AMD vs. NVIDIA GPUs for 3D Artists

GPU Drivers Quality

In general, all drivers have bugs that are continuously discovered and (though not always) fixed by GPU manufacturers. It’s important to note that NVIDIA places significant emphasis on driver optimization for applications used by creators. This focus is why NVIDIA has divided its drivers into two series: Studio Drivers (designed for creators) and Game Ready Drivers (optimized for gamers).

Regarding rumors about AMD driver instability, it’s worth mentioning that many people spreading these claims are unaware of tools like DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller), which allow users to cleanly install new drivers. Failing to remove remnants of previously installed drivers, such as outdated libraries or old settings, can cause severe issues independently of the drivers themselves. The quality of AMD drivers has improved significantly in recent years. For example, Adobe published a list of drivers with known issues affecting Substance 3D Painter/Designer products. The most recent AMD driver version on that list is 21.6.1, released on June 29, 2021. AMD has since released version 24.12.1 as well as a lot of in-between versions of the driver which performed better and better with each new version.

It’s also worth noting that the same Adobe compatibility list includes older NVIDIA drivers with similar issues, which highlights that driver bugs are not exclusive to AMD.

Regularly updating drivers is likely to resolve more issues than it creates. New driver versions typically include fixes for previously identified bugs, so checking for updates is always advisable. Many content creators on YouTube agree that AMD drivers, when installed correctly, do not cause significant issues in creative applications when using the AMD Radeon RX 7000 series. This is a notable improvement compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6000 series, which experienced challenges with older driver versions, as mentioned above.

Price Considerations

If budget is not a concern, purchasing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the best possible option as of the date of this article. The likelihood of encountering issues related to bugs, performance, or insufficient memory is as low as it gets with this GPU. However, let’s also consider other viable options at lower (or significantly lower) price points that are still optimal for a 3D Artist's PC.

Graphics cards with AMD GPUs generally cost less than those with NVIDIA GPUs. So, when should you save money by choosing AMD, and when is it worth investing in NVIDIA? Here’s my take:

1. For PCs used in commercial production: NVIDIA is the only viable option.
2. For PCs used for personal projects where time is not directly tied to money: AMD can be a cost-effective choice. However, if budget is not an issue NVIDIA remains the superior option even in this case.

NVIDIA GPUs are preferable for 3D Artists due to their advanced technologies, such as CUDA, OptiX, faster real-time ray tracing with RTX, AI-driven features of higher quality (e.g., DLSS and denoising), and a robust software ecosystem. These features accelerate asset creation workflows, reduce rendering times, and enhance visual quality making NVIDIA GPUs the go-to choice for professional 3D Artists and Game Developers.

Key Advantages of NVIDIA GPUs for 3D Artists

Rendering

Most popular rendering engines do not support GPU rendering with AMD GPUs with the notable exception of Blender's Cycles which utilizes AMD GPUs through HIP. However, rendering via HIP has issues as stated in Blender's official documentation.

Baking Geometry Maps

Tasks such as generating Normal Maps and Ambient Occlusion Maps rely heavily on ray tracing. While AMD GPUs support ray tracing, they are significantly slower than NVIDIA GPUs when comparing equivalent generations. Additionally, Adobe's official documentation explicitly states that only NVIDIA GPUs are supported for baking maps in Substance 3D Painter and Substance 3D Designer using DXR (part of Microsoft DirectX, which is technically supported by AMD RX 6000/7000 series GPUs).

Simulation and Transformation Using CUDA

NVIDIA's CUDA technology provides unparalleled performance in simulation tasks. For example, Marvelous Designer experiences drastically reduced simulation speeds when CUDA is unavailable. Certain plugins, such as UV Packmaster 3, leverage CUDA for accelerated calculations, significantly improving workflow efficiency and making the work exponentially faster.

ZBrush

For artists primarily working in ZBrush a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB or AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT 8GB would be more than sufficient. ZBrush does not rely on CUDA or significant GPU computation. Its rendering and processing pipelines are CPU-centric, meaning the software is optimized to perform effectively without requiring a high-end GPU.

Furthermore, ZBrush doesn’t utilize graphics APIs like OpenGL, DirectX, or Vulkan for displaying 3D objects in the viewport. The only exceptions are the PolyGroupIt and BevelPro plugins which open a separate GPU-rendered window for their specific functions.

General 3D Modeling in Blender/Maya/3ds Max

For artists working with 3D modeling in Blender, Maya, or 3ds Max, I would recommend the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB, AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT 12GB, or AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB.

The real-time viewport rendering used during modeling (e.g., object manipulation, wireframes, and shaded views) relies on graphics APIs such as OpenGL, DirectX, or Vulkan. These APIs are specifically designed to handle real-time graphics tasks like shading, lighting, and geometry transformations. Unlike rendering or simulation workflows, these tasks do not depend on general-purpose GPU computing technologies like CUDA or OptiX (which are exclusive to NVIDIA GPUs).

RizomUV

RizomUV does not rely on GPU acceleration at all and is only CPU-bound (same as ZBrush).

Marmoset Toolbag

Marmoset Toolbag relies on DXR for hardware-accelerated ray tracing in both texture baking and scene rendering, ensuring compatibility with both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs. It does not use vendor-specific platforms like CUDA, OptiX, or HIP.

Substance 3D Painter

For artists creating textures in Substance 3D Painter, I recommend the following GPUs:

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16GB
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB
• AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB
• AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB
• AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB

Substance 3D Painter utilizes OpenGL for general GPU processing tasks such as procedural texture generation, layer blending, and real-time updates. This API provides hardware acceleration for operations like applying materials, effects, and masks. The layer stack updates dynamically as the user paints or modifies layers, with most tasks performed in real-time using the GPU’s standard rasterization and shader pipelines.

In this case, GPU performance matters less than the amount of VRAM (onboard graphics memory). Substance 3D Painter stores all texture layers in the GPU’s memory, and smooth texturing is only possible when all layers fit within that memory. If the memory footprint of the layers exceeds the available GPU memory, part of the data is offloaded to the system memory, which results in significant delays after any action performed by the artist.

Therefore, the choice of a graphics card should primarily depend on the project size, level of texture detail, and texture resolution to ensure the GPU has sufficient VRAM for comfortable work.

It is worth noting that the only renderer available in Substance 3D Painter via the F10 key is NVIDIA’s Iray, which is exclusive to NVIDIA GPUs. If an artist plans to render their projects directly within Substance 3D Painter, this limitation should be taken into account.

Additionally, as previously mentioned, while both AMD and NVIDIA GPUs support Microsoft DXR (DirectX Raytracing) technology for baking maps, Adobe explicitly states that only NVIDIA GPUs from the 1000 series and above are supported for GPU-based baking in Substance Painter. The reason for this limitation has not been clarified by Adobe. It should be mentioned, however, that for hardware-accelerated baking it’s worth considering only NVIDIA GPUs from the 2000 series and above.

Marvelous Designer

For artists working extensively in Marvelous Designer (e.g., Character Artists), I strongly recommend the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB. Marvelous Designer leverages the CUDA cores of NVIDIA GPUs to accelerate the cloth simulation process, significantly speeding up complex simulations such as fabric folding, stitching, and dynamics.

However, for simpler simulations or occasional use (such as in hard surface modeling, where simulating fabric covering a crate might be necessary), AMD GPUs can still be a viable option due to their lower cost. While they won’t benefit from CUDA acceleration, they are sufficient for basic simulation tasks.

Scene Rendering Using V-Ray, Arnold, Cycles, Unreal Engine, and Marmoset Toolbag

For artists who frequently render scenes (e.g., visualizations), I recommend the following GPUs:

For rendering in Blender, Maya, or 3ds Max with their native renderers:

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16GB
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB

These applications support CUDA and OptiX technologies, which significantly accelerate rendering on NVIDIA GPUs.

For rendering in Unreal Engine and/or Marmoset:

The same NVIDIA cards as above, plus:

• AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB
• AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB
• AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB

Both Unreal Engine and Marmoset support rendering using Microsoft DXR (DirectX Raytracing), making these AMD GPUs viable options.

When choosing a graphics card for rendering, it is crucial to consider the complexity of the scene and other project parameters to ensure the GPU has sufficient VRAM. Insufficient VRAM can result in the inability to complete renders on the GPU, forcing the system to fall back on significantly slower CPU-based rendering.

Victor Andreyenkov, 3D Artist