Dual Xeon System Onboard Graphics + 4x GTX 980ti

[eyelovemotion]

I would want to start a system like this one from yambo:

http://cargocollective.com/yamblog/Feed ... -rendering

As Cinema 4D does not really need a GTX 980ti for the viewport and i want all GPU
(Starting with 2, later 4 GTX 980ti) to be on high priority in octane,

doesn`t it make sense to use a MOBO that hat enough PCIe x16 Banks like
the ASUS Z10PE-D8 WS, withGraphics onboard?

Do you know of any non Dual Xeon Boards, just single CPU Boards that have 7 PCIe Banks and Graphics onboard?

Or is my Idea on having all cards in high priority in Octane wrong?

[Chapeaufx]

No onboard graphics, but for a single proc motherboard the Asus X99E WS is pretty much the gold standard, if you're watercooling your GTX's you'll get 7 on board, all at 8X.

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/X99E_WSUSB_31/

[Yambo]

Hi eyelovemotion!

Actually Sebastian is going to build for me soon a new system based on Z10PE-D8, 7x 980ti׳s & Dual CPUs, so i guess it׳s a good call.
I don׳t know enough so i won׳t talk shit but there are some posts here on related stuff. so please look around.

i׳m also sure you will get some answers here soon

[smicha]

Before you step into buying a new machine you shall answer yourself some questions:

- Will I use it as a pro and will it return? If so (and this is the most convenient option in terms of justifying expenses) you pay 0 VAT and deduce net value from your income. So comparing a business computer to a regular user's computer it may be even effectively (after tax deduction) 1/2 cheaper.

- Do you need it for stills or for animation. If for stills you don't need to worry about 16x PCIe speed bacasue it affects only geometry upload time. If animations are concerned and you have to render thousands of frames each time uploading geometry it may occur that the overall upload time is longer than rendering time. In this case it seems that X99 platform with only few choices on a single 40-lane 5930k or 5960k CPU and motherboards with dual PLX chips are the only solution to give you 4 GPUS with 16x speed (these mobos are Asus X99E WS, Asrock X99 WS E, Asrock X99 WS E 10G, Asrock Extreme 11 and some Supermicro boards) or if you need even 12-13 gpus a dual cpu mobo with 2x Xeons with 80 PCI lanes such as X9DRX, X10DRX is the way to go. Just keep in mind that the fact that Asus X99 E WS does have 7 pci slots it may not necessarily work with 7 gpus. This topic is widely covered here
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=43597

- The most common mistake (at least this is how I see it) is to think that you need a dedicated card to handle monitors and render on others (unless you need 10-bit display and a quadro card) Why? For a Titan Z you have to disable internal SLI bridge in Nvidia settings, second make sure which gpu is responsible for handling monitors (#1 does not mean it is the one - just play 4K video and see its % usage. If % is close to 0 this is not the card that handles monitors). Once you properly identify the gpu that handles monitors set its priority to low in Octane. Second - set sub-sampling to a lowest level - this will speed up responsiveness of your viewport. And you may use the gpu for rendering not wasting its power. My personal approach is: when 3d modelling (not rendering final scenes) I use 2 gpus - fist one handles monitors, second one (the lowest in a case, coolest) is used for rendering with up to 100 samples not letting the card rendering too long. This save tons of energy and my bills. If rendering a final scene - I turn all gpus on but the one that handles monitors is always with low priority on.

I hope it helps a bit.

[jayroth]

Hi eyelovemotion!

Actually Sebastian is going to build for me soon a new system based on Z10PE-D8, 7x 980ti׳s & Dual CPUs, so i guess it׳s a good call.
I don׳t know enough so i won׳t talk shit but there are some posts here on related stuff. so please look around.

i׳m also sure you will get some answers here soon

Do all of those GPU boards fit on the mobo? That is my setup (only running 3 GPUs, air cooled atm), but I'm concerned about the space. I have a 4th 980Ti waiting to go, but not putting it in with AC only...

[smicha]

Are you asking if the motherboard can handle 4 gpus? Yes but an air you should always put reference cards

[jayroth]

Thanks, Smicha, I was actually asking if it could handle 7, as Yambo mentioned. My cards are EVGA GTX980Ti ACX2.0+. It is my intention to WC this rig at some point in the near future. My case is a Caselabs Mercury S8, which is a bit tight for WC. I can make it work, but I'm taking my time with it...

[smicha]

Oh now I see. Sure:

1. enable 4g decoding in bios, disable all unnecessary peripheral ports to max IO space.
2. cut 6 dvi ports from 6 980ti and leave untouched 7th 980.
3. apply watercool or aquacomputer waterblocks with their 7 sli bridge
4. get 3x 360 rads (2 at top, 1 at the lower chamber) or get an extra pedestal for another 2x360
5. 2xD5 is a must
6. Great choice with CL

Good luck - this is what I am planning for Yam's new build, actually thinking of... 8 GPUs on X10DRX and Lian li D8000.

[jayroth]

Thanks! MicroCenter, a local store here, carries certain CaseLabs products, and since CL is local to me, I can usually get any other parts I need in a few days. I just ordered some filters from DemCiFilters, though they were undersized, sadly. Lewis really helped me with my config -- I cannot thank him enough -- as well as you and Glimps for all of the posts that you have made about this stuff.

[smicha]

DM filters are the only things I am missing so much in my SMH10... and support for SSI EEB 12x15 form factor