Question Dual GPU Compatibility: PNY RTX A4000 16GB and NVIDIA T400 4GB in Lenovo thinkstation p3 tower

[akram_salim]

Hi everyone,
I have a Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower, currently running an NVIDIA T400 4GB GPU. Since i need a powerful gup for my machine learning work, I'm considering adding a PNY RTX A4000 16GB GPU to my system and would like to use both GPUs simultaneously.

Key details:

• Current GPU: NVIDIA T400 4GB
• New GPU that i want to buy: PNY RTX A4000 16GB (140W, 6-pin PCIe)
• OS: Ubuntu 22.04

Can anyone confirm if this setup will work without issues, like power supply, etc..? Are there any additional considerations I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Metal Messiah.]

What is the exact Wattage of the PSU included in your Lenovo P3 Tower ?

Because this tower comes in 3 variants. P3 Tower supports either 500W, 750W and 1100W power supplies.

As per Lenovo dual-GPUs are not supported, but since the NVIDIA T400 does not require any additional power connector, because its power draw is rated at 30 W maximum, you might be able to install the A4000 GPU in this tower, imo, provide the motherboard has an extra PCI Express x 16 slot.

 

[NedSmelly]

I’ve run a Quadro and a Geforce together on the same desktop with no problems in Windows using Studio drivers. Can’t say for sure on Ubuntu though.

In terms of PSU, it’s much the same as an RTX3060. So perhaps 700W and up is a safe bet, given the T400’s 30W. Might be able to get away with 650W.

 

[akram_salim]

What is the exact Wattage of the PSU included in your Lenovo P3 Tower ?

Because this tower comes in 3 variants. P3 Tower supports either 500W, 750W and 1100W power supplies.

As per Lenovo dual-GPUs are not supported, but since the NVIDIA T400 does not require any additional power connector, because its power draw is rated at 30 W maximum, you might be able to install the A4000 GPU in this tower, imo, provide the motherboard has an extra PCI Express x 16 slot.

Thank you for your response! My Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower has a 500W PSU (92% efficiency). Additionally, my motherboard does have an extra PCIe x16 slot available.

Given this setup, do you think it would be feasible to add the PNY RTX A4000 16GB GPU and run it alongside the NVIDIA T400? If not, would it be possible to upgrade the PSU to a higher wattage model, such as 750W or 850W, to support both GPUs? Are there any specific PSU models you would recommend for compatibility with the ThinkStation P3 Tower?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[akram_salim]

I’ve run a Quadro and a Geforce together on the same desktop with no problems in Windows using Studio drivers. Can’t say for sure on Ubuntu though.

In terms of PSU, it’s much the same as an RTX3060. So perhaps 700W and up is a safe bet, given the T400’s 30W. Might be able to get away with 650W.

Thank you for your respond.

 

[Metal Messiah.]

Thank you for your response! My Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower has a 500W PSU (92% efficiency). Additionally, my motherboard does have an extra PCIe x16 slot available.

Given this setup, do you think it would be feasible to add the PNY RTX A4000 16GB GPU and run it alongside the NVIDIA T400? If not, would it be possible to upgrade the PSU to a higher wattage model, such as 750W or 850W, to support both GPUs? Are there any specific PSU models you would recommend for compatibility with the ThinkStation P3 Tower?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Actually, as per Lenovo although the 500 Watts PSU does have a 6+2 pin aux power connector for the GPU, the company does not allow using it power up discrete cards.

The GPU support says 75Wx2, but PCIe power drop is still functional according to lenovo. The A4000 GPU require a single 6-pin cable, and has a power draw of 140 Watts, so technically you should be able to power up this GPU.

But Lenovo has already given the heads-up warning beforehand in their support page. Also, if your current system is having the Core i9 13900K, or Core i7 13700K CPU, then you cannot use ANY discrete GPU. That is what the company has mentioned.

And for a 140W GPU the 750 Watts PSU model of the tower has been recommended. So you cannot run the A4000 GPU on this system, or shall I say, should not run the card.

 

[NedSmelly]

My Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower has a 500W PSU

Can't say for sure without knowing the details of your application... but T400 compute is relatively weak (384 CUDA cores), so you might not lose much by just running the A4000 by itself (6144 CUDA cores).

 

[akram_salim]

Actually, as per Lenovo although the 500 Watts PSU does have a 6+2 pin aux power connector for the GPU, the company does not allow using it power up discrete cards.

The GPU support says 75Wx2, but PCIe power drop is still functional according to lenovo. The A4000 GPU require a single 6-pin cable, and has a power draw of 140 Watts, so technically you should be able to power up this GPU.

But Lenovo has already given the heads-up warning beforehand in their support page. Also, if your current system is having the Core i9 13900K, or Core i7 13700K CPU, then you cannot use ANY discrete GPU. That is what the company has mentioned.

And for a 140W GPU the 750 Watts PSU model of the tower has been recommended. So you cannot run the A4000 GPU on this system, or shall I say, should not run the card.

Thank you, you are right. I just check what lenovo has recommended. So what do you think the solution should be? Should i change the power supply from 500 to 750 watt (if this possible) and replace the T400 (since it's not powerful) with RTX A4000? Or is there another solution?

 

[akram_salim]

Can't say for sure without knowing the details of your application... but T400 compute is relatively weak (384 CUDA cores), so you might not lose much by just running the A4000 by itself (6144 CUDA cores).

Thank you very much. I actually want to use it for different computer vision tasks. i checked what lenovo has recommended and it seems that 500 watt isn't enough for RTX A4000

 

[Metal Messiah.]

Should i change the power supply from 500 to 750 watt (if this possible) and replace the T400 (since it's not powerful) with RTX A4000? Or is there another solution?

Well, I'm not sure whether we can easily swap/upgrade the PSU in the ThinkStation P3 Tower, but if this can be done then go for it.

Better ask the dealer, or someone else having more hands-on experience with this. It should be possible though, albeit with some adjustments to the tower.

 

[akram_salim]

Well, I'm not sure whether we can easily swap/upgrade the PSU in the ThinkStation P3 Tower, but if this can be done then go for it.

Better ask the dealer, or someone else having more hands-on experience with this. It should be possible though, albeit with some adjustments to the tower.

Thank you very much. Your answers were actually very helpful.