8x GTX TITAN Build

[aigomorla]

Probably would want to drop a 240V line instead. Better efficiency, dedicated circuit, and gives you some headroom for the system. That would be a beast!

lol...

yeah i also recommend him going to the 240V...

In my server room i have 6 dedicated 20amp switchs on 6 different outlets for a total of 10 PC's if required.... nothing else goes in that circuit....

People dont plan for the house electrical when they build machines these big.
Its really sad.... cuz then they spend another 2-3 months with a flakey system until you get an electrician to fix your grid properly.

 

[blueberryjudy]

Sort of. Comparing business class equipment with enthusiast gear is apples and oranges but here's an option:


ASUS Rampage IV Extreme $429.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131802

Intel Core i7-4820K $309.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116940

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 64GB $600.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231508

Lepa G 1600 power supply $300.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...epa%20g%201600

Corsair Obsidian Series 900D case $300.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811139019

Thats about $2,000. total. Then there is the 4 Titans at $1k apiece. wow, I'd love to be there when all those boxes arrive! Best christmas ever.

NOTE: Your answer to Mfenn's question above could make my suggestion a no go if the workload needs more cores. Also went to max on memory but your requirements may not need all that. Some cost savings could be had with a 32gb kit instead.

Thanks. I am getting the GTX Titans for free since there are extras floating around in my research lab (e.g., they switched to the K20s so the Titans we can take home and use).

We actually don't use much CPU cores or memory, its completely CUDA bound.

 

[blueberryjudy]

Sort of. Comparing business class equipment with enthusiast gear is apples and oranges but here's an option:


ASUS Rampage IV Extreme $429.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131802

Intel Core i7-4820K $309.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116940

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 64GB $600.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231508

Lepa G 1600 power supply $300.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...epa%20g%201600

Corsair Obsidian Series 900D case $300.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811139019

Thats about $2,000. total. Then there is the 4 Titans at $1k apiece. wow, I'd love to be there when all those boxes arrive! Best christmas ever.

NOTE: Your answer to Mfenn's question above could make my suggestion a no go if the workload needs more cores. Also went to max on memory but your requirements may not need all that. Some cost savings could be had with a 32gb kit instead.

I just noticed the chip is Ivy Bridge, is there any reason to not get Haswell?

 

[aigomorla]

I just noticed the chip is Ivy Bridge, is there any reason to not get Haswell?

there is no haswell-e

You need the -E platform to get all those rich pci-e slots.
Until Haswell-E comes out which is slated for i think next year, your stuck with Ivy-E.
However if ur budget rich...

I would probably not even go on the gamer platform as i think you have no desire at all to overclock.
There is also a ton of things which can go wrong on a gamer platform that isnt tighly calibrated when left at complete stock settings.

I would also go with ECC ram as your probably data heavy, and the applications you use are also probably memory extensive?
I am assuming because its either cpu intensive or memory intensive...
Adding all that up, i would probably get something like this as your board:

SUPERMICRO X9DA7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813182363

Add about 24-?? of ECC Reg. DDR3. (i dont know how much memory your applications would require.. i assume it would need a lot to feed that many paralel processes.. to your GPU's.)

And then Add 2 E5 Xeon Cpu's of whatever cheap i can get, because you did say your not CPU bound at all.

And only stick with 3 titans....

 

[Topweasel]

How about this board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131817

Should be able to pull off 4x Titans just need a 9 slot or higher ATX-XL case. I know the SuperMicro's can be spotty on whether or not they will mount in anything but a SM chasis.

 

[blueberryjudy]

How about this board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131817

Should be able to pull off 4x Titans just need a 9 slot or higher ATX-XL case. I know the SuperMicro's can be spotty on whether or not they will mount in anything but a SM chasis.

Thanks... Im actually leaning towards single CPU... I think it would actually be lower latency for communication between the cards and I am not CPU or memory bound at all, completely CUDA bound.

 

[mfenn]

If the OP goes with a 4x titan setup this would be unnecessary. Most current households use 20 amp systems. They should double check first. Assuming they have 20 AMPS x 120 volts = 2400 watts. You can only load up to 80% of the stated rating for extended periods so 1920 watts. Thats plenty of power as long as it's the only thing plugged into the circuit.

Fixed. In a typical residential setup there will be several outlets (potentially many) connected to the same circuit.

 

[mfenn]

Since you don't need a lot of CPU power, I think that one of the PLX-equipped Haswell boards would do the trick for you.

Xeon E3-1230 V3 $255
ASUS Z87-WS $290
Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1600 8GB x4 $240 AP - You want at least as much host memory as device memory
GTX Titan x4 $0 - gotta love corporate spending?
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB $183
Seagate 7200RPM 2TB $100 - drop or adjust quantity based on storage needs
Lite-ON DVD Burner $15 AP
Lepa G1200-MA $180 AR
NZXT Phantom 630 $144 AP
Total: $1407 AR AP

 

[aigomorla]

op while Mfenn gives another option...

i have built many gaming machines slated for server duty in all my years i built.
I have even built watercooled server rigs, which i learned never to do again unless i have a dehumidifer on 24/7.

In my experience... all the gaming machines which were used as server duty have been replaced to real servers because they are not built the same.

And Haswell, which isnt even a -E platform is definitely not built the same as a -E platform Ivy.

So take everything into consideration when building a machine of this scale due to the budget ur gonna require.