Anyone working in the creative industry, from graphics design to 3d modeling and animation to visual effects, will know just how much processing power is required to carry out the related tasks in their fields. And yes, graphics design is more intensive than you’d like to think.
NVIDIA RTX A6000 – The Best GPU for Creative Professionals. PERIOD.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti – Best Budget Option For Novice and Seasoned Professionals
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra – Best Value Graphics Card For Creative Professionals
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti – Best Starting GPU for Rendering and Modeling Hobbyists
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 – Second Best Value Pick For Professionals On A Budget
AMD Radeon Pro W6600 – Second Best Budget Graphics Card For Creative Professionals
It goes without saying that your workstation for these tasks should be as powerful as it can be. We’re talking about running the latest CPUs, RAMs, enough storage, and lastly, a very powerful graphics card.
But graphics cards aren’t exactly cheap especially if you want the ones that are meant for gaming, video editing, and more. Don’t worry because if you’re in the market for an upgrade, we’re here to point you to the right direction…
Some Points To Consider When Buying Graphics Cards for Running Rendering Software and More
Buying a graphics card for gaming is one thing, but buying a graphics card for GPU rendering is another.
Before we move on to the list, here are some points to consider when it comes to buying certain graphics cards.
Brands
It goes without saying that there are only two major GPU manufacturers in the world right now namely Nvidia and AMD. And it’s difficult to decide which one to go for.
AMD is known for their cost-efficient graphics cards with excellent price-to-performance ratio. Nvidia is known for GPU performance and power efficiency. AMD’s professional GPUs are under the Radeon PRO umbrella while Nvidia had Quatro. However, Quatro was dropped in 2021 and has now become RTX A series.
VRAM
VRAM or Video RAM is different from the system RAM that runs your workstation. But the function is all too similar. VRAM is responsible for storing data necessary for displaying graphics. Just like your system RAM, the higher your VRAM storage capacity, the better the GPU performance.
Cost
Cost definitely plays a role when it comes to getting your best graphics cards. Remember, your CPU and GPU comprise for more than half of your entire system’s budget because these are the parts that run the bulk of any rendering, design, or animation software.
Goes without saying too that you’ll probably spend upwards of about $500 to get any of the best graphics cards that you see on the list below, but trust us when we say that the sheer raw performance of these graphics cards is worth it.
The Best Graphics Cards For Rendering, Modeling, and Animation
What’s the best graphics card for rendering images or animation? Your future graphics card might be on this list
NVIDIA RTX A6000
The Best GPU for Creative Professionals. PERIOD.
Tech specs
- CUDA Cores: 10752
- Base Clock: 1410 MHz
- Boost Clock: 1800 MHz
- Memory: 48 GB GDDR6 (ECC)
- Memory Clock Speed: 16 Gbps
- Memory Bus: 384-bit
- Max. Monitors Supported: 4
- Power Consumption: 300 W
Why consider it?
- The best GPU in the market right now
- Almost double the GPU rendering performance compared to the Quadro RTX 8000
- Almost universal compatibility thanks to CUDA support for professional rendering applications
- 48GB VRAM. Enough said.
- Great rendering speed
Why avoid it?
- Almost breaches $5000 MSRP
- Has the same speed of GPU rendering compared to the RTX 3090
We’d like to think that our lists of hardware and software on our blog are not arranged in any particular order, but we’d be surmised to let the top spot be taken by any other graphics card.
Presenting the 2021 Nvidia RTX A6000, currently the reigning top-tier professional GPU for 3d rendering and modeling professionals. This graphics card is tuned and built exactly for those working with 3d modeling, animation, 3d rendering,, and other graphically-intensive projects.
The Nvidia RTX A6000 comes with different certified drivers meant for professional applications and is shipped with 10,752 CUDA cores and 84 RT cores, making this a monster graphics card. Let’s not forget that we’re getting 48GB of GDDR6 VRAM too. After all, the RTX A6000 comes from a long line of Nvidia Quadro GPUs, so it makes sense that this is the best graphics card in the market right now.
The only downside here is that it’s very expensive. For this kind of power, you’re paying close to $5,000 but with the same raw performance as the commercially available RTX 3090, which is one-third the price of the A6000!
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
Best Budget Option For Novice and Seasoned Professionals
Tech Specs
- CUDA Cores: 6144
- Base Clock: 1575 MHz
- Boost Clock: 1770 MHz
- Memory: 8 GB GDDR6X
- Memory Clock Speed: 19 Gbps
- Memory Bus: 256-bit
- Max. Monitors Supported: 4
- Power Consumption: 290 W
Why consider it?
- Affordable
- Compatible with different professional rendering software thanks to CUDA support
- Availability is high due to variety of aftermarket cards
- Power-efficient graphics card
- Easily handles 4K resolution for gaming, video editing, and more
Why avoid it?
- Doesn’t have professional features and certifications
- Large-sized card
Performance doesn’t have to be expensive, but it also doesn’t have to be cheap either. The Nvidia RTX 3070Ti is right smack in the middle in terms of pricing maximum performance.
Now, if you’re looking for a budget friendly Nvidia graphics card, then the Nvidia RTX 3070Ti is a solid pick. This graphics card comes in with a relatively low price- tag of $800 MSRP, but heavily discounted in some major retailers like Amazon. If you want a budget-friendly gaming PC, then you might want to go for other GPUs.
The Nvidia RTX 3070Ti comes with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM, 6,144 CUDA cores and 46 RT cores, so managing rendering workloads is a walk in the park for this beast. It also has other nifty AI features such as real-time ray tracing and DLSS support. Unfortunately not a lot of features for professional dedicated rendering software.
Running three monitors won’t be a hassle too as the Nvidia RTX 3070Ti comes with three DisplayPort outputs and one HDMI output. With a 290W TDP, power efficiency is insanely good even for the Nvidia RTX 3070Ti.
As graphics card prices continues to drop, the Nvidia RTX 3070Ti will eventually become more accessible to anyone looking to purchase a new computer graphics card. If you want the best GPU for rendering but don’t want to shell out thousands of dollars, then the Nvidia RTX 3070Ti is a decent option.
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra
Best Value Graphics Card For Creative Professionals
Tech Specs
- CUDA Cores: 10496
- Base Clock: 1395 MHz
- Boost Clock: 1800 MHz
- Memory: 24 GB GDDR6X
- Memory Clock Speed: 19.5 Gbps
- Memory Bus: 384-bit
- Max. Monitors Supported: 4
- Power Consumption: 350 W
Why consider it?
- 10496 CUDA cores
- Easily competes with the A6000 above in terms of GPU rendering speeds
- High VRAM capacity
- Efficient cooling capacity even under heavy workloads
Why avoid it?
- Power consumption is insane
- Lacks professional certifications
- Large graphics card
Considered to be a multi-purpose powerhouse graphics card, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 makes it way to this list simply because it puts up a decent fight against the Nvidia A6000 and other Quadro GPUs.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 was intentionally built for gamers obsessed with running games at 4K resolution and 60FPS at ultra settings or higher even. But it doesn’t shy away from GPU rendering work and other tasks.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is the best value GPU in the market, sitting at a price tag that’s 1/3 less than the Nvidia A6000 but just as powerful. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is equipped with a 24GB VRAM and 10,496 CUDA cores, making it the second fastest graphics card on this list.
The only drawback here is that this is a massive graphics card. It’s a triple-slotted GPU so you’ll need a decent-sized case to house this bad boy.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
Best Starting GPU for Rendering and Modeling Hobbyists
Tech Specs
- CUDA Cores: 4864
- Base Clock: 1410 MHz
- Boost Clock: 1665 MHz
- Memory: 8 GB GDDR6
- Memory Clock Speed: 14 Gbps
- Memory Bus: 256-bit
- Max. Monitors Supported: 4
- Power Consumption: 200 W
Why buy it?
- Availability is not an issue with different aftermarket variants
- Affordable
- Low power consumption
- Quick GPU rendering speed
- Price-to-performance ratio is excellent
Why avoid it?
- Subpar GPU rendering compared to other cards on the list
- This is a dual slot Nvidia GPU
- Lacks professional features and certifications
If you’re just getting started as a professional in the 3d modeling and rendering space, then this graphics card is the perfect choice for you. Consider this as an entry-level sort of GPU, if you will.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is a decent alternative to all the other graphics cards on this list. This graphics card is packed with an 8GB GDDR6 VRAM and 4,864 CUDA cores for speedy GPU rendering. It’s about $200 less than the RTX 3070Ti, but still puts up a decent fight against it and other Nvidia models and AMD cards. It also has the same features such as ray tracing and DLSS support that both the RTX 3070 and RTX 3090 have.
Availability isn’t an issue because there are several aftermarket variants, from Zotac to MSI. If you want to build a 3D rendering workstation without breaking the bank, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is your best budget graphics card now (at least compared to the other cards on this list). Of course, if you can spend $200 more, then go for the RTX 3070.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
Second Best Value Pick For Professionals On A Budget
Tech Specs
- CUDA Cores: 2560
- Base Clock: 1552 MHz
- Boost Clock: 1777 MHz
- Memory: 8 GB GDDR6
- Memory Clock Speed: 14 Gbps
- Memory Bus: 128-bit
- Max. Monitors Supported: 4
- Power Consumption: 130 W
Why buy it?
- The most affordable graphics card on this list
- Good GPU performance for its pricec
- CUDA compatibility that allows beginners to be familiar with running software for the rendering process
- Not a power hungry graphics card
- Ray tracing and DLSS support
Why avoid it?
- Lowest VRAM capacity, so expect slower rendering speeds
- Not suitable for complicated rendering tasks
- No professional certifications or features
3D rendering can be done on a workstation built on a tight budget, and we have the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 as the perfect graphics card for that.
Now, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 is the entry level graphics card amongst the other RTX GPUs so it’s nowhere near as powerful as the RTX 3060, 3070, 3080, and 3090. But the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 retains all of the same features that its more powerful siblings have.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 sits well below the $400 mark, making it one of the most affordable consumer graphics cards in the market.
But what are you paying for here?
You’re getting 8GB GDDR6 VRFAM, 2560 CUDA Cores, and backed by the Nvidia Ampere Architecture. It’s more than enough to play games, run basic rendering processes and more, but complicated tasks might slow down. You’ll eventually have to upgrade to a newer and more powerful card if you’re aiming for more complicated projects.
AMD Radeon Pro W6600
Second Best Budget Graphics Card For Creative Professionals
Tech Specs
- Base Clock: 2331 MHz
- Boost Clock: 2580 MHz
- Memory: 8GB GDDR6
- Memory Clock Speed: 14 Gbps
- Memory Bus: 128-bit
- Max. Monitors Supported: 4
- Power Consumption: 100 W
Why buy it?
- Affordably priced
- AMD Ray Accelerator Technology speeds up rendering process
- Ray tracing features available
- Certified AMD Rendering Drivers and with professional industry-standard compatibility for professionals
REASONS TO AVOID
- Low VRAM capacity for a professional-grade graphics processing unit
- Lower performance compared to Nvidia GPUs
AMD cards are more affordable than their Nvidia counterparts, even with the AMD Radeon line of graphics cards. If you want a professional-grade GPU from the AMD Radeon side, we have the AMD Radeon Pro W6600, with all the certifications and features absent from the RTX GPUs.
It sits right beside the RTX 3050 in terms of VRAM capacity, but it’s still a certified professional workstation card for a reason. The rendering speed of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 is evenly matched with best graphics cards on the list, even against the previous generation Nvidia cards and Quadro cards.
The Wrap Up
There we have it, some fo the best graphics cards in the market with excellent gaming performance and excellent rendering performance. It goes without saying that even though these are the best graphics cards, you’ll need components just as powerful to ensure the workstation’s amazing performance.
If it were up to us, you can’t go wrong with gaming cards, the mainstream RTX GPUs or mainstream AMD Radeon RX graphics cards. They’re consumer graphics cards that easily compete against professional-grade GPUs with excellent performance. GeForce cards and AMD graphics cards are capable of rendering very complex scenes.