Why are 3D CAD softwares more CPU intensive while 3D games are more GPU intensive?
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In CAD software, the computer has to be very aware of where all the parts of your model are, and how all the parts relate to one another. You can change any part of it at any time, so there’s a lot to keep track of. You need the CPU for this.
Once your model is complete, you bake it into one or more objects where everything is sort of “locked in”. Now, when you work with your finished model, the computer doesn’t have to do much thinking about it, because it can now treat all the individual objects as whole pieces.
In a video game, hundreds, thousands of these finished models can all be loaded at once. Now, you have to be able to draw them all into a single picture and display it on the screen. You have to do things like figure out how bright all of them are going to be based on where the light sources are, handle reflections, take into account how different materials scatter light, see if a certain surface is going to be slightly tinted another color due to another surface nearby, etc. All of that is the GPU’s job. And it has to do it FAST. 30 times per second is usually considered the bare minimum for visual smoothness, 60 times per second is standard, and some people demand even more.
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