Splitting the outlet might or might not work out for you. While it's touted as a feature a large majority of high output PSUs are multirail because it's generally cheap to provide multiple stable lines than one large pipe distributed arbitrarily over N cables.
What that boils down to is that if you have an 800W CPU, but it's a multirail with the 6pin on a 120W necked line (hard coupled), and you fork it to two videocards for a 200W pull, you are going at the very least to run a very hot PSU, and at the worst to set it on fire :p And if you think Dell or HP use premium components, especially for the PSUs, think again, more often than not even their workstation grade components have been, at one point or another, extremely subpar. You can always convert another rail if you have a multi rail. 6pins aren't anything magic, they still run two or three sublines like anything else and a molex on a spare rail should be convertible to 6pin. If you have a quality single rail PSU, you should be able to safely split. On Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 10:56 PM, Tim Leydecker <[email protected]> wrote: > It´s good to write things like this, I guess. > > A minute later I found the HP part number: > > Hewlett Packard 6PIN TO DUAL-6PIN GRAPHICS ADAPTER > F5J05AA > > This let´s you split a 6pin connection to 2x6pin. > > -- > > Similar adapters are available from 3rd party vendors. > > I can´t tell how well this would work when using "hot" nVidia 7xx range > cards > but the gt 970 cards are spec´d for needing roughly 150W, drawing around > 180W in > actual test scenarios. > > -- > > I´d guess that would allow a stable 2xGPU system (using a HP 1100+W PSU) > but for a 3-4xGPU system, I´d actually revert my suggestion and go > home/custom built. > > Cheers, > > tim > > > > > Am 30.12.2014 um 12:04 schrieb Tim Leydecker: > > I was suggesting to also look into refurbished HP Z800/Z820/Z840 > workstations > as a basis for building a multi-GPU plattform. > > There is a grain of salt. > > Most if not all graphics cards come expecting an additional 2x6pin power > supply, > e.g. 75W from the PCIe slot, plus 75W from each 6pin connection, there are > Quadro cards that are spec´ed for 150W power consumption but most > gaming cards will excess that 150 W drain limit. > > You´d need at least 4 6pin connections for 2 gaming cards. > > The HP Z8++ series may present problems because of the way the PSU provides > these 6 pin connections in a vendor specific cable kit. > > There are several cable kits available but I haven´t found a 4x6pin kit > sofar. > This could be a dissapointment for anyone looking into get such a > plattform. > > Of course, there is a chance I missed something from the datasheets and > spare parts > listings, as well as a chance the HPZ840 doesn´t have such a limitation. > > Worth mentioning anyway. > > Cheers, > > tim > Am 12.12.2014 um 12:14 schrieb Angus Davidson: > > Worthwhile noting that Octane works with the GTX 9XX cards very well. It > also has a really good Network GPU support. Which means you dont need to > cram 4 cards into one machine. If you dont know what you are doing the > machine can go *Poof* very easily. > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Tim Leydecker [[email protected]] > *Sent:* 12 December 2014 12:42 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: Best graphic card for Softimage? > > Hi, > > > I would also like to recommend a nvidia gtx 9xx card, the available cards > (970&980) have a lower power consumption compared to a 7xx series card. > > Aside from that, I would like to point out nvidia CUDA support, which might > help in a couple of programs, be it redshift or 3d coat or the latest > nvidia games > related tools (fluids, cloth, physics, etc for Maya). > > If you have to invest now, e.g. immediately, I´d suggest a 970 4GB card and > downloading a redshift demo to see if it would benefit your workflow. > > If you can wait a bit longer, I´d suggest waiting for a successor to the > 780ti or > Titan (Black) nvidia cards, expected early next year, mostly because of the > more RAM expected to come with these cards, which would give you more > headroom for heavy scene handling (e.g. shitloads geometry and raytracing). > > There is a lot of new stuff coming early next year, including Houdini and > Nuke > versions more accessible due to licensing changes/options. > > In general, I would split my money between system RAM, ssd and graphics > unit, > expecting to work happy with a 128-256GB system OS partition, 64GB ish RAM, > and a gt(x) 9xx ish card with at least 4GB VRAM (6-8GB prefered). > > Making sure that your system has a 800+ Watts PSU will help stability. > > >From there, finding redshift attractive, you could always add another > card to > your system, devoting it to getting more out of a single render license or > even > go fully committed and swap your mainboard to a 4x16PCIe version, adding > even more cards. > > This implies a tower workstation case and enjoying building your hardware. > > Alternatively, I can recommend looking into refurbished HP Z800/820 or > Dell T7500/7600 > workstations (on ebay) to get an idea about prices, performance and > extension options. > > These plattforms are well enough documented to find a solid, not to loud > machine > that will reliable work 24/7 with a reasonably sized PSU and at least a > 2x16PCIe > graphics option. > > There´s caveats with maximum system RAM or the PSU in some of those > refurbished machines > but they tend to be solid machines, well designed. > > If all of the above is too much information for you: > > Get a gt 970 card. They are the best bang for the buck nvidia´s atm. > > > Cheers, > > > tim > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Am 12.12.2014 00:09, schrieb Tim Crowson: > > I have a 970 for my home system and it's fantastic. > > -Tim > > > On 12/11/2014 3:34 PM, David Rivera wrote: > > GTX 9XX it´s the way to go, packed with another $600 on Redshift. > Thanks. :) > > *David Rivera* > *3D Compositor/Animator* > LinkedIN <http://ec.linkedin.com/in/3dcinetv> > Behance <https://www.behance.net/3dcinetv> > VFX Reel <https://vimeo.com/70551635> > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Mirko Jankovic <[email protected]> > <[email protected]> > *To:* "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > <[email protected]> <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Thursday, December 11, 2014 2:32 PM > *Subject:* Re: Best graphic card for Softimage? > > "How long can you can your computer on with this card in it?" > > Sry but clarification please? > > On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 2:28 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > How long can you can your computer on with this card in it? > On 2014-12-11 05:36, Mario Reitbauer wrote: > > Got the msi gtx 970 gaming 4g. > Quite happy with it. > > 2014-12-11 10:03 GMT+01:00 Mirko Jankovic <[email protected]>: > > right now 970 is best bang for backs. > they do not heat too much, power consumption is prety low and they do > really good job. > and on top of that Redshift as perfect companion ;) > viewport performance is not that big issue at all between two cards but > being able to utilise GPU rendering with CUDA is way more higher on the > list then couple more FPS in viewport > > On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 9:26 AM, Christoph Muetze <[email protected]> > wrote: > > I'd stay clear of the ATI/AMD consumer cards if I were you. From our > experience Soft becomes generally less stable (crashing a lot more), and > the raycast selection is going haywire sometimes. > > Chris > > On 11/12/14 04:44, phil harbath wrote: > > I went Redshift and have been very pleased. I can get by using a lot > less computers than before on most projects, volume smoke is pretty much > all I use MR for anymore. I have several computers with a combination of > 780TI, 770, and 970, while I think the 780Ti give the best performance, it > really makes more sense to buy the 970 as they are priced better or 980 if > you have more cash. The Redshift say go with the cards with the most ram > (that would be Titan 6tb, if you got even more cash), depends on your needs > of course. > > > > From: David Rivera > > Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2014 8:51 PM > > To: Softimage Mailing List > > Subject: Best graphic card for Softimage? > > > > I know this subject has been posted a lot over the years, but it happens > that I read a benchmark performance between autodesk products on certain > webpage. They tested Radeons vs Nvidias and turns out that Mudbox and > Softimage ran better on AMD (Radeons) - this is mental ray render. > > > > > > So I was wondering whether to go full on mental ray (CPU) or take my > savings and put it on a GPU renderer? Either case, now a days, which is the > middle ranked graphic card for softimage? (My budget is around 1k). > > > > > > Thanks. > > > > David Rivera > > 3D Compositor/Animator > > LinkedIN > > Behance > > VFX Reel > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is > confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please notify > us immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or > disseminate this communication without the permission of the University. Only > authorised signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf of > the University and recipients are thus advised that the content of this > message may not be legally binding on the University and may contain the > personal views and opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the > views and opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All > agreements between the University and outsiders are subject to South African > Law unless the University agrees in writing to the contrary. > > > > -- Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!
