Advice on new workstation plan build

[O_and_N]

So,i will try to keep it as short as i can.In two weeks i will finally buy the components for a new workstation in order to continue and finish my game(fingers crossed).I feel safe about the parts that i will require(well 95% at least)but as i havent put together a pc in quite some time i feel a litle insecure so i have a few ¨¨more in depth questions¨¨ which i cant quite formulate on the google searh.

So the pc is for 3d,some gpu render and game engine.(for this i will settle with a quadro).I have used them(have a k4200 at the moment) and they work fine.I know its not the best bang for the € but as its one expensive pc and maya doesnt like gtx gpu in heavy scenes a quadro is the best option between the 2 worlds(and i need the cuda ).

Lets start with the specs and cooling idea.
-----------
i7 6900k or e5 1600v4 (the two have the same price and i somehow feel the xeon might be more durable?)(in specs>the same)

------------
128gb ram (ecc 2400)if i go with the xeon (will be using this much as i need to generate photorammetry 3d objects and takes from hours to days to finish.

-------------
motherboard
-asrock x99 taichi
-asrock x99 i7 gaming

still wandering on this one
-GIGABYTE GA-X99-Designare EX (rev. 1.0)


I saw all the pro asus motherboars ATX format but after looking at the consumer reviews of them on amazon i see a LOT of failure % on these.For some reason the x99 taichi for example is mostly positive and asrock awlays supported xeons.(and i dont need that many pci slots)

----------
2x samsung ssd 1tb

-----------
psu 1200w (not sure on the model but this time not corsair as like the motherboard reviews on amazon,i see a lot of broken ones) Will be for 3 gpus max .

----------
Gpus................
Option one is go with 2x quadro p4000 (add a third one in a year).First one is my main one,and the second one will aid me for gpu rendering in maya.No sli.

Second option is
1x quadro p4000 and 2x single slot galax 1070 no sli


---------------------
A nh-15s for the cpu and avoid bumping in to the gpu,and a silverstone ft05 case.
Since i will be using single slot gpus with good ammount of clearance between them and a 90º rotated motherboard,i think they shoud cool on equal level,even with the cpu.

-------------------
One 4k monitor which will be set to 2k and a dell canvas 2k that will be the tablet and act as a second monitor.

So apart from the big cost,do you guys see anything wrong between the components?

If no, will leave my other more important gpu config question for the next post and explain why these models.


Cheers guys

 

[O_and_N]

Well, while i wait for someone to check my first post question i will take my time and post the rest.I hope i got this right.
A question on driver instal correct order.

2x p4000
-If i instal 2 gpus from the same model,first i have to instal one + the driver ,restart, and with the pc off i plug in the second gpu so that when i start the pc, next time it pick it up?
Or since the begining i can plug the 2 gpus from the same model >instal the driver and shoud work fine?

1x p4000 + 2x gtx 1070
-I plug only the main p4000>install and after that i plug the 1070 with its driver>instal>and after that i plug in the second 1070?

 

[O_and_N]

A small bump before it disappears.

 

[confusis]

Pro workstation stuff is above my knowledge level, surely someone else here knows?

 

[Biowarejak]

If you have any doubts, review the build logs on the Linus Tech Tips YouTube channel. As for a dual GPU setup, it's my understanding that you can insert both at once and download the drivers that way, without needing to reboot to insert the second card.

 

[O_and_N]

Thanks, i suspeceted i can insert all of the gpus at once and than go with the drivers but wasnt sure.If gpus are from the same model,than one driver install shoud be requred,not 2 times,right?

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

For anythig professional, I'd go with Xeon and Quadro (both with ECC memory).

Does Maya support rendering offloading ?

 

[aquelito]

I use Octane Render for GPU rendering and mainline Nvidia GTX GPUs (older and newer generations) have the best value.
Best is to put them under water though, to improve their life expectency.

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

If offloading is a possibility, maybe you could stick to a single quadro for modeling and build a render node with regular GPUs. This would completely free the workstation while you are doing heavy rendering.

 

[Biowarejak]

I would definately look into setting up some kind of render farm if your budget is as high as it sounds. Doesn't have to be huge, just functional.

 

[O_and_N]

Fighting with multi quote xd.
to Biowarejak
Well,the buget is 6k for the pc.(no monitors included).I prefer one pc as,first i dont have the room for the second one(as i made a huge warhammer like model of a level in my room for design purposes).And the renders that i do dont take more than 24-48h.

I use Octane Render for GPU rendering and mainline Nvidia GTX GPUs (older and newer generations) have the best value.
Best is to put them under water though, to improve their life expectency.

I have no experience with water so i think i will stay away from it.The best thing i think i can do is,use the ft05 case as its inverted and since i will use single slot gpus i suspect i coud get even temps.I will be using octane in maya to bake to texture stuff.Since you have different gpu models coud you please indicate me if there is any correct order to instal them?

For example i will install the quadro p4000 as the primary gpu>and than plug in lets say 2x single slot gtx 1070 and install their drivers?
How do you avoid driver conflict?For example,ive read somewhere that at startup windows coud choose to boot with the gtx driver and not the quadro.

 

[VegetableStu]

I remember searching for this Quadro and GTX cards in the same system years ago. It boiled down to cards sharing the same GPU core and internal layout (and the primary quadro driver recognising both cards at once).

Just found this (quite recent, like 2016 compared to my brief experiment with one about 4 years back), and they mentioned you couldn't do the Quadro GPU card allocation thing when there's a Geforce GPU in the system:

i had the chance to talk to an employee of PNY a few weeks ago. I have also discussed this solution. But he told me, that the option to assign tasks dedicated to an installed GPU is not availble when using Geforce Cards or mixed-mode. It's only availble when using Quadro Cards only.

So, the option you have mentioned will be NOT availble!

 

[jtd871]

I don't have any experience personally, but found this while searching:

http://www.cgchannel.com/2014/08/gpubox-artist-builds-you-an-instant-gpu-render-farm/

Don't know how or if it handles heterogeneous GPUs...

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

You can also build a render farm out of an Ikea drawer: http://www.braverabbit.com/playground/?page_id=630

 

[O_and_N]

I remember searching for this Quadro and GTX cards in the same system years ago. It boiled down to cards sharing the same GPU core and internal layout (and the primary quadro driver recognising both cards at once).

Just found this (quite recent, like 2016 compared to my brief experiment with one about 4 years back), and they mentioned you couldn't do the Quadro GPU card allocation thing when there's a Geforce GPU in the system:

Now this is something i didnt knew,and i did search good.I think my best option is to go to the octane render forums and see how people manage to do it and decide from there.

The cpu wont play that much of a role as it will be used only for modeling in zbrush and multitasking so a 8 core shoud be enough for 2 x 2k screens and 2-3 apps open?


If you guys dont mind,when i buy the components,i will post some photos of the build process in order to avoid some cable conection problems

 

[Biowarejak]

Of course! I'm sure we're all happy to help make sure things are working properly.