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I might be dreaming but my work has asked me to spec out a monster system for a large upcoming job.

So I have been looking into two scenarios.

1: 4U server to house 8 GPUs
2: A large case using 4 TITAN Z

Liquid cooling is not on the table because this rig has to travel i.e. Fedex/checked luggage

What do you think? What would you do?

I would be worried about air cooling that many GPUs.
at 3 it can get sketchy.

You can always get an external GPU box (or 2) and then just ship and plug those into whatever computer you need to.

What's the most recommended external GPU box these days? They seem to be somewhat tricky to spec out.

4U server will be monstrous..- would I buy it? well, no.. - PSU as usually loud, server parts are overly expensive & not needed for such buid =)

remember the fact that 4x TitanZs iare (4x3) 12 Slot spacing..no regular (tax, eats) motherboard without ribbon cables or backplane is going to be capable in housing those.

WaterCooling is not a problem, You can make drainage system & take of Your liquids, re-fill could be done using distilled water, that You can buy in any automotive shop - they sell that for pouring into car batteries =)

4x TitanZ with EK tops should take 8Slots, instead 12 if You go air-cooling route & that (8slot configuration) should fit into any case that have some extra space for rads or You can use "regular box" & quick disconnects to add 9x120/9x140 rads for proper cooling capacity.
Don't forget that for 4x TitanZ You probably need dual power supplies as there's no change even 1500 or 1600W stable going to lift this ..You might end up running (as Octane don't need that much under load), but stability would be guaranteed =)

If You need some help, have predefined budget or any other guidelines, drop more info & we can try to find some solutions =) like using let's say DopoMiner (if You want to avoid water-cooling )

Thanks for the advice glimpse.

The more I think about it the more I am trying to convince my employer to consider a liquid cooled route.

I server based system is allot of unnecessary overhead for octane. Dual xeons and expensive ram.

Our budget is 11-13k USD
I received a quote from main gear for a 4 titanz on liquid for 13k that is pretty appealing since they do great work and guarantee parts for 3 years!

Is that too much this build?

13K$ from boutique builder is reasonable, especially from someOne like MainGear. For the company that's less of a headache.

TitanZ fly of the shelf for around half (~1600$) of what they used to cost (3000$)..

* let's say You need four of them, that's ~6500$ ;
* each waterBlock for TitanZ Z would cost around 150$ that's 600$+ ;
* good case 300-700$ ;
* 2x PSU will cost like Corsair 1200W will cost 400$ each, or You might want even more woe 1500 model
* few rads, dual D5, reservoir, some tube would cost around less than 1000$
* then motherboard, CPU, RAM - that's from ~1000+$ (Z79 PLX equipped, quad core CPU & RAM) to 2000+$ (for X99, top of the shelf CPU & DDR4)
* SSDs/HDDs etc.

So, I'd say their price is reasonable =) You can always DIY Yourself or have someOne who's capable of tailor build system for You, but You will not save too much money even if You do it on Your own =) maybe get a bit more performance, better suited for Your specific needs without wasting for features You don't need, but in the end these hiEnd boutique builders (often specialising in building rigs for gaming) offer very good products that fit very good for GPU crowd =)

bottom line, You get what You pay. Boutiques ill charge extra & give You warranty. Usually parts don't die without any reason..& if they do, You probably get warranty when You buy them, so You can always get the part out & send over..-that's a bit more complicated if You have custom build with loop & haven't planed any drainage system & let's say You motherboard doesn't have a possibility to with-off certain PCIe slots =) trouble-shooting might become a big issue..-but that's what You need to think about ahead if You're planning builds like these =) so, I'd say it's worth to pay for someOne who knows upfront what he's doing =) & builders mentioned prior is a good choise =)

Glimpse remarks - priceless

Just from my experience, some recommendations
- 2x1500W
- (EK) titan Z waterblocks with semi parallel bridge + backplates
- 2x D5 pumps. If you want to go with two loops (I think you should with 8 gpus) for cpu add another d5 pump + bitspower tops - top notch.
- 4x 560 radiators in Caselabs case - STH10 with pedestal (2x560 on top, 2x 560 on bottom in the pedestal). Fans - sanyo denki or noise blockers in push pull - 32 pcs.

Man, you have power of 10-11 titans on that beast, 40 C, and silence.

You guys are always a wealth of knowledge!
Thanks for the input!

Just out of curiosity is there single computer that would outperform a 4 Titan Z watercolors rig?

Yes,

2x Watercooled 4xtitans Z in one case
http://www.caselabs-store.com/magnum-tx10-d/

And then you have power of 22 titans Enjoy.