![r/SolidWorks icon](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="200" height="200"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>){kind=small}
RTX 4090 vs RTX 4000 Ada (Quadro) for SolidWorks CAD workstation
Hello there. First off, although I already built some gaming rigs and am somewhat knowledgeable regarding PC Hardware I never bothered looking into Quadro cards, so I am sorry if the answer to my question is obvious for you.
To the issue: We're a small R&D team within a company, and I've got a rather small budget of ~3.5k$ to build a CAD workstation that's gonna be used for small to medium sized assemblies (~1000 parts), LabView programming and some light (CAD) rendering and simulation. With these points in mind my choice came down to either a 4090 or a RTX4000 (Ada), as they're both in the same price range where I work (~1600€). Does the professional card really perform better for this kind of work, despite having a considerably lower power rating and overall lower specs? Is there something that I am missing, drivers perhaps? Thanks in advance for your insights.
Comments Section
It’s all about the drivers and support. I have had many instances where performance was terrible and then I noticed that my graphics driver had been updated to a non-approved version. Yeah, someone is probably going to chime in and say “but I can do XYZ and make it work!”, well that’s fine- but I’m here to do some engineering, not troubleshoot some computer shit. If it goes wrong I want to be able to call the folks who sold it to me and have them fix it immediately. Time is money, and one afternoon of downtime trying to make something work without help from those whose job it is to make it work can cost you significant time. It’s up to you how much your time is worth.
Great insight, I didn't really consider that driver support can have such a huge impact.
I run 4090 for cad and simulation and rendering and it works great!
Good to know, thanks!
Have you had any issues with the 4090. I am using 4090 laptop version. I cannot get realview graphics on solidworks however. Also, I was having rendering issues but then i changed the settings in Nvidia control panel and the graphic problems went away. I have used quadro before with no issues. Part of me wishes I went with a Quadro instead of the geforce rtx 4090 - inside MSI Rider, i9 14900, 64gb, 2tb ssd. Its a powerful rig, but part of me is wishing i got a workstation instead of gaming. This is still honeymoon stage however, only been using for 1 week. Perhaps I can further optimize it to get realview graphics and for it to not be as glitchy (TBH the glitches went away after changing settings in Nvidia control panel)
Go with the dedicated card.
4090 is for video games
Quadro all the way, especially if doing renderings.