Does Freecad use GPU?

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leoheck
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Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by leoheck »

So quick question.

Does Freecad use or can take advantage of a good GPU on Linux?

I could not find a good answer for this question.
wmayer
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by wmayer »

Does Freecad use or can take advantage of a good GPU on Linux?
No, it does't use the GPU.
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thomas-neemann
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by thomas-neemann »

wmayer wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:07 am
No, it does't use the GPU.
this is very interesting information. can one conclude that when buying a pc, more value should be paid to the clock rate of the processor than to a fast graphics card?
Gruß Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Neemann

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bambuko
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by bambuko »

wmayer wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:07 am No, it does't use the GPU.
very interesting indeed and rather counter-intuitive to a simpleton like myself ;)
Can you please, possibly point to somewhere where this is explained in more detail?
I am using Link branch and Assembly3
you can also download ... and try it here
excellent Assembly3 tutorials here
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adrianinsaval
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by adrianinsaval »

I'm sure it uses it a little to render the 3d view but that's just not even close to being the bottleneck, it doesn't have fancy lighting stuff or any particle effects so it's lightweight. It's the geometrical operations and tessellation that require heavy computation and those are all done by the CPU. So you don't need powerful graphics for FreeCAD and I think this is true for most other CADs out there too (on the other hand something like onshape doesn't require much CPU because it's all done in their servers so there the graphics might be more important). Also most things in FreeCAD run single threaded so a CPU with better single thread performance should be better than one with more but weaker cores.
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bambuko
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by bambuko »

adrianinsaval wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:34 pm ...most things in FreeCAD run single threaded so a CPU with better single thread performance should be better than one with more but weaker cores.
Thank you!
I have read this before - so what you really want is "...CPU that has the highest Clock Speed possible..."
I am using Link branch and Assembly3
you can also download ... and try it here
excellent Assembly3 tutorials here
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thomas-neemann
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by thomas-neemann »

adrianinsaval wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:34 pm ...most things in FreeCAD run single threaded so a CPU with better single thread performance should be better than one with more but weaker cores.
Thanks for the information. then this graphic should be helpful for your purchase decision
prozessor-vergleich.png
prozessor-vergleich.png (185.66 KiB) Viewed 7610 times
source: https://www.pcwelt.de/produkte/CPU-Benc ... 45782.html
Gruß Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Neemann

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-alex-
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by -alex- »

wmayer wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:07 am
Does Freecad use or can take advantage of a good GPU on Linux?
No, it does't use the GPU.
OK FreeCAD doesn't, but Coin3D lib does use it right ?
For big 3D models, with a lot of instances and with transparency enabled for eg., a good GPU is an advantage isn't it?
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bambuko
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by bambuko »

thomas-neemann wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:09 pm ...then this graphic should be helpful for your purchase decision
probably/possibly not?
there are quite a few pages out there that discuss our choice with specifically CAD in mind.
The one you quoted is just a general advice?
I am interested since I am thinking about treating myself to a new machine ;)
I am using Link branch and Assembly3
you can also download ... and try it here
excellent Assembly3 tutorials here
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thomas-neemann
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Re: Does Freecad use GPU?

Post by thomas-neemann »

bambuko wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:41 pm ..
The one you quoted is just a general advice?
.

I have tested the ryzen 3900x and can recommend it
Gruß Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Neemann

https://www.youtube.com/@thomasneemann5 ... ry=freecad
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