AMD FirePro M5950 or Quadro 2000M

I am interested in getting a laptop that will have either the AMD FirePro M950 or the Quadro 2000M. I don't want it for gaming (although being able to play a game is a plus it isn't necessary) but for CAD like applications (maybe some video editing too). Which GPU is better for that job. Please keep in mind that I want use that laptop for the next 3 years or so.

 

I'd be very interested in some feedback on this, too. It is exactly one of my questions about my next notebook: M5950 or 2000M. I'm not much of a gamer, either, though I am considering checking some out. Mostly I do some light video editing and transcription.

 

While both GPUs can game, the AMD GPU will be a bit better at it, as it's basically a revised Radeon Mobility 5870. I believe, however, the Quadro uses Optimus, so if battery life is a higher priority, you might want to go that route.

 

Yes but what about performance in CAD (and similar) applications? And also in the long term (3 years) which one will have the better performance then.

 

Definitely a noob question, but why exactly does the AMD make for better gaming when it has only one-half the SDRAM of the Quadro?? I know the AMD RAM is DDR5 vs DDR3 for the nVidia, but how does that matter, particularly when the Quadro has twice as much RAM to work with??

Also, I'm going to be using a 10-bit IPS panel with the GPU so Optimus is going to be lost on it, anyway. So, it really comes back to the performance of the two GPUs, and I'd like to know why the AMD is considered a better GPU for gaming over the Quadro.

 

Because it has faster VRAM I think GDDR5 vs DDR3 makes a difference. But as I said before I don't know which of the two cards has better performance in CAD-like environment.

 

It is faster for gaming because it has better VRAM, GDDR5 vs DDR3. But I don't know which card is better in CAD-like environment and in video/image possessing.

 

the firepro 5950 is based on the radeon 6770, it lags behind the quadro 2000 in CAD but is better in gaming. Since you will be using it mainly for cad, go with the quadro.

however, if you are a fan of multi monitor setups, the 5950 can support up to 5 external monitors via eyefinity.

check the dell precision m4600 owners thread for details and benchmarks

 

OK, then what would be the difference between performance in gaming and performance in video/image processing?? My understanding is that the Quadro line has drivers written to maximize things like CAD and other more "static" image processing, vs drivers of gaming GPUs that are maximized for "moving" images.

 

In other words, what difference does VRAM make, DDR5 or DDR3?? Speed of processing, like the difference between slow RAM on some USB sticks and their faster cousins??

 

GDDR5 allows more bandwith, which is much more important in most al applications than more memory.

 

VRAM is pretty significant actually. GDDR 5 is usually 2 to 2.5x faster than GDDR 3, which in turn is 0.5x faster than DDR 3. GDDR5 can severely reduce bottlenecking of any memory bandwidth a card needs to push. So the M5950 basically fuels in more memory data at 128-bit bus speed with its GDDR5 than the 2000M can with GDDR3 at 128-bit by 2x.

However the M5950 has also more shader processor count, so that helps with the rendering performance as well for the AMD end on gaming performance or non-CUDA-biased efficiency.

 

As it's been stated, primarily CAD? Quadro. Nvidia spends countless man hours writing good CAD drivers. Gaming? Go with the FirePro. It's not even a fair content comparing the M5950 to the 2000M. Also moving this to the Gaming/Graphics card subforum

 

My two cents: lookup for certified driver support on the developer website for whatever CAD program you will be using or ask for these two particular cards on their forums. You will be surprised to find that mobile workstation GPUs have less "certified" driver support for some CAD programs than their desktop counterparts.

 

I'm sure this is an over-simplification, but would it be fair to say the M5950 is built for speed -- something needed in gaming, with all the sudden changes in scenery and action -- while the cuda-based Quadro is built for slower but more detailed accuracy in visual rendering?? I'm trying to get a grasp on what makes for a a "gaming" GPU vs a GPU made for CAD or other technical detailed work.



Any takers on this GPU chip-design 101 question?? I know it's newbie question, but hey ...

 

That's all very nice, but an extreme oversimplification.

The 6770m has 480 pipelines, the GTX 560m has 192, but guess which is the superior card? Pipeline architecture is not a mere matter of quantity.

GDDR5 is twice as quick as GDDR3, which essentially doubles bandwidth. But bus-bandwidth bottlenecks very little unless at much higher resolutions and textures, which neither card is capable of.

Ultimately, though, 128 bit is terrible unless you're packing GDDR5, which the 2000m is not. However, superior GPU architecture makes up some ground, but in the end not enough. The overall difference for gaming applications should be <10%.