12 Best Graphics Cards for 3D Rendering & Modeling of 2020 – For Every Budget!

Product	Image	Rating
1. AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100		9.8	Check Price review>>
2. PowerColor AMD Radeon RED Dragon RX 580		9.7	Check Price review>>
3. ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2060 O6G Evo		9.5	Check Price review>>
4. PNY Nvidia Quadro P2000		9.4	Check Price

1. AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100

Stream Processors: 1792 | Base Clock: 713MHz | Boost Clock: 1086MHz | Memory: 8GB GDDR5 | Memory Clock Speed: 1.25GHz | Memory Bus: 256-bit | TMUs: 112 | ROPs: 32 | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Power Consumption: 75W | Dimensions: 2.87 x 11.50 x 9.49 in

REASONS TO BUY

• Supports popular design softwares
• Excellent performance for the money
• Compact form factor
• Very low power consumption
• Perfect mid-range professional GPU
• 8GB of VRAM

REASONS TO AVOID

• Slightly higher price

Our Rating:   9.8/10

An excellent mid-range GPU, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 has the basic style and modest size typical of Workstation GPUs. If you have a modest workstation, you won’t have any issues with it.

When it comes to the WX 5100, the fact that it is an upgrade to the Radeon Fire Pro series informs you what to expect.

Designers that frequently use many monitors for rendering would benefit greatly from this GPU. It features four display connectors built into the card, making it simple to connect numerous monitors at once.

Even the connectors are included in the box.

With a memory bandwidth of 160Gbps, the Radeon Pro WX 5100 has an amazing 8GB GDDR5 VRAM. The GPU has a large amount of memory, which means it can store a large number of files for use in modelling and rendering, resulting in a faster process.

To top it all off, AMD’s Radeon Pro WX 5100 graphics card is built on the Polaris architecture, which makes the most of every resource at its disposal to deliver truly astounding computational power.

Even while you might expect the increased performance to drain the battery quickly, this isn’t the case. It requires only 75 watts of power to operate. This is just another impressive example of what the Polaris architecture is capable of.

Amazingly, you won’t see any degradation in system speed when using this graphics card for 3D rendering and other tasks.

This is mostly due to the 1792 streaming processors, the 256-bit bus width, the 32 ROPs that aid in rendering, and the 160Gbps memory bandwidth that assures the quick transfer of files from the VRAM to the GPU’s VRAM memory.

You can calm your mind while gaming with this graphics card, which is not its main selling point.

In addition, I must praise AMD for their efforts to guarantee that Maya, Blender, and the Adobe Suite all operate on WX5100. The firm has always struggled with software compatibility.

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Related reading: Best CPUs Under $200

2. PowerColor AMD Radeon RED Dragon RX 580

Stream Processors: 2304 | Base Clock: 1257MHz | Boost Clock: 1350MHz | Memory: 8GB GDDR5 | Memory Clock Speed: 8000MHz | Memory Bus: 256-bit | TMUs: 144 | ROPs: 32 | Max. Monitors Supported: 5 | Power Consumption: 185W | Dimensions: 10.40 x 6.18 x 2.24 in

REASONS TO BUY

• Excellent budget pick for advanced users
• Great performance for 1080p
• Also great for gaming
• 8GB of VRAM
• Runs cool and quíet

REASONS TO AVOID

• Not as powerful for more demanding tasks

Our Rating:   9.7/10

If the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the best budget GPU for beginners, then its sequel, the RX 580, is the best for advanced users.

However, it is a little more expensive than the RX 570. When it comes to boost speeds, the RX 580 can hit 1350MHZ while the 570 can only get to 1286MHZ. However, it’s quite doubtful that you’ll be able to reach 50Hz higher than the boost speed, even if you try.

For non-complex 3D modelling and rendering tasks, its GPU’s cores are clocked at 1257MHZ.

A 14nm FinFET technology is used in both the RX 580 and the RX 570 to boost the Polaris architecture.

For optimal shading performance, AMD’s RX 580 includes 2304 stream processors, which reduces the time it takes to draw models. This card has the same 32 ROPs as the RX570, but it has 144 extra texture units, which means it can apply more texture to your models more quickly.

Adding extra texture packs and other data to your models and renderings will be no problem with this GPU’s 8GB of GDDR5.

The PowerColor AMD Radeon RED Dragon RX 580 is an excellent 3D graphics card that also performs admirably in other areas, such as video gaming. In conclusion, this graphics card offers a lot of value for the money.

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3. ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2060 O6G Evo

CUDA Cores: 1920 | Base Clock: 1365MHz | Boost Clock: 1785MHz | Memory: 6GB GDDR6 | Memory Clock Speed: 14000MHz | Memory Bus: 192-bit | TMUs: 120 | ROPs: 48 | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Power Consumption: 175W | Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.1 x 2.1 in

REASONS TO BUY

• Supports Ray Tracing and DLSS
• Great performance for the money
• Also great for gaming
• Attractive design

REASONS TO AVOID

• Only 6GB of VRAM
• Issues with overheating

Our Rating:   9.5/10

If you desire the RTX 20 series’ processing capability but can’t afford the RTX 2080, what are your options? This RTX 2060 is now yours. Although it’s not the most affordable graphics card on the market, the RTX 2060 is.

If you’re a gamer or a designer, you’ve probably heard a lot about the new ray tracing and DLSS technology that’s going to blow your mind.

The chances of finding a graphics card in this price range that is both more powerful and more future-proof are slim to none.

When it comes to modelling and rendering in games, the GeForce RTX 2060 has 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM that can store the most frequently used files for the most efficient results.

The RTX 2060 is a very comparable graphics card to its replacement, the RTX 2070, which is significantly more expensive. This is why you won’t find me endorsing the RTX 2070, as I don’t believe the price rise is warranted.

It’s just my opinion. I’m willing to sacrifice a few frames per second in order to save $200. The RTX 2060’s 1,920 CUDA cores are less powerful than the RTX 2070’s 2,304 CUDA cores, therefore you pay for that.

In order to get the full frame rate, you should go with the RTX 2070, which has 2GB more VRAM than the RTX 2060.

In addition, both cards have a Tu106 processor, an 8-pin connector, and two fans for effective cooling. ‘ Thermal throttling can be prevented with the use of this method. When the GPU gets too hot, the core clock speed lowers.

ASUS has already overclocked the GeForce RTX 2060, which has a boost core speed of 1785MHZ.

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You may also like: Best Motherboards Under $100

4. PNY Nvidia Quadro P2000

CUDA Cores: 1024 | Base Clock: 1076MHz | Boost Clock: 1480MHz | Memory: 5GB GDDR5 | Memory Clock Speed: 1752MHz | Memory Bus: 160-bit | TMUs: 64 | ROPs: 40 | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Power Consumption: 75W | Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.4 x 2 in

REASONS TO BUY

• Low power consumption
• Optimized for a lot of 3D applications
• Compact form factor
• Great performance

REASONS TO AVOID

• Only 5GB of VRAM
• Higher Price
• Doesn’t support Ray Tracing

Our Rating:   9.4/10

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option for rendering, CAD, and design work, this is an excellent choice. By overworking the Quadro P2000 by pushing too much detail to be rendered, you’ll have issues.

The GPU’s base clock speed is 1076 MHz, although it may reach 1480 MHz when under heavy stress.

If you’re not modelling and producing really complicated things, 5GB of GDDR5 VRAM should be sufficient. Because files are loaded into GPU memory from VRAM at a rate that is equal to the rate at which they are processed, this memory bandwidth of 140Gbps makes it possible to fully utilise the GPU.

As a result, your models’ render times will be slashed.

There are four display connectors on the P2000, so it’s easy to power up to four monitors at once. For 4K playback at 144Hz, you can only power two displays at the same time.

For a Quadro workstation GPU based on the Pascal architecture, this graphics card requires only 75W of electricity.

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Best Graphics Cards for 3D Rendering and Modeling for Beginners/Hobbyist

At this stage, you don’t want to spend too much on a graphics card because your performance needs are low or you are not sure 3D rendering and modeling is something you will pursue in the long term. Still, you need a powerful GPU that won’t need immediate replacement as soon as things start becoming serious.

These are your options:

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1. XFX Radeon RX 570 RS XXX Edition

Stream Processors: 2048 | Base Clock: 1168MHz | Boost Clock: 1286MHz | Memory: 8GB GDDR5 | Memory Clock Speed: 7000 MHz | Memory Bus: 256-bit | TMUs: 128 | ROPs: 32 | Max. Monitors Supported: 6 | Dimensions: 9.57 x 4.88 x 1.57 in

REASONS TO BUY

• Excellent value pick
• 8GB of VRAM
• Perfect for 1080p resolution models
• Also great for gaming

REASONS TO AVOID

• No ray tracing or DLSS
• Not suited for UHD

Our Rating:   9.8/10

Of course, AMD was always going to be our top recommendation for newbies when it came to graphics cards. It’s the only company that can offer a graphics card that is powerful enough for 3D modelling and rendering at a price that is less than $200.

Polaris GPU architecture is still present in the RX 570, but it has been tweaked to make it even better.

To begin with, the GPU has 2048 stream processors, which means that your 3D models will render faster and have better shading. The outstanding 1168MHz base core speed only serves to amplify this point. This can reach a maximum of 1286MHz at full load.

The RX 570 contains 128 texture mapping units and 32 Render Operations Units to speed up the process of filling your models with textures.

You won’t have to worry about running out of storage space with 8GB of GDDR5 VRAM at this level of modelling and rendering. These files are sent from the VRAM to the GPU at a blisteringly high pace of 7000MHz.

A 256-bit bus connects the graphics card to the rest of the computer.

The Radeon RX 570 lacks ray tracing and DLSS, but that’s to be expected given the Radeon RX 570’s pricing. In comparison, the Nvidia GTX 1050 lacks these features and is beaten by the AMD RX 570.

When comparing this GPU to Nvidia’s GTX 1060, I would choose the more expensive option.

Unfortunately, this GPU will have trouble rendering models at resolutions higher than 1080p. That’s why it’s ideal for novices, as it’s doubtful you’ll be making models for ultra HD resolutions.

Three extra technologies are included in the XFX version of this GPU that I’m recommending.

XFX True clock is the first BIOS-controlled overclocking feature. Your PC’s clock speeds will remain consistent even if the total performance of your PC is reduced by overclocking the hardware components rather than the software.

In addition, you have the option of using the XFX OC+ feature, which allows you to increase your core speeds above the XFX True clock.

Finally, XFX lets you keep your VRM and memory as well as your GPU cool for maximum performance.

If you’re looking for a graphics card with a wide range of features at a low price, this is it.

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2. MSI GeForce GTX 1660Ti Ventus XS 6G OC

CUDA Cores: 1536 | Base Clock: 1700MHz | Boost Clock: 1830MHz | Memory: 6GB GDDR6 | Memory Clock Speed: 12.000MHz | Memory Bus: 192-bit | TMUs: 96 | ROPs: 48 | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Power Consumption: 120W | Dimensions: 8.03 x 5.04 x 1.65 in

REASONS TO BUY

• Competitive pricing
• Excellent for gaming as well
• High memory clock speed
• Excellent Nvidia budget pick for 3D work
• Great cooling solution by MSI

REASONS TO AVOID

• No ray tracing and DLSS
• Only 6GB of VRAM

Our Rating:   9.7/10

Powered by the Nvidia 1660ti, the 1000 series is making a comeback. The GPU is built around the well regarded Turing architectural design……. Tensors and RT partitions are absent from the TU116 core of the GTX, in contrast to the TU102 core of the RTX series.

Because of this, GPUs like the Nvidia RTX 2060 won’t be able to depict light rays realistically using the ray tracing feature. Additionally, you will be deprived of DLSS capabilities.

A 12nm FinFET process will offer great shader performance, just like the GTX 1060’s. The GTX 1660 Ti has 1,536 CUDA cores to help with shading and minimise render times.

It has a 1700MHz base clock speed, however this can rise to 1830MHz as the demand grows. As a result, your rendering time will be reduced, and your shading performance will improve.

As a beginner, you won’t need much more than this graphics card’s 6GB of GDDR6 RAM to handle most modelling and rendering tasks. It would have been nice to have additional VRAM, given that practically all other GDDR6 graphics cards feature at least 8GB of data.

The GTX 1660 Ti, despite its increased performance, consumes extremely little electricity. For best efficiency, I recommend using a 450W power supply unit, which consumes 120W.

Afterburner Overclocking, which can be operated wirelessly via Android and iOS devices, is a bonus feature that I’m recommending for the MSI GTX 1660 Ti.

Also included is MSI’s standard dual fan system, which promises increased airflow and static pressure.

All the other Turing capabilities, such as simultaneous int and fp operations, fast fp 16 packed math and improved cache and hierarchy, are also present on this GPU. Finally,

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3. PNY NVIDIA Quadro K1200

CUDA Cores: 512 | Base Clock: 1058MHz | Boost Clock: 1124MHz | Memory: 4GB GDDR5 | Memory Clock Speed: 5000MHz | Memory Bus: 128-bit | TMUs: 32 | ROPs: 16 | Max. Monitors Supported: 4 | Power Consumption: 45W | Dimensions: 6.30 x 3.50 x 2.70 in

REASONS TO BUY

• Compact form factor
• Very low power consumption
• Comes optimized for AutoCAD and Solidworks
• Reasonable price for a professional GPU

REASONS TO AVOID

• Old architecture
• Lower performance
• Only 4GB of VRAM

Our Rating:   9.5/10

This is another low-cost GPU that is ideal for beginners and hobbyists in 3D rendering. When you first look at the PNY Nvidia Quadro K1200, you’ll note that it has a simple, compact form.

Since the Quadro K1200 can be installed in virtually any workstation, this is something we’ve come to anticipate from workstation GPUs.

It has 512 CUDA cores, which, as you may have guessed, isn’t a lot. As a result, rendering will take longer, and models with a lot of complexity will have difficulty processing.

Because the GPU is based on the Maxwell architecture, it doesn’t help. For those just starting out, this shouldn’t be an issue, as I’m advocating it.

Assuming you are modelling and rendering in 3D, you will find that the 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM is more than enough to store your data. VRAM and the GPU communicate at a rate of 80 Gigabits per second.

With AutoCAD or SOLIDWORKS, you won’t have a problem creating photo-realistic renders because the graphics card has been tuned to operate with these programmes.

You can apply textures to your models quickly thanks to the Quadro K1200’s 32 texture mapping units, as well as 16 ROPs for better quality rendering.

The GPU’s core speed starts at 1058 MHz and rises to 1124 MHz as the workload increases.

With four mini-display connections and four mini-display to display adapters included, the K1200 is ideal for those who frequently utilise several screens. Additionally, you’ll receive a full-height mounting bracket and an obsolete driver installation DVD as part of the bundle.

You can purchase NVS 510 brackets if your package does not include a full-height bracket, as several customers have complained about. They’re the exact same.

Though it lacks the capability of the Nvidia GTX 980 for gaming, the Quadro K1200 is a better option for CAD/CAM rendering than it is for gaming.

Even with the aforementioned constraints, the Quadro K1200 is still the most affordable workstation GPU with this level of memory performance.

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Why You Need The Best Graphics Card for 3D Rendering and Modeling

There are several tasks that require a lot of resources from your system, such as surface modelling, extrusion, loft, sweep, and shelling. To make things run more smoothly, a GPU will take some of the workload off of your CPU.

It is possible to work on your models in a more realistic view rather than the basic wireframe and conceptual views provided by some modelling tools. In order to keep your software from lagging during this procedure, you’ll need a strong GPU.

The rendering time of your models, especially the more complex ones, will be greatly reduced if you have a decent GPU. When compared to CPUs, graphics processing units (GPUs) have hundreds or even thousands of specialised cores that divide up the rendering work.

It will make zooming and spinning much easier. What you don’t know is how much of an impact these basic tasks have on your body and mind. Moreover, how many times will you carry out the jobs on your models? Uncountable.

Assembling models from separate components will be a breeze with the right graphics card.

Unfortunately, choosing the correct GPU for your models and renders isn’t as simple as it sounds. There are a plethora of options, many of which were developed specifically with gamers in mind.

Gaming cards, on the other hand, aren’t ideally suited to this kind of work.

Gaming Graphic Cards Vs Professional Graphic Cards

The geometry used by games is heavily tuned to ensure optimal efficiency, so your graphics card isn’t taxed to the same extent that your 3D models are.

3D modelling and rendering cards, on the other hand, may necessitate higher amounts of VRAM, memory bandwidth, and computing power.

Workstation graphics cards are the only way to reach this level of graphical computing. For AI and scientific computation, these are the best cards on the market.

Before you buy a graphics card, examine the system requirements for the 3D modelling and rendering applications you use.

Adobe premiere pro, for example, requires at least 2GB of GPU VRAM to render raw HD or 4K films.

Also, check out our list of the best PSUs under $50.

Factors to Consider Before Purchasing a Graphics Card for 3D Modeling and Rendering

Nvidia vs AMD

It can be difficult to choose between Nvidia and AMD, the two most popular graphics card manufacturers. Mid-level consumer GPUs from AMD are a good compromise between price and performance. The finest options for rendering are the Radeon Pro and FirePro series from AMD.

However, Nvidia’s performance and efficiency are well-known. For 3D design and rendering, Nvidia’s Titan and Quadro series are suggested.

EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASUS are just a few of the numerous manufacturers whose GPUs you may encounter. These are all Nvidia or AMD-powered graphics cards. There are a lot of companies out there that take these products and make minor tweaks to them, such as adding coolers, alternative I/O ports, or even faster clock rates.

GPU Chip Architecture

Here we’re talking about how a GPU is built. Nvidia and AMD release new technologies around every two years, each with more advanced capabilities and a greater capacity to exploit the GPU’s resources..

In other words, a 2000-core Nvidia graphics card based on the newest Turing design will be more efficient than a 2000-core Nvidia graphics card based on the older Pascal architecture.

When it comes to professional-level 3D modelling and rendering performance, the Nvidia Turing architecture is unsurpassed. AMD’s Polaris and Vega GPU architectures are the ones to look for.

GPU VRAM

There’s a big difference between a graphics card’s video memory (VRAM) and your computer’s system memory (RAM). Nevertheless, the operation is the same.

You can use the VRAM to store the data you need for 3D modelling and rendering, such as textures, geometry, and forms, so that they can be accessible rapidly when needed.

The more VRAM a graphics card has, the more data it can hold. ‘

Even yet, when it comes to memory, the memory bandwidth is an important consideration when comparing 3D graphics cards. In Gigabits per second, it measures the speed at which data is transferred from the VRAM to the GPU.

GPU Bus

Your system’s speed depends on the width of the bus, which connects the GPU to your machine and controls how quickly data is sent.

GPU Clock

This is a measure of the GPU cores’ speed, commonly referred to as the “core clock.” As the clock speed of the GPU rises, so too does the rendering speed. Most cards have a base clock and a boost clock, the latter of which indicates how fast the card cores can run when the card is under heavy stress.

The GPU clock speed can only be used to compare graphics cards of the same generation. GPUs of successive generations can’t be compared using this statistic because they each utilise a different architecture.

In addition, the advanced architecture card will make better use of the available resources, as previously stated.

Number of cores

Having additional cores on a graphics card speeds up rendering. The GPU cores are also known as shaders since they are the components that show shaded 3D objects and scenes.

Nvidia’s cores are programmed in a proprietary language called CUDA, which is also the name given to the actual cores in the graphics cards.

In contrast, AMD cores are known as stream processors and run on the OpenCL programming language, which is used by AMD CPUs.

Using the number of cores as a metric for comparing the performance of different generations of graphics cards would be erroneous for the same reasons as before.

Texture Mapping Unit (TMU)

Your 3D models will benefit from the use of this component, which helps you apply textures. More texture memory units (TMUs) your graphics card has, the faster it can texture your models.

Render Operation Unit (ROP)

Ray-tracing and anti-aliasing both benefit from the use of ROPs. Additionally, the Render Operation Units assist your GPU to display all the pixels during rendering, regardless of the texture. The better your rendering is, the more ROPs your card has.

Cost

The graphics card you buy for your 3D modelling and rendering workstation will ultimately be determined by your budget.

My hope is that after reading this, you will be able to determine how much you can push yourself in terms of GPU performance in order to get the most out of your computer.