You already know the answer to this question. If you’re perfectly happy with the graphics performance of your CAD system, then the answer is “no.” If you’d like faster, smoother, or more realistic graphics on your system, then the answer is “yes.”
The term “expensive graphics card” might be troubling to GPU suppliers such as Nvidia and AMD. Yet, it is probably more accurate than, for example, “high-performance graphics card.” For many years, all graphics subsystems used in CAD capable computers (whether built-in, or on an add-in card) have been relatively high-performance. When comparing entry-level with top-of-the-line graphics, the most stark difference is price: free (something that comes with the computer), versus not-free (something you need to pay extra for.)
It’s only after you’ve come to the conclusion that it’s worth paying that extra that you need to start digging into the question: How much extra?
The practical differences between $100 graphics cards and $2000 graphics cards are not all that obvious to the uninitiated. There is no simple number-of-merit on a specification sheet that will tell you how good a graphics card is. To choose well, you need to start by doing a little homework.
A good starting point is AMD’s ebook, Simplifying the World of Professional Graphics. It’s well worth the read, even if you’re already reasonably knowledgeable about graphics hardware.
