080? Yikes. AND it's a low end OEM PSU? Surprised it's lasted this long to be honest. I have a Corsair 750W PSU for my 980 lol. And the same one on my other 1080ti machine. The perks of building your own PC.