Just for interest: number of CUDA cores?
XoechZ
Posts: 1,102
in The Commons
Hello!
Maybe I will buy a new GPU this year. Just for interst, I have searched a bit on Amazon for what is available and whats the prices. But within all technical descriptions, you cannot see how many CUDA cores the GPUs have. But this is a crucial detail if you want to use the card for Iray, right?
So is there any place where you can see how many CUDA cores are included in NVIDIA GPUs?
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Check the Specifications page of any card on this site (geforce.com, but it's linked from nvidia.com) and you can find them. Here's an example:
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-980-ti/specifications
Remember these two factors when buying a Video card for GPU renderers
1. more CUDA = faster renders
2. more VRAM = more sophisticated scenes ( textures, vertices, shaders)
A good starter is a GTX960 4GB VRAM (1024 Cuda Cores), $200
An intermediate card GTX970 4GB (1660 Cuda Cores) $325
and if you have the dough, a GTX980 Titan X 12 GB (3072 Cuda Cores) $1000
or a GTX980 Titan Z 12 Gb (5760 Cuda Cores) $1500
If you have the correct hardware, you could always double, triple or quadruple them up
Ok, thanks for the info!
But please allow me a follow up question:
A GTX 970 is listed there with 1664 CUDA cores. Does every GPU from this series have this number, no matter which brand or version? Or are there also differences?
I believe so, however, not all brands have the same quality.
Another factor to take into account is the power consumption of the cards. The higher the number, the more power it consumes.
If you're going for even the intermediate card, make sure to invest in a decent power supply (at least 80 silver or gold rated)
(GTX960, 500W, GTX970 650W, GTX980Ti X and Z 850W)
Good luck
JV
Thanks again!
Well, power supply should not be a problem. I already have a good one.
And since I am not in a hurry, I should maybe wait for the new generation of GPUs which will arrive this year. "Pascal" is the name I have heard in some rumors...
While it's never a bad idea to be safe with a power supply, those wattages are overkill. Even the specs listed on Nvidias website are overkill if you compare the TDP of a gpu with a software utility like GPU-Z or AIDA 64. I've got a 970 running on a Silverstone 450W psu, and it's plenty of power (rest of that system: i5 4590, 128GB SSD, 2TB HDD, mini-ITX motherboard, 8GB RAM) Even the specs on their site overcompensate for terrible power supplies, such as might come in a prebuilt desktop from best buy or something. 600W will run a single 980ti or Titan X without any problems.
Just to clarify, the GTX 970 is technically from 900 series of GPU. Not all gpus in the 900 series have the same numbnner of CUDA cores, but all GTX 970s have1664 CUDA cores, no matter the brand.
Newegg. Best presentation of information, most consistent format for reviews, excellent prices, and unlike Amazon, they don't charge sales tax for my state.
I am not affiliated with Newegg in any way, just a satisfied customer.
@JVRenderer, nice list, but you jumped rignt from GTX970 to Titan, and left off what I consider to be the "sweet spot" of the lineup.
GTX980 4GB 2048 CUDA cores, core clock 1178GHz. $490 for an ASUS
GTX980Ti 6GB 2816 CUDA cores, core clock 1190GHz, $690 for an EVGA "Classified" (which I have)
If you can find one Nvidia 780 6gb edition is the best bang for buck. Only if you can purchase one under $400 US dollars. Any more than that I would also suggest getting the 980 6gb edition instead. This video card is VR ready and is a more modern video card.
I currently have 2 GTX760 4GB each 1072 MHZ, 1152 Cuda each in my old Core i7 2600K 3.4 Ghz with 16 GB RAM. I render in Octane.
I'm saving up for a rig with 2 GTX 980 Titan X with 12 Gb. each, I'll be upgrading to Octane 3.0
"A GTX 970 is listed there with 1664 CUDA cores. Does every GPU from this series have this number, no matter which brand or version? Or are there also differences?"
The number of CUDA cores enabled is fixed by Nvidia for a given model of GPU. The card manufacturers may customize their cards by varying the amount of installed memory or increasing the frequency of the GPU, etc., but the number of CUDA cores will be fixed.
If you're still interested, here's part of a spreadsheet I have that may summarize what you were after. It's not complete and also contains information on older cards, but should give you an idea.