Switch off GPU card for rendering?

[ThomasA3D]

Hi there
I’m a completely new Octane user and I have bought Octane and upgraded my PC with a water cooled GTX980ti.
I can see that I will definitely be using Octane over VRay for many of my upcoming projects so I am looking into building a new computer.
Luckily I didn't buy components before the 1080 announcement was made!
I am looking to build a system with three to four 1080 cards and here is my question/doubt...
If I install the 980 I am limited to scenes using 6GB VRAM. I often make large archviz scenes so VRAM could be an issue.
But is it possible to switch off the 980 card for rendering and just use it for screen navigation and use the 1080 cards for Live viewer and rendering?
This way the Live viewer wouldn't have an impact on my scene navigation and I can render large scenes (although without the help of the 980 card).
But can it work this way with Octane or should I just sell the 980 together with my "old" workstation?

Thanks
/Thomas

[rappet]

Hi ThomasA3D,
You can disable and enable the gpu in the OctaneRender settings,
So for scenes larger then 6gb, you then can disable the one 980 gpu and use the other 1080's to render (>6gb)
I would absolutely not sell the 980, and use it for the extra renderpower for <6gb scenes.
Cheers,

Edited: ofcourse you need the space in ypur new config for lots of gpu... Alternatively you can build high end new pc and use 'old pc' as a renderslave... you can find lot of topics on this forum, gotta search a bit though

[ThomasA3D]

Great - just what I hoped for!
I have seen the settings for enabling/disabling cards but didn't know if it worked like I wanted it to.
I will probably find a motherboard with room for four GPUs, buy three 1080s and build the rest around those components.
Thanks a lot for the feedback!

[rappet]

Great - just what I hoped for!
I have seen the settings for enabling/disabling cards but didn't know if it worked like I wanted it to.
I will probably find a motherboard with room for four GPUs, buy three 1080s and build the rest around those components.
Thanks a lot for the feedback!

That sounds like e great plan for a majestic build.
I guess the cards are build to be able and stick close to each other without a slot space between them?
I chose to build setups with slot space between the cards for optimal air circulation, but that is me.
I had triple780ti stick to each other, but that that did not work and the temps were getting to high and I had to downclock them... Intstead of dowclokcing them I gave them more space in another case and they can perform optimal.
I think I have read some posts here about really large mobos for even 7 gpu, you might stik 4 gpu's on them with slot space, but I am not an expert on that... Guys like Glimpse and Smicha ,might help you there.
Just make sure your plan works before executing
my one cent

[ThomasA3D]

Good point about the airflow.
I am looking at the MSI Z97 Power AC motherboard which has five PCI-Express x16 ports but I might have to look more into the other threads in the forum to see what others have done.
I did plan on water-cooling, but I dont know when water-cooled 1080 cards comes out or when a custom water-cooling setup can be bought for the 1080 cards.
Thanks agin for valuable input!