What's better for CUDA/OpenCL? nV 800GT or ATi 5770?

**dj_stick** · Jun 20, 2011, 02:23 AM

Looking to upgrade my Mac Pro's GPU, currently have the 8800GT, wondering if it's worth moving to the ATi 5770 for CUDA performance (gaming is not too important)

Which works better for CUDA/OpenCL stuff?

**kris23** · Jun 20, 2011, 02:32 AM

CUDA currently is a technology exclusive to Nvidia, anything that uses CUDA is only supported on an Nvidia card.

alternative technologies available to ATi are things like DXVA and Avivo for GPU video processing.

OpenCL is a free equivalent of CUDA and can be run on ATi cards and Nvidia cards freely without issue normally.

between the two cards, the 5770 should offer a good bit more compute performance in OpenCL applications but it definitely would be locked away from using any CUDA exclusive apps.

if you will only be using OpenCL stuff, the 5770 is a good way to go, but if CUDA will also be used, keep the 8800GT or get a newer nvidia card.

**dj_stick** · Jun 20, 2011, 03:40 AM

ahh I was a little confused between the two - looking for better processing performance in Apple's Aperture, which uses OS X's OpenCL architecture
and being on a Mac, unfortunately I'm stuck with a very small amount of officially supported GPUs (I know the OSX86 project has drivers for dozens of others, but this is a "mission-critical" system so I need to keep it as stable as possible)

thanks for your help

**kris23** · Jun 20, 2011, 04:31 AM

with that, it sounds like any recent GPU supported by Apple will be a good upgrade for you, the 5770 IS indeed faster.

hope i managed to help you out a bit!

blibbax · Jun 20, 2011, 11:00 AM

I'm not sure if this is useful to know, but Nvidia cards using CUDA are often a fair bit faster than their ATI counterparts using OpenCL. The performance gap between the 8800 and the 5770 might not be as large as you think, if you can use CUDA on the Nvidia card (in Photoshop, incidentally, you can only use CUDA atm).

**dj_stick** · Jun 22, 2011, 09:33 AM

interesting, wasn't aware of that... will have to check out some becnhmarks

Jun 20, 2011, 02:32 AM	#2
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: What's better for CUDA/OpenCL? nV 800GT or ATi 5770? CUDA currently is a technology exclusive to Nvidia, anything that uses CUDA is only supported on an Nvidia card. alternative technologies available to ATi are things like DXVA and Avivo for GPU video processing. OpenCL is a free equivalent of CUDA and can be run on ATi cards and Nvidia cards freely without issue normally. between the two cards, the 5770 should offer a good bit more compute performance in OpenCL applications but it definitely would be locked away from using any CUDA exclusive apps. if you will only be using OpenCL stuff, the 5770 is a good way to go, but if CUDA will also be used, keep the 8800GT or get a newer nvidia card. __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jun 20, 2011, 04:31 AM	#4
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Re: What's better for CUDA/OpenCL? nV 800GT or ATi 5770? with that, it sounds like any recent GPU supported by Apple will be a good upgrade for you, the 5770 IS indeed faster. hope i managed to help you out a bit! __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jun 20, 2011, 11:00 AM	#5
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,231 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: What's better for CUDA/OpenCL? nV 800GT or ATi 5770? I'm not sure if this is useful to know, but Nvidia cards using CUDA are often a fair bit faster than their ATI counterparts using OpenCL. The performance gap between the 8800 and the 5770 might not be as large as you think, if you can use CUDA on the Nvidia card (in Photoshop, incidentally, you can only use CUDA atm). __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!