I’m looking into buying a GPU for my computer for Cycles rendering, as the built in Intel HD 4000 is great for basic UI stuff, but is hardly a competitive GPU. From the research I’ve done, the GTX 580 seems like the best option. I have a few questions.
One, will there be a large performance drop going to a 570?
Two, when volumetric rendering gets implemented in Cycles, what will the memory requirements likely be? Am I better off getting a 3GB model, or just sticking with the 1.5 GB model?
Three, what is the speculation as to the high-end 700’s? Will they likely be better at CUDA than the 500’s? From what I can tell, there was a drop from the 500’s to the 600’s, which is disappointing.
Alright, last question. I’ve heard that when a render is in progress, the UI can freeze because the GPU is in use. However, since I have that 4000, will that solve the problem?
Thank you!
Mostly unrelated, small general impact on memory, as it increase code, not data. Of course, if you want to render 3D texture images (not implemented in Cycles yet), like all that cool medic tomograph images then it will take huge memory by definition (widthheightdepth*data_size), for now Cycles textures must be fit in GPU RAM as BVH and other data. But it is unrelated to volumetric things. Procedural 3D textures already work and take zero memory.
I was unable to buy a 4GB GTX580. Seems there is only 6xx now on the market.
A 670 is more expensive than my GTX460 and thas similar rendertimes.
So 6xx are a complete shit: more expensive and worst.
If you are able to buy a 4GB 580 do it before it disappears in your zone. Best buy ever. Or 590 would be even better.