Nvidia Quadro M4000 x2 - right choice?

Keeping it Neil

Hey folks

I'm finally in a position to upgrade my GPU on my Dell T3600 which I've had for a couple of years and is currently using a Quadro K2000 (making render painfully slow with it's 384 cuda cores and 2gb of memory). I've been doing a lot of research into a new card, but all it's managed to do is raise more questions to someone like me who isn't that technically savy (I'm old).

I was getting excited about the prospect of running 2 Titan X's, but since discovered that I don't have enough power to run them, and my case only has 2x 6 pin molex conectors for power. The T3600 is a pain for upgrading power, it's a proprity power supply so off the shelf won't work. It has 635w just now.

So after giving it some carefull consideration and to manage within the limits of my set up, I was considering 2 Quadro M4000 video cards. They have low power needs and only require a 6 pin conector.

But this is where things get confusing for me. Will Daz take advantage of the 2 cards? Especially the Cuda Cores, and is this the only factor to consider? I've read about things loading into the memory of the card, I take it Daz can only utilize the memory of 1 card, but can I run the monitors of the other to free space? How does 2 cards get recognised, do I need an SLI bridge or will Daz just see them both there? Will both cards allow me to see faster previews? (it's a real pain to have to wait till morning to see if your lighting set up is decent).

Sorry, so many questions but it's all a bit over my head. Any help would be greatly appreciated. And if there is anything else I should know, please pass it on.

Oh, just so there's a little history to what the computer is for, it won't be for games, it's purely for graphic work. As well as Daz I run the entire Adobe CC package (especially Photoshop and Illustrator) and a few other graphics packages. I also leave my computer on overnight to render big files, so heat will be an issue. 

Many thanks in advance.

Neil

nicstt

It should recognise the cards; if your system does ofcourse. I use a 980ti and a 970; it sees them both.

Have you thought of moving the system to a new case? You than have the option of using a different PSU; depending on the rating (efficiency) it may be of benefit to upgrade. That sort of move can be a cost effective way of extending the life of a computer when you know the MB and processor are good for some time.

Leaving you system running long times means you need components that can cope with that, which is one reason to use profesional aimed products (the Quadro). Making sure your PSU is the most efficient you can get is also worthwhile, the electric bill payer appreciates that. Quadros use less power than the titan's you were considering, but they like the titans are only single precission FPU. But although less power 120 v 250 for the Titan, they are half the cuda cores, roughly. In other words, 4 Quadro M4000 give 450 more cores than 2 Titans (cores 6656 v 6144); power consumption about the same.

It's certainly a capable card, but I can't help but feel that your system is influencing what you buy; never a good thing imo. It's about what your business needs, and you're letting the restrictions of a tool dictate what you should get.

Glad I'm not having to decide.

Keeping it Neil

Yeah, everything you say makes sense, but something I hadn't factored in would be a new case and PSU (ultimatly driving up the cost). I don't think my wife would like that :) So really my choices are to upgrade my computer, get a new PSU, case and then 2 titans, or go with the Quadros which I can run as is (the T3600 will support it) but loose out on around 3000 cuda cores. Hmmm.

Ulitimatly I suppose the question is do I need all the cuda cores right now? With the pitiful amount I have just now I will see a significant increase with the 2 Quadro M4000's, but how much? And how hot do Titans run? I'm bad enough leaving the house without checking I've locked the door 3 times, god knows what it will be like thinking a small fire could start any moment in my study while I'm sleeping (extreme, but you get the idea).

Also, am I right in thinking the Quadros are more reliable with regards to drivers, build quality etc? 

I think I'm trying to convince myself to go for the Quadros, even though the temptation of the Titans is constantly there. Your right, it's a choice even I don't want to make :)

nicstt

I'm guessing you'd prefer the titans; they would be a lot quicker. That would ultimately show a ruduction in electricity, as long as your system was off at the mains when not rendering.

There is the option of waiting until Nvidia's new Gfx card next year? Depends how much you need what is offered now.

Keeping it Neil

Thanks for getting back to me. I'm needing the upgrade quite quicky, the card I have just now is slowing down my work flow. Just out of curiosity, can you hazard a guess as to how different the rendering times would be between 2x Quadro M4000's and 2x Titan X's? (just ball park, if it's minutes or hours). I've seen the YouTube video of 2x Titan X's rendering in realtime in Daz, and it is very impressive. I'm just wondering how for off the Quadros would be from that, especailly when Iray preview is selected from from the drop down menu. Sorry for going on about this, I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing before spending the cash :)

nicstt

A wild guess is the two quadros would be about equal to one titan, but only 8GB or RAM instead of 12GB. Personally if you need something now, get one quadro for rendering, and use your existing card to control the display. That way you get some decent increase withoug spending large amounts of cash, and then maybe what comes along next year will be so much better.

But if you really need the speed, then biting the bullet and going for thecase and PSU with two Titans.

A third option would be case, PSU and one Titan; a compromise, but with the benefit of being far easier to add the extra Titan (or better) if required; but until you were sure you would save a chunk of cash (pounds, dollars, euros or whatever.) It might also work at about the same cost as the two Quadros, and a similar performance boost; just use the card you have now as the display card, with the Titan as the renderer.

Actually, 980ti would give you close to the boost of a Titan speed wise; no idea if your system could cope with it though as it requires the same amount of power iirc, and it only has 6GB of memory, again no idea if that would be an issue. I'm thinking it might be the best stop-gap solution, while you think about how much cash to throw at the problem. It is more-than-slightly cheaper than the Quadro, but uses more power - like I said, about hte same as a titan iirc.

SixDs

Another possible option you may want to look into would be to replace the power supply with one made for the T5600, which is a 825W unit. You would need to confirm compatibility, but it would seem to be an option.