Titan X vs. Quadro M6000 in multi-GPU setup

T

Timo Flink

Active member
Hi experts.

I was wondering what are the possible drawbacks of using 2xNVidia Titan X cards for Resolve 12 Studio instead of 2xNVidia Quadro M6000 cards? I know that Titan is a consumer product, and Quadro meant for the professional work, but the price difference is seriously "intolerable". The specs are (almost) identical. The drivers differ somewhat. I also know that you need Quadro for 10bit color depth, but that can be achieved using a BMD Decklink card. So, does one *really* need Quadro for color grading instead of Titan?

I note that BMD Resolve Configuration Guide says also this:

"Some of the image processing operations in DaVinci Resolve, temporal noise reduction, optical flow speedchanges, motion effects and OpenFX plugins, also need large GPU memory for operation and utilize a singleGPU regardless of the number installed. These processes might not be available or operation could be restricted on GPUs with limited memory so consider this when selecting your GPU from the options below."

That begs a question why use more than two in any case.

Any thoughts?
 
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You should elaborate on what kind of footage you are grading/cutting. Is this strictly for Resolve? If not, what other software and plugins? What kind of FX would you be doing if so. Mac or PC?

In all likelihood -- you are not needing a Quadro. The intended buyer doesn't need to ask the question. These days, the performance from top-end gaming cards really can double as serviceable cards for a lot of serious video/FX work. It just all depends on what kind of work you are doing, the card and software compatibility.

In my case, after doing more stuff in 3d and FX/animation (mix of 1080p/4k. Fair amount high bit-depth and FX laden. I also work on 5gig+, hundred layers behemoth stills in PS); I'm ready to upgrade from my GTX Titan 780 Ti. Buy the most performance you can justify spending would be my basic advice. It's nice that the current generation expensive gaming cards has really pushed up ram levels, I hit that bottleneck really fast with my relatively paltry 2gigs.
 
Ok. Thanks. Let me elaborate. I will edit 4k RAW footage from Odyssey 7Q. I need the noise reduction capabilities, either using Resolve's own, or with NeatVideo plugin. Also, Motion 8 Studio and Cinema4D R17 Studio are used in my work. I think Mac is not an option, really. The current Mac Pro is a failure in almost all accounts. I won't buy the older Mac Pro, because it cannot support Thunderbolt (which I need). I'm considering of getting HP z840 or a custom-made PC (although I don't like Windows).

My cut feeling is that I would do ok with a pair of Titan X cards, but BMD Guide states clearly that they recommend Titan only as the UI/GPU card. They prefer Quadro. Yet I can get 4 Titan X cards with the price of one Quadro. That's why I'm asking.
 
Well. Now things get interesting. I found a website that states the following after running a test on one and two Titan X cards with Resolve 12

Titan 12GB
16 Blur nodes: 24fps
18 Blur Nodes: 21fps
30 Blur Nodes: 13fps
66 blur nodes: 6.5fps

1 TNR: 24fps
2 TNR: 24fps
4 TNR: 14.5fps
6 TNR: 10fps


Titan X 12GB as a second card (ie compute only, no GUI)
09 Blur Nodes: 24
18 Blur Nodes: 24
30 Blur Nodes: 14
66 Blur nodes: 7

1 TNR: 24
2 TNR: 24
4 TNR: 14.5
6 TNR: 10

TNR = temporal noise reduction

If this is true, why bother buying two cards ...
 
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Timo Flink said:
If this is true, why bother buying two cards ...
Click to expand...

I was going through some old emails I had with Davinci Resolve Customer Support and they mentioned the following (this was back in 2012 so not sure if this info is still valid):

Under Mac OSX, Resolve supports up to 6 video cards.
Under Windows, Resolve supports up to 4 video cards.

In a multi-GPU setup, only the video card that has a display attached to it will handle GUI only and will never be used for Computations (i.e. effects).

If only one video card is used then that video card does both GUI and Computations.

I then asked if I could mix up different lines of cards. For instance use an entry level Nvidia card for the GUI and use a higher end for the Compute cards and they said it is possible but they never tested this configuration.

So you could possibly have an entry level Geforce GT 610 as the dedicated GUI card then have your other slots be all Titan X's for Compute only.
 
Thanks. That information helps. And it means there is no point in having two cards. One needs three cards then, one for GUI and two for computations.
 
Hi Timo
Why not give picturetools.de a call.
They can help you.
I did business with them several times and they really know their stuff.

m2c

Peter
 
Timo Flink said:
I found a website that states the following after running a test on one and two Titan X cards with Resolve 12

Titan 12GB
16 Blur nodes: 24fps
18 Blur Nodes: 21fps
30 Blur Nodes: 13fps
66 blur nodes: 6.5fps

1 TNR: 24fps
2 TNR: 24fps
4 TNR: 14.5fps
6 TNR: 10fps


Titan X 12GB as a second card (ie compute only, no GUI)
09 Blur Nodes: 24
18 Blur Nodes: 24
30 Blur Nodes: 14
66 Blur nodes: 7

1 TNR: 24
2 TNR: 24
4 TNR: 14.5
6 TNR: 10

If this is true, why bother buying two cards ...
Click to expand...

Yes these people on Lift Gamma Gain do know of what they speak: full time colorists who are fighting with 4K in a production environment.

Another approach to a 10 bit display is to use the Titan X for your GUI and processing but have a DeckLink Card, even just the inexpensive monitor card, hooked up to a 10 bit capable monitor with an HD-SDI connection. It is still getting a bit pricey but most colorists do not have a 10 bit GUI monitor but a separate connection to a 10 bit capable display that is calibrated like a Flanders Scientific monitor or an Eizo monitor that YOU have to calibrate.
 
Thanks, Andrew, for the idea. I was thinking of buying HP z840 workstation. It doesn't support Titan X cards. You have to buy Quadro M6000 with it. So, my options really getting very limited. Either I build my own system with three Titans plus DeckLink, or I go with HP with DeckLink. The thing is, I don't have an unlimited budget :)
 
i'm one of those liftgammaGain folks who work with 4k just about every day, some thoughts;

TitanX's do go inisde a z840, just make sure you have the bigger power supply

in Resolve there's almost zero use for a M6000's strengths... if you are planning on running Nucoda, Baselight, Pablo, Flame then the M6000 makes more sense.

in short if you get a z840, 2 x titanx's and a SAS array, you should be in a great place for Resolve studio, but will stil need to cache some OFX effects

use one TitanX as both ui and compute, the other one compute only

If there is a good reseller near you it might be worth talking to them, getting the machine set up well in the first place is important, failing that follow the machine prep instructions from BMD carefully

i think you are wise to avoid the trashcan, it's a bag of trouble

you also might want to go over to LLG and ask over there
 
Dermot said:
i'm one of those liftgammaGain folks who work with 4k just about every day, some thoughts;

TitanX's do go inisde a z840, just make sure you have the bigger power supply

in Resolve there's almost zero use for a M6000's strengths... if you are planning on running Nucoda, Baselight, Pablo, Flame then the M6000 makes more sense.

in short if you get a z840, 2 x titanx's and a SAS array, you should be in a great place for Resolve studio, but will stil need to cache some OFX effects

use one TitanX as both ui and compute, the other one compute only

If there is a good reseller near you it might be worth talking to them, getting the machine set up well in the first place is important, failing that follow the machine prep instructions from BMD carefully

i think you are wise to avoid the trashcan, it's a bag of trouble

you also might want to go over to LLG and ask over there
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. I plan to use Resolve 12 Studio, Fusion 8 Studio (once it comes), and Cinema4D R17 Studio. I take none of these really need M6000 ... however, I will have a hard time to reason with HP representative to give me z840 with Titans instead of M6000s.

Does anyone have any experience with Supermicro Superserver 7048GR-TR? And can that to turned into a Hackingtosh? (which would be like a dream come true).
 
Timo as Dermot recommends follow the machine recommendations carefully as recommended by Blackmagic Design. They have a Windows config guide. Historically their recommendations to create a Windows based machine for Resolve, in my view, have been rock solid. Study BM's guide carefully and consult with the LGG people. They will be able to cut to the chase given your production needs. A single Titan X card can do a heck of a lot.
 
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