Using SPECviewperf 11 – a graphics benchmark software which can be downloaded from here, l tested independently the following graphics cards. The main 3D software l use is Autodesk Maya and surprisingly, the entry level/affordable nVidia Quadro 600 consistently beats a GTX560ti in single card or SLI (dual 560 configuration). I upgraded to this card from the older Quadro FX370 which had just 256Mb ram, a serious limitation while rendering huge scenes. The brand l use has always been PNY without issues for years.
Tests were done using the 64bit Linux version of specviewperf 11 so as not to be affected by any windows background services which might have been the case, if l use the windows version of this software. Usually l have the 3 graphics card in my workstation. For this test, l tested first just the Q600, then 1 GTX560, then a dual SLI configured GTX560. The GTX is pretty good for 3d graphics software and games, however once in a while l notice scene display problems/render freezes using major 3d graphics software.
The cuda count on the gtx helps though for boinc/gpugrid/primegrid/world community grid projects as well as 3ds max 2012 iray renders. The GTX560Ti has 384 cuda cores, while the Quadro 600 has just 96. Total cuda cores on my workstation is: 864
“CUDA™ is a parallel computing platform and programming model invented by NVIDIA. It enables dramatic increases in computing performance by harnessing the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU).” – source – nVidia.com
System: i7 2600k @3.4Ghz, 16Gb RAM, Asus P8P67 Pro B3 revision motherboard. 800W Silver Pro Gold Power supply.
Quadro 600 Result:
1 x GTX560Ti
2 x GTX560Ti – SLI mode
I’ll post the viewperf 11 video link soon.
Summary – using Maya results as a reference. A single GTX560 scores 14.4, two GTX560Ti score less – 11.6, while the Quadro 600 scores 34.77
Hope this helps someone in their choice. If you can afford it, you obviously want the Quadro 2000/6000 or higher for Professional graphics applications.
