Question Questions about Pre-Built Machine for Inference and Rendering

[tbroski]

Hey all,

I've been looking to get a prebuilt PC valued under $15,000 for high-levels of inference (DNN) and content rendering. Specific use cases is lots of 3D rendering and DNN work simultaneously. I need a powerful computer to do so, but am not finicky with hardware. I looked into Digital Storm, and received this quote for a machine. The parts seem about right to what I am doing, but let me know what you think:


Chassis
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Velox PRO Workstation


Core Components
Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7965WX (24-Core) (Up to 5.3 GHz)
Motherboard: ASUS Pro WS WRX90E-SAGE SE (WRX90) (Up to 7x PCI-E) (DDR5) (8 Channel)
System Memory: 256GB DDR5 5600MHz (ECC) (32GB x 8 Modules)
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 5090 32GB (VR Ready)
Power Supply: 1000W Digital Storm Performance Series (Semi-Modular) (80 Plus Gold)


Storage / Connectivity
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (4TB Kingston Fury Renegade) (NVM Express)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)


Multimedia
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio


Digital Storm Engineering
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Triple Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
HydroLux Tubing Style: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
HydroLux Fluid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans


Turbo Boost Technology
CPU Boost: Factory Turbo Boost Advanced Technology


Software
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Professional (64-Bit)
Virus Protection: Windows Defender Antivirus (Built-in to Windows)



The quote given to me was $10,811.90.

The specs, specifically the graphics card and the processor is on the low bound of what I desire, willing to up if people see fit. My question for y'all, is as follows:

Is this machine marked up a lot. I see value in having someone else put the parts together, to some degree, but am wondering if y'all suggest a) having someone else build it or b) build it myself (as aforementioned I am not hardware finicky but if y'all think its an easy process I will try).

As a simple note, my goal is to get a PC that maximizes performance for inference and rendering under $15,000.

 

[Nine Layer Nige]

Have you priced up the conponents yourself, perhaps on parts picker ?
Can they actually get hold of an RTX 5090 ?
As far as I am aware (although I am really a layman), inference uses the GPU, but the CPU pretty much runs idle. I'm only saying this as I run AI models on my home PC on my RTX 4080Super. The GPU gets absolutely hammered, but the CPU is not really doing anything, so do you need threadripper.
I dont wish to cloud the situation, but though it worth mentioning and hope someone else here, or you, can prove my understanding wrong.

 

[tbroski]

As far as I am aware (although I am really a layman), inference uses the GPU, but the CPU pretty much runs idle. I'm only saying this as I run AI models on my home PC on my RTX 4080Super. The GPU gets absolutely hammered, but the CPU is not really doing anything, so do you need threadripper.

That totally makes sense, one of my concerns is having the CPU bottlenecked by the GPU. I will say, for my use case, there's a lot of other moving parts I can dedicate to the CPU and then host the inference on the GPU. But still, definitely a concern, which makes me wonder if I should elect for a better GPU or dock the CPU.

Have you priced up the conponents yourself, perhaps on parts picker ?

I put in some parts on PC Part Picker (the CPU and motherboard wasn't on it so I put in parts similar in price), which yielded a cost of $10,045, which makes sense for an ~$800-$1000 markup. Honestly, the value of getting the PC with this caliber of parts built and tested makes sense to me. If anyone sees anything jump out, I am a layman as well.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Lp8hBq

Can they actually get hold of an RTX 5090 ?

I would say so, I am not familiar with Digital Storm (this would be the first PC I've bought from them) and reviews are mixed, but from what I've seen they are reputable enough for parts, and replacements if applicable. Anyone me know if this is wrong.

I am going to look at other configurations like docking the CPU for a better GPU, do some more research, and see if that makes sense.

Looking for suggestions / thoughts, thanks.

 

[Zerk2012]

That totally makes sense, one of my concerns is having the CPU bottlenecked by the GPU. I will say, for my use case, there's a lot of other moving parts I can dedicate to the CPU and then host the inference on the GPU. But still, definitely a concern, which makes me wonder if I should elect for a better GPU or dock the CPU.


I put in some parts on PC Part Picker (the CPU and motherboard wasn't on it so I put in parts similar in price), which yielded a cost of $10,045, which makes sense for an ~$800-$1000 markup. Honestly, the value of getting the PC with this caliber of parts built and tested makes sense to me. If anyone sees anything jump out, I am a layman as well.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Lp8hBq


I would say so, I am not familiar with Digital Storm (this would be the first PC I've bought from them) and reviews are mixed, but from what I've seen they are reputable enough for parts, and replacements if applicable. Anyone me know if this is wrong.

I am going to look at other configurations like docking the CPU for a better GPU, do some more research, and see if that makes sense.

Looking for suggestions / thoughts, thanks.

350 watt processor and a very power hungry video card, you need a bigger PSU.

 

[tbroski]

350 watt processor and a very power hungry video card, you need a bigger PSU.

Thanks, I've switched to a 1500W unit instead of the 1000W.

I also downgraded the CPU to an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7960X (24-Core) (Up to 5.3 GHz) so not the PRO WX version which was probably overkill for using one GPU.

I upgraded the GPU to a NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell 96GB (Professional Workstation) (4 x DisplayPort 2.1) which they say they have in stock.

So the new specs are as below. I plan to purchase tomorrow or the next day in case anyone sees something off:


Chassis

Chassis Model: Digital Storm Velox PRO Workstation


Core Components

Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7960X (24-Core) (Up to 5.3 GHz)
Motherboard: ASUS Pro WS TRX50-SAGE (Wi-Fi) (AMD TRX50) (Up to 4x PCI-E Devices) (DDR5)
System Memory: 256GB DDR5 5600MHz (ECC) (64GB x 4 Modules)
Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell 96GB (Professional Workstation) (4 x DisplayPort 2.1)
Power Supply: 1500W BeQuiet Straight Power (Modular) (80 Plus Platinum)


Storage / Connectivity

Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (4TB Kingston Fury Renegade) (NVM Express)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)


Multimedia

Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio


Digital Storm Engineering

Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Triple Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
HydroLux Tubing Style: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
HydroLux Fluid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans


Turbo Boost Technology

CPU Boost: Factory Turbo Boost Advanced Technology


Software

Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Professional (64-Bit)
Virus Protection: Windows Defender Antivirus (Built-in to Windows)


Customer Care

Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within Standard Estimation After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)


Grand Total here is $15,398.30.


I selected similar parts on PC Part Picker and got a total of $13,000 but as before most parts weren't on PC Part Picker. The GPU I used seems a bit down in price by like ~$1000-$2000 which would, as before, give a Digital Storm markup of ~$800-$1000. I think that value makes sense because there is no way I am putting this together myself.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rt9jLc

Any thoughts / suggestions welcome, looking to pull a trigger on a PC by the end of the week.

 

[Nine Layer Nige]

Wow, thats a monster GPU - and all that vram 96GB will give massive headroom above the rtx5090 for large models. Im just a dabbler in AI video gen and I'm stuck with 16GB so max video gen size is about 512 x 480 and 6 seconds @ 16fps before it exceeds vram limit and crashes. ComfyUI runs on my modest pc at about 36GB system ram. Depending on what you want to do and where the tech is heading, you should be well equipped for quite awhile and not get frustrated hitting a vram limit (for now !) but it does very much depend on what you use it for and it's system requirements, which I guess you have researched so your build matches your use case. Its about a £7,500 price tag but as you have the budget, and they DO have the GPU in stock, I doubt it will be in stock for long. I think you would have found that the RTX 5090 32GB would have reached its limit too quickly if you have AI ambitions as its just getting more and more resource hungry. Good luck with it. Let us know how it goes and what software you install as I find it quite interesting what people are doing on home pc builds with AI. Also, a good backup/cloning solution might be good as I have found it easy to screw up an AI build and the model files are massive.