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multi-GPU configuration for research workstation

J

jatinshah

Junior Member
I am considering the following setup for my research workstation. It's primarily meant for research in deep learning, so ability to add more GPUs (upto 3-4 GPUs) in future is critical. Are there any problems or any incompatibilities with this configuration?

Antec P280
Intel Core i7 5930K
Asus Z97-A
EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8 GB (4 x 8 GB) PC DRAM (CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10)
Samsung SSD 850 PRO Series 512GB
Antec High Current Pro Platinum 1300
WD 2 TB Black Desktop Internal Hard Drive
Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler
 
Intel Core i7 5930K
Asus Z97-A
Click to expand...

CPU and motherboard are not the same socket (motherboard is 1150, CPU is 2011).

Also, that motherboard is not compatible with 3/4 GPUs, especially if you're planning on using the M.2 or TB header.
 
Yes, I realized my rookie mistakes 🙂

Here's an updated configuration:http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4z6FrH

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4z6FrH
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4z6FrH/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($582.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus X99-DELUXE ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($329.54 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($371.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($252.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($575.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 1200W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($317.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($21.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: LG 27MP34HQ-B 60Hz 27.0" Monitor
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech B120 Wired Optical Mouse ($23.63 @ Newegg)
Total: $2957.69
 
OK thanks. Xeon does seem better than i7 for research workstation.

As for multiple GPU cards, I will likely never go beyond three cards due to cooling issues. In any case, even for single CPU setup, I will only get CPUs with 40 PCI-e lanes (like i7 5930K) so multiple GPUs configuration can work in a 16x3 configuration
 
One question to ask is whether or not you will need double-precision compute capabilities. If not, a GTX 980 is OK, but if you do need double-precision, then you'll have to look for a used GTX Titan or bite the bullet on a Quadro K6000.

EDIT: Also whether or not you need full x16 bandwidth to your GPUs really depends on the nature of your code and how much information needs to be shared between the GPU and CPU as well as amongst the GPUs themselves.
 
For starters, I want this primarily for experiments and prototypes in deep learning & bitcoin related work. I really don't know what exactly I need as it will depend on how this work evolves. So all I want is a good starting point.

The current plan is to start with a GTX 980 and then get a Titan as the second GPU - or maybe the newest card at the time.
 
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