Workstation Graphics Help

[jed4321]

I am build a workstation, and this has come to my attention: http://www.colfaxdirect.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=2642&idcategory=15&gclid=Cj0KEQiAkdajBRCJ_7_j6sCck7wBEiQAppb2i78QNv9kzycZij8bT30oVaBxbJ3JENHRAR1NNMCexjAaAlfF8P8HAQ

 

This coprocessor has been recommended to me for use in my workstation, but the website specifically says: Passively cooled card (for servers not for use in workstations)

 

I was also wondering which quadro card would be best pared with this phi co processor for use in editing and rendering with adobe premiere and after effects.

 

If you could also recommend an x99 motherboard to hold these cards with an intel 5820k at the core.

 

 

Thanks,

 

-James

[Kyuubixchidori]

with servers, there is large amount of airflow. in workstations (desktops) there is relatively very little airflow. you would want to mount fans directly towards it, or make sure there is a large amount of air flowing over it.

 

may be wrong, any corrections are welcome. but thats what i believe, it will probably overheat in most workstations unless you take that into consideration

[Pelop17]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-workstation-graphics-card,3493.html

[jed4321]

I just dont want to worry about the phi overheating because of inadequate air flow

[Real_PhillBert]

I just dont want to worry about the phi overheating because of inadequate air flow

I dont think a Phi in a workstation is a very good idea, they rely on fans that are in very close proximity to the cards, desktops generally don't have that. 

 

From my understanding Phis have a very narrow band of usability, so what are you planning on doing with the workstation? Answered in OP... I'm a dope.

 

I thought Phis are much better optimized for compute than for a rendering application. I could be wrong though.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Real_PhillBert

[jed4321]

What would be the best graphics option/combination for this workstation?

 

I have a budget of about $700 for just the graphics 

[Real_PhillBert]

What would be the best graphics option/combination for this workstation?

 

I have a budget of about $700 for just the graphics 

Pair of 970's. If you absolutely have to have 10 bit color, a K2200 and a 970 would do it but be ~$800

[jed4321]

10 bit color?

[jed4321]

but the 970 is not certified with premiere and after effects

 

will they perform just as well?

 

PR GPU

AE GPU

[Real_PhillBert]

10 bit color?

Please use the quote button so people you are responding to know you are responding to them.

 

10 bit color allows for more colors to be produced by the GPU, as opposed to 8 bit. 10 bit color is really only used on professional GPU's and professional monitors. If your monitor is not 10 bit, a 10 bit GPU will not be of much use to you.

[Real_PhillBert]

but the 970 is not certified with premiere and after effects

 

will they perform just as well?

 

PR GPU

AE GPU

There are no Maxwell GPU's on the list. They have likely simply not validated the newest cards for the program yet. There are several people around the forum that use Maxwell GPU's in Adobe.

[jed4321]

There are no Maxwell GPU's on the list. They have likely simply not validated the newest cards for the program yet. There are several people around the forum that use Maxwell GPU's in Adobe.

So how will two 970's work in sli for adobe products.

 

 

This is one of the reasons why i'm leaning more towards the quadro cards, because of their certification 

[Real_PhillBert]

So how will two 970's work in sli for adobe products.

 

 

This is one of the reasons why i'm leaning more towards the quadro cards, because of their certification 

Because of the core count and clock speed consumer GPU's will out perform workstation GPU's in almost all rendering situations. 

 

This is a very common misconception, Professional GPU's at a simialr price point are significantly slower, Professionals use them because of their color accuracy (10-bit), reliability, validation, and reputability. I'm using a Quadro K4000 right now, there are cheaper and faster options, but when downtime costs $$$$$$$$ it is worth it for the reliability these cards offer.

 

My K4000 is in my Engineering workstation BTW.

[jed4321]

Because of the core count and clock speed consumer GPU's will out perform workstation GPU's in almost all rendering situations. 

 

This is a very common misconception, Professional GPU's at a similar price point are significantly slower, Professionals use them because of their color accuracy (10-bit), reliability, validation, and reputability. I'm using a Quadro K4000 right now, there are cheaper and faster options, but when downtime costs $$$$$$$$ it is worth it for the reliability these cards offer.

 

My K4000 is in my Engineering workstation BTW.

So the two 970's will out perform a quadro even though they're not validated.

 

Will the 5820k have enough pcie bandwidth to support two 970's in sli, or will i have to move up to a 5930k?

[Real_PhillBert]

So the two 970's will out perform a quadro even though they're not validated.

 

Will the 5820k have enough pcie bandwidth to support two 970's in sli, or will i have to move up to a 5930k?

The 5820K has 28PCI-e lanes, more than enough for a pair of 970's. No worries there.

 

Yes a pair of 970's will crush a K4200 in rendering at approximately the same price tag. *This does not hold true for all applications* - For example a Quadro K2200 will perform better in 3D Modeling and CAD than a 970 because of the way its drivers are set up.

 

If all you are planning on doing is video and photo editing, a pair of 970's is an excellent setup.

[jed4321]

The 5820K has 28PCI-e lanes, more than enough for a pair of 970's. No worries there.

 

Yes a pair of 970's will crush a K4200 in rendering at approximately the same price tag. *This does not hold true for all applications* - For example a Quadro K2200 will perform better in 3D Modeling and CAD than a 970 because of the way its drivers are set up.

 

If all you are planning on doing is video and photo editing, a pair of 970's is an excellent setup.

 

Im also currently doing compositing work, and in the future I want to possible upgrade my hardware so I can do more 3d work (In a year or two)

 

I want the system to expandable and upgradeable. 

 

Also how many pcie lands does a 970 use?

[Real_PhillBert]

Im also currently doing compositing work, and in the future I want to possible upgrade my hardware so I can do more 3d work (In a year or two)

 

I want the system to expandable and upgradeable. 

 

Also how many pcie lands does a 970 use?

What kind of 3D work? Like 3DSmax animation?

 

It's tough to say exactly how many lanes a 970 needs, Nvidia requires 8 lanes of either 2.0 or 3.0 for SLI, but that doesnt appear to even really be the true floor.

[jed4321]

What kind of 3D work? Like 3DSmax animation?

 

It's tough to say exactly how many lanes a 970 needs, Nvidia requires 8 lanes of either 2.0 or 3.0 for SLI, but that doesnt appear to even really be the true floor.

Yeah 3ds max and cinema 4d

[Real_PhillBert]

Yeah 3ds max and cinema 4d

Stay with the 970s.

[jed4321]

Stay with the 970s.

what do you think of this build?

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pBnQBm

 

I will be adding another 970 in the future and possibly upgrading to a 5930k and 32-64 gb of ram

[jed4321]

I may change the case

[Real_PhillBert]

what do you think of this build?

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pBnQBm

 

I will be adding another 970 in the future and possibly upgrading to a 5930k and 32-64 gb of ram

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pBnQBm

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pBnQBm/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($389.99 @ Newegg) - good if you are doing a lot of content creation.

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Newegg) - Pretty much the standard, good cooler.

Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($218.99 @ Newegg) - Solid.

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($229.99 @ Newegg) - this may be a place to spend more money for more RAM if you end up doing a lot of content creation.

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($51.00 @ SuperBiiz) - there are much better SSD's out there. Look at an MX-100 or an Evo.

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.49 @ OutletPC) - a single 2TB drive would save you some money.

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.49 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($334.97 @ NCIX US) - Good card.

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.98 @ NCIX US) - Good choice!

Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) - This is a great PSU, but you may be better served with something like an EVGA G2 750W and spending the extra elsewhere.

Total: $1576.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 15:16 EST-0500

[jed4321]

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pBnQBm

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pBnQBm/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($389.99 @ Newegg) - good if you are doing a lot of content creation.

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Newegg) - Pretty much the standard, good cooler.

Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($218.99 @ Newegg) - Solid.

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($229.99 @ Newegg) - this may be a place to spend more money for more RAM if you end up doing a lot of content creation.

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($51.00 @ SuperBiiz) - there are much better SSD's out there. Look at an MX-100 or an Evo.

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.49 @ OutletPC) - a single 2TB drive would save you some money.

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.49 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($334.97 @ NCIX US) - Good card.

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.98 @ NCIX US) - Good choice!

Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) - This is a great PSU, but you may be better served with something like an EVGA G2 750W and spending the extra elsewhere.

Total: $1576.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 15:16 EST-0500

 

 

what would you recommend for ram?

 

I was planning on putting the two 1t drives in raid 1 for redundancy.

[Real_PhillBert]

what would you recommend for ram?

 

I was planning on putting the two 1t drives in raid 1 for redundancy.

There is nothing wrong with that ram kit, but if you are doing a lot of content creation you may benefit from 32GB. If that pushes the budget too far, dont worry about it an upgrade later.

 

Then your drive choice makes more sense. 

[jed4321]

There is nothing wrong with that ram kit, but if you are doing a lot of content creation you may benefit from 32GB. If that pushes the budget too far, dont worry about it an upgrade later.

 

Then your drive choice makes more sense. 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rpCJRB

 

How about this?