build specs New WO server parts list. Looking for opinions

[REDurbin]

Hi,

@sfmcnally and I are spec'ing out a new WO server and want to get peoples opinions about it. My main concern is the GPU since I have seen some reports that the AMD Radeon Pro W6800 doesn't play nice with WO, but I would also like feedback on the entire build. We want a 6 output server. I would also like to keep the price to around what is listed here. The total for the parts shown here are about $4200 USD.

 

Case	4U	$390.00	https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Rackmount-Hot-Swappable-RM41-H08-x/dp/B0922FZQFW
CPU	i7-11700k	$280	https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i7-11700k-core-i7-11th-gen/p/N82E16819118233
GPU	AMD Radeon Pro W6800	$1,900	https://www.newegg.com/amd-100-506157/p/N82E16814105111
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z590-A LGA 1200	$139.99	https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813119369?Description=motherboard&cm_re=motherboard-_-13-119-369-_-Product
RAM	CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB	$119.87	https://www.newegg.com/corsair-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820236537?Description=ram&cm_re=ram-_-20-236-537-_-Product&quicklink=true
Cooler		$55	https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nh-l9x65/p/N82E16835608071?Description=notua&cm_re=notua-_-35-608-071-_-Product
PSU		$140	https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rm850-cp-9020235-na-850w/p/N82E16817139281?Description=power%20supply&cm_re=power_supply-_-17-139-281-_-Product&quicklink=true
SSD Boot	1tb	$90	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B25LZGGW
SSD Data	4tb	$323	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B25P44CL
SDI Input Card		$745	https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1375456-REG/blackmagic_design_bdlkhcpro8k12g_decklink_8k_pro_cinema.html/overview

 

Thanks for any input. 

 

[RBeddig]

I'm not a big fan of using 6 channel graphic cards and you have to keep an eye on the bottle necks in the system. W6800 works but has no framelock on the outputs and can not be locked to genlock or be synced to other servers. For softedge projection it is fine, for large LED walls it's bad.

I've not looked at all of the components but noticed that the SSD e.g. is PCIe 3.0. Standard today is PCIe 4.0 and it's faster. For semi-professional use the components might work. For a real workhorse for large shows, I would only use workstation grade mainboards and components and rather a NVidea RTX A5000 or better than a W6800.

Also I would never buy a blackmagic capture card. They are rather cheap but will also make sure that you'll have lot of fun and wasted time when you try to make them work. The drivers are awful and you won't get support from the manufacturer.

[bambam]

 I would prefer xenon platform instead of high-end intel i7. Even if i7 is better in performance, it is more important for me to be stable. Also, if you are using hap codec, your processor is not very important. Graphics card and ssd do all the work. You can handle most projects with a fast ssd and video card.rtx A series is a good choice.i have been using rtx a 4000 for 8 month without a problem .we also use wx 7100 without problem but its a old card new amd card has a driver problem.we use Datapath and magewell capture card and both of them works well 

[Ali Serdar Gulseren]

Your CPU's PCI Express Lanes are sufficient for the GPU only.  Your capture card is x8.  You can only install x4 size cards on this motherboard.  Note that when you install x4 card, GPU will work as x8.

[sfmcnally]

On 2/5/2023 at 7:01 AM, RBeddig said:

I'm not a big fan of using 6 channel graphic cards and you have to keep an eye on the bottle necks in the system. W6800 works but has no framelock on the outputs and can not be locked to genlock or be synced to other servers. For softedge projection it is fine, for large LED walls it's bad.

I've not looked at all of the components but noticed that the SSD e.g. is PCIe 3.0. Standard today is PCIe 4.0 and it's faster. For semi-professional use the components might work. For a real workhorse for large shows, I would only use workstation grade mainboards and components and rather a NVidea RTX A5000 or better than a W6800.

Also I would never buy a blackmagic capture card. They are rather cheap but will also make sure that you'll have lot of fun and wasted time when you try to make them work. The drivers are awful and you won't get support from the manufacturer.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1740490-REG/asus_pro_ws_w680_ace_ipmi.html

What do you think of this workstation mainboard? We have some stable 6 output servers using WX9100. I'm a little nervous to switch to the W6800, as I'm not sure if it is supported by the Q42017 drivers that we also use (I believe on your recommendation). Have you used any later driver versions with the W6800 with success?

Thanks for your input. 

[RBeddig]

I doubt that the 2017Q4 driver supports the W6800 card. We used it on two occasions where frame-lock was not important and with a newer driver. I don't remember which one🤔

The main difference is that the W6800 doesn't support the S400 sync board and I'm not sure whether the 6 outputs on this model are frame-locked to each other. This was not the case on the WXxxxx cards. Genlock and cross-server sync doesn't work with the W6800.

[RBeddig]

In respect to the upcoming WATCHOUT update, I would rather switch to NVidea RTX A5000 or faster cards. WATCHOUT 7 will make way more use of a fast graphic card.

[MatzeLe]

It is not nessesary to go with the A5000, A4000 should be enough. We have to wait how WO7 behaves, since it supports more GPUs per system. The A4000 is also used in the Watchpax 62.