Hello,
Planning to buy a 2010/2012 Mac Pro.
It now has this Apple ATI Radeon HD 5770 video card in it.
I'm an architect and will use the Mac Pro with Cinema4D/Vray/Octane for architectural visualization.
It's really important for me to get fast feedback on my screen to make fast design decisions.
That's why I'll choose Octane Render.
But I'm new to Octane and to the Mac Pro.
Which video card is best to get fast feedback? Final renders between 3000-4000px, previews mostly 450-600px...
How many cards can I put in in the Mac Pro?
How many do I need?
Thanks for your advice!!!
Which video card(s) in 2010/2012 Mac Pro?
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As of now you'll need an NVIDIA card for CUDA support. Because Mac Pro's provide all power to graphics cards thru the logic board (instead of directly from the power supply) your options are a bit limited unless you modifying your Mac. Basically, without getting too technical, the Mac Pro is designed to handle a graphics card that requires 225W or less. The fastest cards require more than that. I have a 2010 Mac Pro, and I replaced my original 5770 with a GTX 670 4GB to start with. Others have had success with some GTX 680, 760, or 770 cards with only internal power. Just watch the power draw.
The Mac Pro can hold two double-wide cards just fine, but will require an additional power supply to do so. I have used an auxiliary PSU that sits in the lower optical bay. Others have hacked an external PSU that sits on top of their Mac. Whether you want to do this is your call, of course.
Also remember that you will loose the boot screen by putting a PC graphics card in your Mac. I don't mind personally, but some do. There is a Mac version of the GTX 680 that avoids this, but it's limited to 2GB RAM and it's expensive compared to PC versions.
I've just gone thru this whole process myself this past few months, so feel free to ask any questions. I'll do my best to help out.
The Mac Pro can hold two double-wide cards just fine, but will require an additional power supply to do so. I have used an auxiliary PSU that sits in the lower optical bay. Others have hacked an external PSU that sits on top of their Mac. Whether you want to do this is your call, of course.
Also remember that you will loose the boot screen by putting a PC graphics card in your Mac. I don't mind personally, but some do. There is a Mac version of the GTX 680 that avoids this, but it's limited to 2GB RAM and it's expensive compared to PC versions.
I've just gone thru this whole process myself this past few months, so feel free to ask any questions. I'll do my best to help out.
I can't comment on those resolutions. I'm testing out the demo until the MODO plugin is released, so my resolution is limited to 1000x600. In testing so far, though, Octane definitely clears up fast enough to make lighting and material decisions. In fact, I'd say that's it's strongest suit. It may take a little while to clear the noise out completely, but it gets to the "clear enough to make a decision" point very quickly. That's why I'm so interested in it.
As for final renders, like I said, I can't comment on your resolutions. But it really does vary by scene type. Exteriors will clear faster than interiors. Large light sources faster than small ones. And lower poly scenes faster than high poly ones. So it depends greatly on what you're rendering.
As for final renders, like I said, I can't comment on your resolutions. But it really does vary by scene type. Exteriors will clear faster than interiors. Large light sources faster than small ones. And lower poly scenes faster than high poly ones. So it depends greatly on what you're rendering.