How important is the brand of GPU? I’m getting a second 1080ti and my first one is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XXZBPHZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 but I am wondering if I get another 1080ti does it need to match that brand or can I just get the cheapest 1080ti that I can find.
I’d go for the cheapest that has good cooling and reviews (at least that’s what I did - https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7RD5RC7282 ). I’m happy with the one I picked up, though it was $60 cheaper when I grabbed it (also the link is to Canadian $). I’m guessing prices will be up through Christmas.
Yeah, that one I bought was ~$780 when I bought it and it is listed at $999 currently. That’s why I was wondering. I’m guessing it is a mix between crypto-hype and christmas demand. I’m hoping I can find another one for ~$750 still through newegg. Will it matter if one of my 1080Ti is Asus and the other is MSI?
I think this is the one I’m going to go with unless I get a bunch of people screaming that this is a terrible idea before I order it tomorrow. So I will have one Asus and one Gigabyte 1080Ti. For the most part I expect these to be working on different models anyway, but I think I should be able to bridge them together as well?
Not as far as I know - I’ve mixed brands in machines before, but not while doing a lot of GPU compute. Seems like crypto guys mix brands and models without problem. Though if anyone here has a compelling reason not to mix brands please correct me!
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You have a few price options:
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Fry’s has the 1080Ti for under $800
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Choose 2 x 1070Ti for under $1000 (most stores)
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Wait for potential discounts after CES in January
The one I linked is $719 and comes with a copy of Destiny 2 (thinking I can sell that to bring the cost even lower).
I went for an Asus Founder Edition 1080 Ti because it has a “blower” fan, that expels the heat directly through its back. Some brands use the term “Aero”, you can recognize the type on pictures because the card seems like a solid block, no fans to be seen.
The potential issue with the models with 3 massive fans: it just blows the heat inside your PC case, then it’s up to your PC case’s single 120mm fan to expel all that on its own (plus the heat of the CPU cooler et al.).
Nvidia Tesla V100 PCIe use “blower” fan, it seems the Titan V will too.
That seems lower profile too, is it skinnier than the ones that have a fan that blows to the side?
It’s a bit skinnier than those with multiple fans, but it still takes 2-slots in your PC case, as you can see the two indents in the holding plate.
Also, please disregard my comment on above picture of the Tesla V100 PCIe: it doesn’t use the “blower” fan since it has a passive cooling.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/12135/nvidia-announces-nvidia-titan-v-video-card-gv100-for-3000-dollars
The Titan V and Titan Xp do have a Blower Fan though.
Difference between Editions: Fundamentally all of them have the same GPU processor inside them. The main difference would be variation in quality of the PCB and usually high end models would have higher binned chips(Best Quality).
Difference between Brands: Brands build their custom PCB components and aesthetics like lighting,Multiple fans, water cooled or back plate. These are done in order to improve the performance on the reference boards by just keeping the reference design on the card and add custom coolers on it. The base clocks out of the box matters very little generally.
Water vs Air cooled GPU :— Nvidia lowers the clock rate on your GPU as it gets hot. I don’t know if there are set temperatures that trigger this, or if it’s just linear. Water cooling will keep your GPU running at top speed.
Again! please research through the different editions. I have heard that FTW edition is the coolest one to get. (Silent and No heating issues)
You can refer to my full article regarding choosing components Here :
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I suppose it might have a slight performance issue if you were using both the GPU simultaneously, just because these GPUs are clocked at different speeds by different manufacturers by default.
But if you were using them one at a time, I suppose it shouldn’t matter. There should be a way in PyTorch to specify what GPU to use.
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I ordered a second one so I will update everyone when I get it up and running.
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I went with this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073H33X81/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Works fine so far.
Actually, it used to cost 100$ less than now…
In case anyone would decide to have watercooling - it is better to buy pre-assembeled one, than try to assemble water-block afterwards.
As someone mentioned - will eliminate temperature throttling and noise for sure.
I’m going down the path right now of water cooling my gpus. If you can build a pc I would say you can install a water cooling block on a gpu. The thermal throttling is a serious issue on my 4 gpu rig. For a high density gpu rig I would recommend either water cooling or get a cryptocurrency mining case and use pcie extension cables to space your cards out.
Also I would suggest spending the extra bucks and going for either an EVGA or an Asus card. I have 4 Gigabyte 1080 TI 11gb gaming oc cards that I got for $630 new. There is little support for flashing an aftermarket bios and it is difficult to find water cooling blocks that’ll fit. Furthermore the fan shroud and heatsink are not designed for a high density configuration in an ATX or EATX form factor. There is simply not enough space between the cards. So even a blower style card would have issues given that the clearances between cards is about 5-7 mm at best, note my gpus are some of the thinnest I could find.
So while folks like Tim Dettmers would suggest finding the least inexpensive card I would say be careful and think through your use case before sorting all the 1080 ti 11gb offerings on Amazon from lowest to highest.
Good points in the thread.
One more thing to consider, people seem to consider quality 3-fan cards quieter than blower-type 1-fans. The 3 fans might be able to keep the GPU a bit cooler than single fan, run a bit slower rpm per fan and as such, produce less noise. The blower-type 1 fan cards often give couple db more noise in the tests and a couple celsius hotter GPU.
So if your plan is to go with 1 GPU only, 3-fan card + 3-4 or more good PC-case fancs (120-140 mm or bigger) you might reach a system that is more quiet.
If instead you are having several GPU in single case, then the blower-type cards can be advantage, since each of them blows air out from back plate of the card, instead of blowing it to inside the pc case.
It seems some 3-fan cards have also different size heat sinks. For example ASUS 1080 Ti OC has bigger heat sink than non-OC version of the card, (requires a bit more space in the case towards next pcie slot) and runs a bit cooler and quieter.