My Latest 8-core Project

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

^
Awesome man, I appreciate all the effort.

[momaka]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

^ Perhaps you might want to remove that workgroup name there?
Or maybe it doesn't matter, I don't know. Either way, I just wanted to point that out since this ain't VIP.

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

^ Perhaps you might want to remove that workgroup name there?
Or maybe it doesn't matter, I don't know. Either way, I just wanted to point that out since this ain't VIP.

Nah, doesn't really matter. not accessible outside the LAN.

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

Reran novabench after the reload with better drives and a newer SAS controller. Disk score came up a lot better....but this GPU is killing me!!! I need toe 4x DisplayPorts for my monitor configuration though. I wonder if I could run 2x GPU's, not SLI/crossfire, as that's not supported.....but be able to run 3~4 monitors off 2 separate GPU's...have to tinker with that one maybe.

Anyway:

[dmill89]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

Reran novabench after the reload with better drives and a newer SAS controller. Disk score came up a lot better....but this GPU is killing me!!! I need toe 4x DisplayPorts for my monitor configuration though. I wonder if I could run 2x GPU's, not SLI/crossfire, as that's not supported.....but be able to run 3~4 monitors off 2 separate GPU's...have to tinker with that one maybe.

Anyway:

Ouch, the Quadro 1000m in my Precision M4600 scores (slightly) better than that NVS510 and the 1000m is a 4 year old midrange mobile GPU.



It looks like PNY makes the Geforce GTX950 and GTX960 with 4 display ports that would offer a substantial performance boost without breaking the bank:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...28&ignorebbr=1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...27&ignorebbr=1

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

^
Nice, thanks for sharing. that GTX960 is looking mighty nice!

[momaka]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

Reran novabench after the reload with better drives and a newer SAS controller. Disk score came up a lot better....but this GPU is killing me!!!

Does your system do what you want it to do and fast enough? Yes? Then who cares about those benchmarks.

It's like the Windows User Experience Index - just bullshit numbers trying to get you to switch to new hardware.

I need toe 4x DisplayPorts for my monitor configuration though. I wonder if I could run 2x GPU's, not SLI/crossfire, as that's not supported.....but be able to run 3~4 monitors off 2 separate GPU's...have to tinker with that one maybe.

YES, you can do that easily, since your motherboard has two PCI-E 16x slots. Basically, what you do is you install the first (primary) video card and install the drivers. Then turn OFF PC and install second video card and drivers for that too. Simple as that. The graphics card need not match either.

Heck, this is even possible with a motherboard that has only one PCI-E 16x slot. The only requirement then is to have a PCI-E 1x to 8x slot with an open end, so that you can install your second 16x video card in it. If no open end, you can actually make a cut in the end of a 1x-8x slot so that it can take a full 16x card (provided there isn't anything behind the slot that will interfere with the card's PCI-E connector). I've actually done that to an ASUS A8V-MX motherboard. It's a socket 939 motherboard with onboard video, an AGP slot, and also PCI-E 1x slot. By cutting off the 1x slot, I can have a graphics card there as my secondary, working either with the onboard video or AGP video card, thus allowing me to connect extra monitors easily. I also tried it with some older games, the 1x data limitation wasn't actually noticeable at all - at least not with a low-end GPU.

Here's also a video showing this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_9eUbBU1cY

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

^
Actually, it functions very nice. I can have a dozen windows open, spanning all 3 monitors, no issues. video editing isn't bad either, rendering is handled by the processors & memory, not the GPU....photo editing is the same, not very GPU-intensive. I haven't tried gaming on it, I'm sure that would be its kryptonite.....but this machine is 100% about productivity, not playing games.

[momaka]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

I haven't tried gaming on it, I'm sure that would be its kryptonite.....but this machine is 100% about productivity, not playing games.

Then you are probably better off keeping that GPU. It also only has a maximum consumption of 33 Watts. Compare that to the GTX 960's 120 Watts TDP. Granted you don't game on that system, so that GTX 960 will never draw that much power... but I'm pretty sure that even the minimum power draw of the GTX 960 will still be much higher than the maximum of the NVS 510. That NVS 510 probably uses no more than 5-10 Watts for desktop use, judging by the small single-slot heatsink.

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

Then you are probably better off keeping that GPU. It also only has a maximum consumption of 33 Watts. Compare that to the GTX 960's 120 Watts TDP. Granted you don't game on that system, so that GTX 960 will never draw that much power... but I'm pretty sure that even the minimum power draw of the GTX 960 will still be much higher than the maximum of the NVS 510. That NVS 510 probably uses no more than 5-10 Watts for desktop use, judging by the small single-slot heatsink.

For this system I likely will. I was considering the GTX960 for the other one though, since it was robbed of its GPU for the RoG board.

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

Just another little update since I got a box containing 5x quadro FX4800's and one FX5800... The NVS510 was ok.... It was easy to overwhelm it (camera software with a 6~9 camera split would make it groan a little), especially driving 3 monitors. I put a pair of the 4800's in this system, which worked out well since each has 2x displayport connectors on it. The 5400 series Seaberg chipset doesn't support SLI, but that wasn't the goal here.... The heaviest used display of the 3 is the middle one, so it has its own GPU and is the primary. The secondary GPU runs the two on the sides. Under load, its a lot smoother. I only noticed one 'quirk' using 2 GPU's over 1, and that's only in firefox/waterfox. If FF/WF windows are open on the side displays (the secondary GPU), if you resize them, it FUBAR's the aero glass effects, making the address bar appear 'washed out' and hard to read. It does this only in mozilla, no other program has this issue, and I've not been able to figure it out. A FF/WF window in the middle display (primary GPU) never does this, even when the other are doing it. Aslong as you don't try to resize the windows on one of those displays, it doesn't do it....so you have to set the window to the size you want on the middle display and then drag it to the side display....and it'll be fine. It didn't do this using the single adapter. I eliminated hardware, as I played musical GPU's, they all did it....and only in firefox/waterfox.

Ohh well....such as technology.... It still performs better!





pic of the quirk...note the address bar difference and the area surrounding the menu bar:



...and it only does this if you attempt to resize a firefox window on the side displays... I found no information on this anywhere.

[momaka]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

I put a pair of the 4800's in this system, which worked out well since each has 2x displayport connectors on it.

Nice, but... I think you are seriously suffocating those video cards!

The GT200b GPUs are rated for 182 Watts TDP, and they really need all the air and cooling they can get. Perhaps the way you have them may be just good enough for desktop use, but anything that taxes the cards even a little bit can make them overheat. IMO, you should check your temperatures with MSI Afterburner or Riva Tuner to make sure they are okay.

Oh, and your center monitor looks like it's hanging right at the end of the desk, ready to fall.

Other than that, nice solid build!

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

These cards draw air in from the front edge of the card, and there's 4 fans in the midplane...this case passes a lot of air. The cards exhaust out the back. It really doesn't get that hot inside the case, except that crazy hot fully buffered memory. 182W per GPU....they really don't get all that hot under normal loads, but if they were seriously taxed, I could see that for sure.

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

I went back to my NVS510. Different driver cured the choppy issue I was having. Teh pair of 4800's really didn't perform any better for what this machine does....and the temp in the case increased by 40*F.... The system is much happier with the 510.

[ratdude747]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

Nice, but... I think you are seriously suffocating those video cards!

The GT200b GPUs are rated for 182 Watts TDP, and they really need all the air and cooling they can get. Perhaps the way you have them may be just good enough for desktop use, but anything that taxes the cards even a little bit can make them overheat. IMO, you should check your temperatures with MSI Afterburner or Riva Tuner to make sure they are okay.

They make these SLI-able, which for modern triple SLI on a 7 slot ATX setup (ignoring the 8-slot taller ATX variant for this post) means at least two cards will kiss like that, which means making the cards so they can breath in such a placement. This has the side benifit of working better on "older" PCIe systems like this (or my various socket 940 Nforce pro 2000 builds) which put the two PCIe x16 slots like such. Such as the tilted fans on my old GTS 250's.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

Nice, but... I think you are seriously suffocating those video cards!

Reminds me of this:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...&postcount=557

[momaka]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

I went back to my NVS510. Different driver cured the choppy issue I was having. Teh pair of 4800's really didn't perform any better for what this machine does....and the temp in the case increased by 40*F.... The system is much happier with the 510.

Yup, that's also a big side-effect of using powerful GPUs.

If I am not building a gaming PC, it gets a low-power GPU (though preferably something with hardware H.264 acceleration, like a GeForce 8400 GS minimum... especially on an older PC with not much processing power.)

You should just sell those FX4800's. Let the eBay horde fight for them . Last I checked a few months back, a pair of FX4800 with a SLI bridge sold for a decent amount of cash.

They make these SLI-able

No, I think they make these... so that they last past the warranty. That is all.
NO-Vidia and A(r)TI(facts) will also tell you that it's okay for the GPU core to run at 80-90C. Then you wonder why so many of them show up dead after a few years.

[dmill89]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

You should just sell those FX4800's. Let the eBay horde fight for them . Last I checked a few months back, a pair of FX4800 with a SLI bridge sold for a decent amount of cash.

Yep, why they still pull big bucks makes no sense, as a quadro 4000 (~$120), or K620 (~$150) is more powerful than a pair of FX4800s and much more efficient (the K620 doesn't even need a PCI-E 6pin connector) for a similar price or cheaper, but hey if people are willing to pay crazy money for old gpus might as well take advantage of it.

[Topcat]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

Been a long time since I updated this thread or this system..... It's been a good week for GPU upgrades. My home system went from a GTX460 to a GTX970, and this system went from a Quadro NVS510 2gb to a Quadro M4000 8gb. The only reason I did it, the m4000 was a junk pile freebie, and its not known to be a mass power hog.....and it'll spin circles around the NVS510....that said, the NVS510 has been a wonderful GPU for this productivity system (My main system, the holy grail of my office). The only thing that made it strain a little was a 4th monitor with the live feed from 9 IP cameras....it could do it, but its little fan would spin a bit faster! This system has been one of the longest-used systems I've ever had, and I have zero plans of ever replacing it until something catastrophic happens to it.

Just to rerun this system's specs, because I'm not sure if I posted about trivial upgrades along the way....

Supermicro X7DWA-N
2x Xeon X5492 Quad-core @ 3.4Ghz
64gb FB PC2-6400
Quadro M4000 8gb GPU
AOC/Adaptec uSAS S8iR SAS RAID Controller
4x 300gb 15k RPM SAS HDD's in a 600gb RAID10

Sorry, I didn't think to take any pics while I had it open to install the new GPU...I also blew the dust out of it too.....but 7 years of constant use, this freight train is still chuggin'!!

[momaka]

Re: My Latest 8-core Project

and this system went from a Quadro NVS510 2gb to a Quadro M4000 8gb. The only reason I did it, the m4000 was a junk pile freebie, and its not known to be a mass power hog.....and it'll spin circles around the NVS510....that said, the NVS510 has been a wonderful GPU for this productivity system (My main system, the holy grail of my office). The only thing that made it strain a little was a 4th monitor with the live feed from 9 IP cameras....it could do it, but its little fan would spin a bit faster!

Nice upgrade!

Indeed the Quadro M4000 isn't that power hungry (only 120 Watts TDP, which these days is considered as "pocket change" in terms of power use), but still considerably more than the Quadro NVS510's measly 35W TDP.

Of course, since you aren't doing any gaming or serious rendering, I imagine that M4000 will be idlying most of them time... which means around 30-50W power use maybe. Whereas the NVS510 was probably running to at least 50% load due to those IP cameras, if not more... and very likely using 25-30W. Thus, the difference in power consumption likely won't be that much, indeed. But on the positive side, now you have a card with much more "headroom" than before (should you ever want to run, say, 2-3x more cameras than now. ) Either way, whatever you do, it's probably not a good idea to push that M4000 card to high loads. 120W TDP for a single-slot cooler solution... yeah, it's gonna run quite hot. Probably 80-90C at full tilt, and loud too. But for desktop use, it should be more than alright.

Anyways, PC specs still look great. Has it really already been 7 years since you've built this? Gee, time flies! Well, here's to another 7 then: