Graphic Card Geforce vs. Quadro

[vickik63174113]

I am trying to purchase a PC laptop to use with Creative Cloud - mostly to use Photoshop with basic photo editing; Indesign, Illustrator and Acrobat.  I don't do any 3-d work or crazy intensive graphics.  Between Nvidia and Adobe I can not get a clear answer as to what I need as far as a graphic card - I was told 'they are different cards for different purposes' which doesn't really help... I am very frustrated .  I need to know whether I can use an Nvidia GTX (gaming) card or if I have to upgrade to the Quadro line. The low end/cheaper Quadro cards (k620 or m1100) are more expensive and slower than the Geforce 975M (or higher) cards, but I don't know if there is something the Quadro cards have that the gaming GTX cards do not have that I may need to do my work.  Can anyone explain the real world differences between the Quadro and Geforce cards in understandable terms?  I read something about Open GL and also about the system not being able to switch to the memory in the graphics card (??)...I've read too much online and am totally confused!!  I need to know if a Geforce GTX card will work and what the minimum card/specs/the lowest gtx card I should use (and why) that will work for Creative Cloud.  And if GTX will not work, how 'good' of a Quadro card would I need (I'm sure hoping GTX will though)...please help me answer so I can get a laptop before my current one dies!! thanks!

[cc_merchant]

‌Start Tweakers Page

[vickik63174113]

Thank you for the link - I've read several things on that website and just read the article you linked to.  As I have found before, the links eventually link to the Adobe list of tested cards which I can find no date on, however, the link before the Adobe page is from 2011...and the graphic cards they list only go up to the 700 series. That's where things get confusing....are the 900 series tested?  Do they work with CC?  Which, if any, do work...someone at Nvidia said not to get any cards below GTX970M, but none of the 800 or 900 series cards are on Adobe's list.  I know there are under 1000 Cudas (that seems to be a magic number) in the GTX960M and below...but there's no current information like the information provided in your link that references the newer cards (especially notebook cards). The article on balanced systems shows the newer PC cards, however, the laptop cards are not referenced, and from what I have seen, the specs are VERY different. 

Buying a notebook is very different than a PC - most are pre-configured with some having the ability to upgrade some of the components.  Configuring one completely online is available, but that makes the cost skyrocket.  Are there any reliable laptops and/or can you point me somewhere that discusses laptops specifically with reliable information (I have found a couple of articles about the 'best' laptops' only to find their specs don't come close!).

[cc_merchant]

Note that the list of 'supported cards' by Adobe is completely irrelevant, out-of-date and incomplete. The only thing that matters is that the video card has at least 1 GB of dedicated VRAM available.

For CS6 the 'hack' may be necessary to enable hardware MPE for nVidia cards only and for CC even that is no longer necessary.

From the article linked to above. For laptops the video card may be even more important, since they can not be exchanged later on. The advise is to go for the best one that fits in the budget AND has sufficient VRAM for the material you intend to edit, both now and in the near future.

[vickik63174113]

I saw that note in the article also, but I still dont know if a GTX card is sufficient - what am I missing (if anything) if I dont go with the Quadro..at least if I know the feature(s) I am opting out of by not going with a Quadro I can make an informed decision.  The terms used in the articles all pertain to Premier Pro (which I dont use or know).  When I searched the communities (all) this was the only one I found pertaining to Hardware so I apologize for not having the knowledge to understand some of the information provided.

Do you have any recommendations for laptops - brands that are known to work well?

[cc_merchant]

‌Laptop suggestion is the Asus G752 with the i7-6820, 32 GB and the GTX 980M video. The only things you have to change to are a Samsung 850 Pro 256 GB boot disk and a Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 512 GB work disk instead of the standard drives. If you need more space, use a Samsung T1 USB3 external drive, up to 1 TB.

[vickik63174113]

I just looked that one up - its a 17" - and a little more than i would like to spend (if possible).  I should have specified that I'm looking for a 15" and plan to use a monitor with it.  I do want a non glare screen though for when I use it without the monitor.

Forgive me for not having the knowledge I need (but I do ask alot of questions!)...why is there a boot disc in the gaming machines, or a 128ssd cache disc?  Can the boot disc be used for any storage or is it only for starting the system?  Is it necessary or can the machine be configured with a just a 512 ssd like standard laptops?  And, when you say change the drives, do you mean ME?? or do it where its purchased (where to do that?)? 

I've also noticed in notebook reviews that some recommend machines with GTX cards from the 800 series.  I thought the cards were numbered as they are produced - the higher the number the newer, but that doesnt seem to be the case because some of the 800 series in laptops are better than the 900's - another puzzle for me.

[RoninEdits]

adobe reps have posts here before that the gtx 900 (maxwell) gpu's are supported. if you are only planning on using photoshop type apps, your requirements for a powerful gpu may not be so high. the only thing you may want a quadro for is 10bit out, but you would have to have a 10bit monitor... in general the 900 series are newer than the 800's, but nvidia has been mixing and changing some of the actual chips used in some of the laptop models. so its not always clear cut as to which chip it is just by the gtx model number. the gtx 950m or quadro m1000m should be good enough for basic photograph work. the gtx 970m and quadro m4000m would be minimum for video editing.

laptops with an i7-x7xxxx will be a bit cheaper and still good performance with 4 core cpu's. 128gb ssd is for os/apps, and the 1tb for storage. buying a laptop that's upgradeable, but with just the 1tb hdd, would allow you to add whichever size and type ssd you want.

[vickik63174113]

Thank you for the info - much appreciated!  Quick question - do you have any knowledge about 1,000 cuda cores being a minimum to go for in a graphics card?  Someone from NVidia told me that, but I havent read about it anywhere else.  The reason for the question, there's a laptop with a gtx960 which has only 640 cuda cores which makes me hesitant to purchase it.  It has a 6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ Processor (2.60GHz 1600MHz 6MB) and  memory:  16.0GB PC4-17000 DDR4 2133 MHz.  thoughts?

[RoninEdits]

i don't recall ever hearing such requirements, only the 1gb of memory that cc_merchant pointed out for adobe's software.

[vickik63174113]

Is anyone familiar with the configuration of the gaming machines - in that they usually have a ssd for a boot (I've also been told cache) drive, and then a 5400 or 7200 rpm for storage.  One manufactuer (Lenovo) told me the solid state drive was not accessible (would not show up in windows explorer) and I could NOT use it for programs. Is this typical - are the Asus, gigabyte, MSI configured this way, or can the programs be installed on the SSD drive? I have been reluctant to get one of these gaming machines without confirmation that the SSD drive is in fact usable and accessible to load software on.

[ECBowen]

Adobe doesn't have a minimum Cuda core requirement. Just a minimum amount of Vram which is basically 1GB.

Eric

ADK