Should I switch from Nvidia GPU to AMD???

[khriswithak]

Hi everyone. I use my build mostly for Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign as I am a graphic designer but I've recently gotten into editing film and plan on using Final Cut Pro more often.

My question is should I switch to an AMD graphics card? I currently have this MSI GTX 960 card in my build.
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-GTX-960-2GD5/dp/B00SAYDRKS/

I've read that switching to something like this Sapphire Radeon Vapor-X R9 280x would be good for Final Cut Pro rendering and such, but would using that card affect my Adobe programs?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RXA5G5O/

Is Nvidia better for Adobe stuff and AMD better for Final Cut Pro? If this Sapphire card works OOB and is great all around, then why isn't it in the suggested Buyer's Guide? I basically want to know what the downside might be to switching to this card.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[thetrickster]

It appears even the 'old' 280X GPUs are really showing up the NVIDIA GPUs for FCPX (I believe thats OpenGL?). The Sapphire Vapor-X card is a recommended card within the FCPX Machine sticky.

However, I've been looking at building my own FCPX machine - it appears the 'best' AMD GPU for a Hackintosh at the moment is the 280X - and compared to the current top GPU you can buy with a iMac, its the M395X - and that appears to be much faster.

 

[khriswithak]

How good is the 280x with Adobe programs like Photoshop? Would I be taking a performance hit by switching from a GTX 960?

 

[Fl0r!an]

The iMacs M395X isn't any faster than a R9 280X. The iMac GPU is in fact a downclocked R9 380X, which is in the same ballpark as the older 280X.
The GPU doesn't matter much for Photoshop work. For FCPX AMD is generally recommended, but Nvidia cards seem to have improved a lot. There's a thread on this in the graphics section, have a look over there.