The new SolidWorks2012 offers some limited GPU features focused around making the visuals pop a little more than classic CAD packages. Over at SolidSmack they take it for a test-drive with one of the lower-end professional cards, the Quadro 2000, and find it works surprisingly well.
The image below is a screenshot of a data set from NVIDIA shown in SolidWorks with RealView graphics on. RealView graphics utilize the GPU to render the semi-realistic graphics on the SolidWorks screen. The other window is the PhotoView 360 Preview window. PhotoView 360 is 100% CPU-based rendering and doesn’t task the GPU, so for PV360 rendering your benefits come along with more multi-threaded CPU cores. The SolidWorks models are all CPU as well. The GPU does little for processing the model, so more GPU’s won’t gain you any added performance.
Of course, it sounds like SolidWorks isn’t really pushing the GPU that hard, focusing only on some nice rendering features in the realtime viewport. High-end renderings are still classic CPU raytracing, and none of the software seems to use any GPGPU features, so the lower-end cards make for a nice inexpensive way to add some more “oomph” to your workstation.
Of course, NVidia is quick to point out the growing trend of designers using post-rendering tools like KeyShot and BunkSpeed to do their high-end renderings, which will definitely take advantage of higher-end Quadros.
via Can SolidWorks 2012 Spit the NVIDIA Quadro 2000 GPU Juice? – SolidSmack.com.
Not KeyShot. Still loving the CPU. But we like Nvidia for their lip balm.