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Building of Aircooled dual 4090 Founders Editions System !

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Building of dual aircooled 4090 FE, based on existing system.

Started 12-2022, based in Belgium.​



Own requirements :

  • Highest possible amount of VRAM on GTX for V-Ray GPU in Maya (Windows 10)
  • “Cheap” as possible without turning to Threadripper, Workstation MoBo, Quadro and watercooling
  • Cool system during summer (30 degrees Celcius)
  • Near silent if possible
  • Lowest possible wattage/euro without losing too much rendering-times


The "old" system :



Intermediate Upgrades : Goal is to use 2x 3090 FE in December 2022

  • Case : Fractal Design Meshify 2 XL
    • It must have 9 slots in the back
    • It has a large mesh in front = maximum airflow (Be Quiet! Dark Pro 900 does not have it)
  • PSU : Corsair AX1600i
    • The final system has a maximum output of +/- 915W (with undervolt and underpowered settings for both CPU and GPU’s), but I also use the system for DCS non-VR (https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/). There might be spikes higher than 1000W so I just wanted to play safe… forever.
    • It has native support for Type-4 cables
  • Cooling : 4x Be Quiet! Silent Wings 4 Pro (https://www.alternate.be/html/product/1855081?utm_source=Tweakers&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Tweakers_Case fan&utm_term=TL9V4G). Replacement for the Silent Wings 3 because they can be manually set to different and much higher speeds. I plan to increase the speeds on warm days and take the extra noise for granted.
  • GPU 1 : nVidia 3090 Founders Edition
  • GPU 2: nVidia 3090 Founders Edition
    • there’s a lot to tell about these …. Short version : they run too hot and too costly, period.
    • In order to give the first GPU breathing-room, the second GPU must be used in the lowest PCIe-16x slot. The first PCIe-16x will run at 16x and the second one will run at 4x. HeadsUp : as long as the scene fits in the VRAM of each GPU, the PCIe-4x will NOT bottleneck.
    • Modifications to the motherboard had to be done in order to give the second gpu space to fit in :
      • Bending some pins on the front-panel connector. It’s easily done using the provided extender for those same pins nad bending them one by one. In my case, only the Power On/Off, Reset-buttons and HDD-led were needed.
      • I used a 90 degree-adapter for the frontal USB3-connectors (https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08R7HPDL2/ref=pe_27091401_487027711_TE_SCE_dp_1). Be sure to buy the correct angle as there are 2 possibilities.
    • Bad thermal pads and fan-configuration caused the memory junction-temperature to rise well above its thermal limits, causing it to throttle down = 106 degrees ! Even though the hardware probably won’t break, nobody wants 106 degree air blowing in a case. It will cause premature failure on the longterm and that’s bad marketing for a 2000 euro’s GPU.
    • Second 3090 FE will blow hot air into the first 3090 FE = more bad news.
  • Solutions:


 
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Final System preparation :

  • Replaced both 3090 FE with 4090 FE : they are LITERALLY about twice as fast and they run a lot cooler (numbers will follow). I consider the 4090FE the new true new king without compromises (it would be the number one buy for non-corporates if it had NVLink, 2 Slot thickness, blower-style…. And 40Gb VRAM) what the 1080Ti was in the days and about the best upgrade possible in the history of GPU-upgrades for (pro)consumers. It’s THAT good !!
  • The 4090 Founders Edition is a 3.5 Slot-GPU and that leaves about 7mm clearance between the PSU-shroud for the lower GPU. It might be enough of the frontal fans can push air deep and strong enough for the 4090 to pull them in. But I didn’t take that route :
  • I placed the PSU outside the case. In order to do that, I had to lasercut holes in the sidepanel, exactly behind the existing holes in the case :
    • For once in my life, I was lucky…. Lasercutting in metal is not done by everyone. I contacted 10+ people/firms in Belgium and the Netherlands for that. Online services only accept their own materials, not custom like the sidepanel. They all responded, but nobody gave a green light. Someone was willing to drill holes and carve them out. Could have worked, but probably not as clean as laser.
    • … on the opposite side of my house, there’s a metal firm. Someone I went to school with and it’s mindboggling : he has a huge industrial laser !!! So, 1 month later after initially sending emails to everybody, I got the holes done in 12 seconds at the cost of 5 euro’s moral support, 30 meters away from my door ! All I needed was a AI (Adobe Illustrator-2-DWG/DXF)-file and my sidepanel. I have the last seconds of the cutting on video, because I wasn’t prepared.
  • I ordered extension-cables for the PWM-fans (https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07FMZJ17B/ref=pe_27091401_487027711_TE_SCE_dp_1?language=en_GB)
  • The PSU is standing quite good on a custom made metal table and with some cable-management doesn’t look too bad. The PSU is whisper-quiet. To be honest, it’s not a shame showing that PSU.
  • Replaced the GPU-powercords with Corsair equivalent for cleaner layout (https://www.alternate.be/Corsair/60...-4-PSU-Power-Cable-kabel/html/product/1871728) . It has 600W rating, since each Type-4 cable can handle 300W (the default cables that come with the GPU can handle 150W/each).
  • I placed a custom aluminium plate on top of the case to avoid air being sucked out before it reaches the memory and CPU.
  • Raised the case with 1 cm to increase the inflow-capacity on the bottom.


Final System specs :

  • Case : Fractal Design Meshify 2 XL (with 3 extra holes)
  • Motherboard : Asus Prime X570-Pro
  • CPU : AMD 9 5900x (12-cores/24 threads) @ 4.9Ghz
  • Memory : Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 4x 16Gb (64Gb)@3600Mhz stable
  • PSU : Corsair AX1600i digital
  • Fans:
    • upper front 2x Be Quiet! Silent Wings 4 Pro @ medium-speed intake
    • lower front 2x Be Quiet! Silent Wings 4 Pro @ high-speed intake
    • 2x Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 on top over CPU pushing out
    • 2x Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3 on bottom intake under second 4090 FE
    • 1x default Fractal Design in rear pushing out
    • the PSU-opening on the rear has been blocked out.
  • Storage:
    • Samsung 970 Pro 1Tb
    • Samsung 980 Pro 1Tb
    • Samsung EVO 850 250Gb
    • Samsung EVO 850 250Gb
    • Western Digital 2Tb HDD
  • GPU 1 : nVidia 4090 Founders Edition in PCIE-16 slot 1 (16x mechanical)
  • GPU 2 : nVidia 4090 Founders Edition in PCIE-16 slot 3 (4x mechanical)
  • 90 degree USB3-connector adapter
  • 4090 Cables : Corsair 600W PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR Type-4 PSU Power Cable
  • 3D Connexion SpaceMouse Pro Wireless (https://www.amazon.com.be/dp/B07PJ6...e=380333&creativeASIN=B07PJ6SV6C&linkCode=asn)
  • Loupedeck CT (https://www.thomann.de/be/loupedeck_ct.htm)
  • Logitech M570 wireless mouse
  • Corsair K55 RGB keyboard
  • Wacom Intuos 4 L
  • MSI Afterburner : Powerlimit 75%


Results for V-Ray GPU RT in Maya 202x (same external hospital-scene WIP since forever @ 915 Watt system total. I no longer have the 3090’s FE to measure with) :

  • 3090 x16 : 83 seconds @ 74 GPU/79 mem
  • 4090 x16 : 43.2 seconds @ 48 GPU/56 mem Celcius (13.94 sec prep-time)
  • 4090 x4 : 43.7 seconds @ 46 GPU/54 mem Celcius (16.89 sec prep-time)
  • 4090 x16 + 3090 x4 : 30.2 seconds @ 48 GPU/56 mem + 61 GPU/58 mem
  • 4090 x16 + 4090 x4 : 27.0 seconds @ 44 GPU/56 mem + 44 GPU/54 mem (18.63 sec prep-time)
 
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Bending the connectors :
IMG_20230108_134739.jpg

PCIe-16x slots 1 and 3 used for the GPU's :
IMG_20230111_175034.jpg

Sidepanel lasercutted :
IMG_20230205_155808.jpg

The holes used to guide the power-cables :
IMG_20230205_155849.jpg

The sidepanel with the cords :
IMG_20230205_162110.jpg

Fan-layout :
IMG_20230205_162800.jpg

Aluminium plate to prevent air blown out prematurely :
IMG_20230205_162838.jpg

Gap underneath second GPU :
IMG_20230205_162922.jpg

The external PSU :
IMG_20230205_202641.jpg
 

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Final words :

I'm very happy with the performance considering the amount of money that I DIDN'T spend.
Would I consider upgrading my CPU and as a consequence the mobo/memory: No.
Would I consider upgrading memory 64Gb -> 128Gb : Yes.
Would I consider watercooling and as a consequence using x8 x8 instead of x16 x4 : No, because the temps are better than good !

The noise of the Silent Wings 4 Pro that are set to "high-speed" is present in the room when there's no music. They spin-up "randomly" but mostly when the GPU's start to render, but not always. Anyway, with music there are no noice issues at all.

Lasercutting won't be possible for many : having the PSU where it should be in the case might have a negative effect on the thermals of the second GPU, because the air volume reaching the GPU will be less than it is now.


Future :

There's talk of a 4xxx Titan-version with 40Gb.

Would I consider it : Yes, but only if it can work its magic at no more than 300W using undervolt or Power limit settings in MSI Afterburner.
Would I consider a Quadro/Pro-card : No, too expensive.

I don't make any profit using this workstation. It's a hobby. But FUN !!!!

IMG_20230206_020911_resized_20230206_021009511.jpg
 
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Alex Glawion

Alex Glawion

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Replaced both 3090 FE with 4090 FE : they are LITERALLY about twice as fast and they run a lot cooler
That's what I'm talking about :D :love:

  • 4090 x16 : 43.2 seconds @ 48 GPU/56 mem Celcius (13.94 sec prep-time)
  • 4090 x4 : 43.7 seconds @ 46 GPU/54 mem Celcius (16.89 sec prep-time)
Very interesting! So data upload to GPU is throttled at x4.

Would I consider upgrading memory 64Gb -> 128Gb : Yes.
Yes this would be the next logical step.

I don't make any profit using this workstation. It's a hobby. But FUN !!!!
Awesome! :D

Would I consider watercooling and as a consequence using x8 x8 instead of x16 x4 : No, because the temps are better than good !
Would you consider x8 x8 due to x4 throttling on data upload to GPU? (preparation time)



Fantastic Posts, thanks for sharing! :D
 
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"Proof"

Maya_GPU_Render_Specs.jpg

Would you consider x8 x8 due to x4 throttling on data upload to GPU? (preparation time)
No, it would probably cost me too much to convert to watercooling.
 
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