AMD vs Nvidia for desktop

So I am considering getting a new desktop and I am wondering which gpu would be best for a workstation and have the best value. AMD RX 6900XT or Nvidia RTX 3090, or maybe even the RTX 3080, considering the price difference.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

So, what software do you use? I know you’re on the Hitfilm forum, so i can assume Hitfilm… but Hitfilm takes no advantage of hardware-specific features (like CUDA or Real Time Raytracing). However, FXhome has, in the past recommended Nvidia over AMD GPUs - mostly because of Hardware-accelerated video decoding.

So, knowing you’re a Hitfilm guy, my first instinct is to get one of the Nvidia GPUs.

Knowing your other software might help with recommendations. For example, if you use Vegas Pro, AMD GPU’s tend to do better with Vegas GPU acceleration.

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Hey @triem23, I do use Hitfilm, but I was wondering if maybe, just maybe I would switch to After Effects in the future. I also use Blender. Thanks for the tips!

I’d say go with Nvidia. I am pretty biased because most of the computers I’ve ever used have had Nvidia GPUs, and all our workstations at the office have Nvidia GPUs, so keep that in mind! :slightly_smiling_face: I trust the brand and they’ve always delivered for the work that I do. Haven’t used a software that didn’t perform well with my Nvidia cards.

For a more technical answer, maybe @Luke can help!

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I also recommend Nvidia. The main reason for is the CUDA cores and the large amount of applications that have support for CUDA. For instance, the 2080 Ti card in my workstation here can play 8K raw RED footage in real-time with no buffering because of REDs integration of the CUDA cores in RED Cine-X Pro.

Not every program out there is going to have extra features like this that work so well with Nvidia cards but in my experience, Nvidia is the big hitter when it comes to graphics cards.

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Alright, thanks for the tips. That’s very good to know! Also, if anyone has insight about a 3080 vs a 3090, I would love to hear it!

@JtJutsVFX As already mentioned, there are a lot of different considerations, but it mainly comes back to what your primary focus/software will be in the long-term.

The RTX/GTX series cards are extremely solid and versatile. They’ve also been rolling out some drivers specific to help boost performance for video editing, which is awesome.

In my opinion, NVIDIA is currently a few steps above AMD in some really big areas right now. But it makes sense since AMD is also busy focusing on developing their processors to compete with Intel. So I feel like they’re a processor company that also happens to make GPUs, whereas NVIDIA is a GPU company.

Just some initial thoughts! Hope this is helpful. :slight_smile: Happy to answer any specific follow up questions you might have!

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Thank you @Luke, very good to know! I think those were the only questions I had, but if I have anymore related to this topic, I know where to come!:grinning:

I’d add another vote for NVIDIA :slight_smile:

CUDA is very well supported by a lot of 3d/VFX/editing applications and NVIDIA is putting a lot of money into being at the forefront of this creative wave. They’re getting their foot in early with a lot of software developers by giving them support in leveraging (NVIDIA proprietary) CUDA technology for GPU acceleration.

With AMD you have OpenCL, but it’s (at least currently) less widely supported and my guess would be that NVIDIA has a good head start already by now.

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Hey Toby, great to have you on the forum! Thanks for the tip! It has been a very unanimous answer from everyone!:blush:

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No worries @JtJutsVFX :slight_smile: I’m considering getting myself a new card at some stage, just need to save some money - would love to get an RTX 3080/3090, but the price is pretty steep

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