Seeking advice to choose a brand/model of GTX1080Ti to use with Ubuntu 16.04 for Deep Learning

Graphics / Linux Linux
1

Hi,

I am about to buy and build a PC to practice Deep Learning. No gaming here ;-)

I plan to start with one GTX 1080Ti (I will probably add a Titan Xp later, maybe when available with Volta architecture)

I am a bit confused as there are plenty variations of the Nvidia GTX1080Ti design, by numerous brands, with more or less overclocking, all aimed at the gamers. (And it looks the “Founders edition” GPU versions are a bit more difficult to find/be available). So it’s quite hard to make a choice.

All the more, usually these brands (for example EVGA) only provide drivers/tweaking tools for Windows (nothing for Linux…)

→ Are there risks of incompatibility issues of using the drivers provided by Nvidia, with these modified/customized/overclocked cards of these manufacturers ? How to choose wisely ?

To be clear, I am not specially looking for an “overclocked” version. I would prefer a model with a better cooling, without going crazy with the price, and be sure it’s quality made and ok to run with Linux. After all, model training will last hours/days, so the cooling will be much more important to maintain a good performance than seeking for a few more Mhz

Any successfull return of experience to share ?

For instance, here are some of the models I am considering to buy :

  • CORSAIR (and MSI) HYDRO GFX GTX 1080 TI
  • EVGA GTX 1080Ti FTW3 HYBRID, or
  • EVGA GTX 1080Ti FTW3 GAMING, or
  • or simply the GTX1080Ti Founder edition from Nvidia online shop to avoid configuration hassles

Thanks in advance for your feedback !

2

I can’t really give you an advice but something to consider: the consumer pascals are set to reach only P-state P2 on CUDA workloads opposed to the highest P0 state.
[url]P0 state for maximum performance on GTX1070 - Linux - NVIDIA Developer Forums
So without a lot of fiddling aka overclocking you won’t reach the highest clocks anyway.
A downside regarding linux and the Ti is you won’t be able to toggle the rgb light.
Sidenote: I remember a Nvidia rep saying volta is too expensive to produce for consumer graphics, so probably no Titan V showing up ever.

3

I have the same question with same motivation, want to do GPU-enabled deep learning.
I found on the internet suggests GTX1080Ti is a good choice for DL:

No testing of different types, but its the same chip and specs and so its cooling design and
quality/brand you want to look out for.