Hardware to WatchOut

[Zewei]

Hi,

I'm pretty new to WatchOut and I am currently in charge of a gallery space that has a 360 wall projection that uses WatchOut. The gallery has 28 projectors and they are linked to 8 computers and 1 master computer. The specs of the computers are as attached. This system has been set up since December 2015 and lately I am having issues with the graphics cards overheating. 

I have two main queries which I would like to seek the advice of the experts here:

1. Is such a set up suitable?

2. What would be the likely cause of the graphics cards overheating?

Thanks very much

 

[Leonard]

It has been a while since 2015 we provided these mechinces, I expect that it's time to dust off the machine and have a check if all of fans inside the chassis work properly. 

Good airflow & air conditioning will definitely help on this.

please feel free to contact me at leonard@avt.hk for further discuss.

[Walter]

What Leonard said! 

And ps: setup appears to be solid for years to come (specifically for gallery / museum setups where you normally have more than enough time to tweak content to be most efficient). 

[jfk]

On 8/14/2018 at 10:32 AM, Leonard said:

It has been a while since 2015 we provided these mechinces, I expect that it's time to dust off the machine and have a check if all of fans inside the chassis work properly. 

Good airflow & air conditioning will definitely help on this.

please feel free to contact me at leonard@avt.hk for further discuss.

x3

The most common causes of overheating are ...

• dust buildup
• inadequate air flow (look for changes that may have occurred around the computer that may have changed air flow)
• high ambient temperatures
• failed fans

And while you have them open to blow out dust, recommend you change the motherboard battery. Before changing the battery, record your BIOS settings so you can restore them after the battery change.

[Thomas Leong]

I'm going to throw a spanner in the works!

Q1. Is such a set up suitable?

The W7100 runs hot, so does the i7-4790K unless de-lidded.

Moreover, 4U cases ex-factory have only 1 or 2 x 80cm fans at the rear oriented to extract hot air from the case. The 120cm fan(s) in front are oriented to draw in fresh air. This means, ex-factory, the case is setup for positive pressure. Depending on the operating environment (eg. location of air-conditioning) this may not be ideal, and negative pressure may be more suitable because a vacuum cannot exist, so fresh air is naturally drawn in providing there are vents for that...and most 19" cases are notable for absent vents unless the PCIe slot covers are removed or replaced with those that have have ventilation holes.

Re the W7100, it draws air into its innards from a fan at its side, and extract the hot air out the top, back into the 4U case. IMO, a W8100 (or the latest AMD WX8200) with its 2-slot mounting where the hot air is extracted out of the case via rear vents would be more suitable for a 10-12 hour daily operation.

Add to this the heat generated by an i7-4790K and the cooling system used (air? or AIO Water? - given specs do not say), and perhaps the 2 x 80cm fans at the rear are insufficient. There is likely turbulence inside the 4U and extracting the hot air generated by all components inside are not efficient.

I would examine/test a negative pressure setup - 120cm fans extracting air out, 2 x80cm fans drawing air in assisted by natural ventilation (using PCIe slot covers with holes, or use more efficient 80cm fans.

 

Thomas Leong

 

 

[jochri]

Get the latest AMD driver. They added the functionality to manually force your GPU fan to run at full speed all the time. This might help.

Do you use high quality active dapters?

Also try what Thomas said. Get a new generation GPU might also help and can be easily changed without settimg up your whole machine completly new.