Machine Learning Build

A

aljungberg

New member
Hey everyone. New guy here. Not really looking for advice, just sharing the spec for a "budget" AI/machine learning workstation for work. I found it quite time consuming to figure out the best approach here so hopefully it might help someone.

So what this is is just a minor customisation of the Astro Elite. Initially I thought I would buy a "3XS Deep Learning DBP G2-32TP" from Scan because that'd be the least amount of worry, being a machine already designed for what I need at my job. But just before placing the order I decided to check if pcspecialist could do better, and (drumroll) turns out they can! Shorter build-time, quieter case, and an extra 100W PSU for just about the same price. And unless I've done my math wrong, getting this build from pcspecialist is only about £300 more than doing a self-build which to me is totally worth it for the peace of mind, avoiding the risk that I screw up trying to build such a big ticket system as an amateur.

The key considerations here were:
  1. Enough physical space, PCIe lanes and PSU wattage for 3 high end GPUs. This is a machine learning thing, you'd never want this for gaming or even crypto mining (mining requires many GPUs but they can be on a single PCIe lane each because there's little data transfer).
  2. Since I'll be listening to this thing in my office all day I wanted a quiet case. That's the Fractal Define 7 XL and that's a benefit with this build over the equivalent over at Scan. They're using a different Fractal case that's about the same size but without the sound dampening. Don't know if in the end the heat generation will be too high so I have to leave the case open anyhow, but fingers crossed.
  3. Threadripper Pro for the high number of PCIe lanes (128!). Even if you're running 4x4090 cards at 16x PCIe each, you've got spare capacity.
  4. ...yet the cheapest Threadripper Pro available because this work is all about the GPU power. CPU matters but less than you might expect.
  5. The 1600W PSU is basically as much as you can get without going into super expensive territory, and should be just about enough for 3x4090 and the power hungry Threadripper Pro. If I get the budget to add more cards in the future I'll need to swap out the PSU but fine, cross that bridge when/if I get there. (There's also a trick where you can limit the power draw per GPU programatically, trading some performance for less heat and less wattage.)
  6. I included 1x4090 here to start, will add more after testing.
  7. Not going to use Windows for this but included it anyhow just in case. Might be good for the resale value of the system too.
(You might find it funny that I'm calling this a "budget" build, but it totally is within this context. The key here is running on consumer GPUs which *massively* reduces the cost. Like the whole system costs less than a single professional or industrial class GPU.)

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 XL BLACK QUIET TOWER CASE
Promotional Item
Get Diablo IV standard edition plus additional content with Select GeForce RTX 40 Series!
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX 16 Core CPU (4.5GHz, 64MB CACHE)
Motherboard
ASUS® Pro WS WRX80E-SAGE SE WIFI (Intel dual 10 G LAN, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port, SLI)
Memory (RAM)
256GB Kingston DDR4 3200MHz ECC Registered (8 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 - HDMI, DP
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 2950MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1600W PRO SERIES™ TITANIUM AX1600i DIGITAL MODULAR PSU
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre IEC C19 UK Power Cable
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML360 RGB TR4 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
2 x 10 GIGABIT ETHERNET PORTS
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00005]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
48 HOUR INSURED PALLET DELIVERY TO UK (MON-FRI, INC. HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top