At work we’re looking for a model of desktop computer that can accommodate a large, sandwich-type VGA board (nVidia GEForce GTX 780 or similar).
This is not for gaming, we just need to use the nVidia board’s GPU for processing in a “serious” application. So we need a housing that looks business-like (not shaped like a flying saucer, not neon-illuminated).
For regulatory reasons we can’t assemble the PC ourselves from a motherboard + casing + power supply, we need something pre-built. Ideally from Dell, HP, Lenovo or similar big-name brand. Core i5 or better.
I did a double take too. I’m so used to assuming people talking hardware are guys that when the occasional female type person turns up, it’s disorienting - but welcome.
Actually what I think happens most of the time online is that FTP’s just never bother to reveal their gender since they would prefer to be treated like ‘one of the guys.’ So I suspect that there are a lot more geek girls out there than one would imagine.
That’s not why I thought he was wondering. I thought it was because it seems weird that the person asking is not the person who is in charge of making the selection. At least, that was what was surprising to me. I wouldn’t have even noticed the gender thing.
Not everybody would ask for this kind of advice on a message board where people also ask about pet care, interracial relationships and eminent domain in the Roman empire. And about who would win in a fight between a poodle and a shrew. I have faith in the Teeming Millions’ collective wisdom, but it’s not an obvious thing to everybody.
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For this aspect, take a good look at Nvidia’s Tesla cards.
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We are looking at them. More powerful but more expensive. This is for a product that will eventually be sold in the dozens, so we need to strike a balance between price and performance; so far the GEForce GTX class seems sufficient. The Tesla boards pose the same physical-space problems as the GEForce GTX boards.
These types of PC’s are called workstations. They are powerful desktops meant for high end video/audio/image editing/processing and some times for scientific work (though that often times gets done on server racks with lots of GPUs/CPUs).
Just talk directly to Dell or HP sales and tell them you need a workstation with xx video card and xx CPU.
Depending on just what kind of processing/software you’ll be running on these, going with a professional level GPU rather than the regular retail/gaming GPU might be a necessity. But be sure you really need one (CAD work usually requires them), because if a regular GPU cna handle the job, it’ll save you hundreds and hundreds of dollars over their workstation lines.
Nvidia’s workstaiton GPU’s are the Tesla, and AMD’s are the FirePro cards.
PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is an expansion bus standard. VGA (Video Graphics Array) generically refers to an analog video adapter or the 15 pin physical connector of same. While most high end video cards are digital only via HDMI connector these days (and run on the PCIe bus) the bus is also used for almost every other type of expansion card. So, while referring to a video adapter as a VGA card is probably not technically correct and it will most likely sit in a PCIe slot, it’s a hell of a lot more descriptive to say “I need a VGA card” than it is to say “I need a PCIe card.” Moreover, it is entirely possible to install a VGA card in a PCIe slot.
Aren’t the Tesla cards computation-only? Nvidia’s workstation cards are the Quadro series.
One thing I will note is that the Tesla cards have ECC memory whereas the others do not. No one really cares if you have a faulty bit in an image, but an erroneous bit in a computation could wreak havoc.
