Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Interested in our products? Post your questions here. Let us answer before you buy.
hulmevv
Starting out
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 5:50 am

Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by hulmevv »

I wish to use Qnap's Virtual Station to host several (protected) Windows 10 Dev Environments for (3D) VR, AR & MR efforts. Therefore, "GPU Pass through" for my VM's is of great (if not mandatory) interest to me. I also have large storage transfers & backup efforts of existing (9TB) libraries of project data I wish to accomplish.

(I've attempted to reduced my current production & storage goals for our QNAP product search, down to five (5) key remaining questions which I'm (selfishly) hoping you might be able to shed some light on. Nevertheless, this still may be one of the most involved Q&A request about the current state of QNAPs offerings and potential end-use scenarios, you've ever received!!! ...I apologize in advance!)

>> CURRENT GOAL:
I wish to use Qnap's Virtual Station to host several (protected) Windows 10 Dev Environments for (3D) VR, AR & MR efforts. Therefore, "GPU Pass through" for my VM's is of great (if not mandatory) interest to me. I also have large storage transfers & backup efforts of existing (9TB) libraries of project data I wish to accomplish.

QNAP's wbsite states, "GPU pass-through is only available for the TDS-16489U, TVS-ECX80U-SAS and TVS-X82/TVS-X82T series." Source: https://goo.gl/22wum2

I also understand you need the 450w power supply option within a model such as the TVS-1282 product line to adequately support an internal discreet GPU. Unfortunately, the only 450w upgraded models seem to all lack the Thunderbolt-3 DAS capability and are still useing the older Skylake (Intel Core™ i7-6700 3.4 GHz) CPUs (Amazon Link: https://goo.gl/pXYcNM) ; however, these older offerings also have more than one open PCIe slots.

QUESTION (1): Can a PCIe Thunderbolt-3 Card be added at the same time a GPU within these units?

Utilizing a model such as the TVS-1282-i7-32G-450W-US ~ I would hope to add both a Thunderbolt-3 PCIe card & Discreet Graphic Card (i.e. https://goo.gl/yjd3R9 & https://goo.gl/e91ynb - Although that last PCI card may not fit due to its width, versus length; plus I believe the QNAP's GPU pass-through support is currently bias towards AMD graphics cards, versus Nvidia?!)

Alternatively, the newer versions of "TVS-1282-i7", (Amazon Link: https://goo.gl/BbGWNL) utilizing the Kabylake (Intel Core i7-7700 3.6 GHz) based units, don't seem to still be offering the optional 450w power supply upgrade.
...Moreover, these models are populated with four (4) Thunderbolt-3 ports, via two (2) PCIe slots; so I'm not sure that they have enough internal PCIe capacity remaining to support an added GPU. Which might explain why they are only being offered with a 250w power supply.

QUESTION (2): Can one of the Thunderbolt-3 (2-port) PCIe cards be removed & replaced with a GPU within one of these newer Kabylake models?

>> HOPING BARGAIN SHOPPING ISN'T OUT OF THE QUESTION:
I'm admittedly not only trying to choose the most effective QNAP unit, but also the most economical model for providing both Thunderbolt 3 DAS access (to 9TB of project databases), as well as support "GPU Pass-through" for my VM's when using Virtual Station.
...With this in mind, one of the most "economical" Thunderbolt-3 DAS Solutions currently offered, is the (compact) 2.5" SSD/HDD based TVS-882ST3.

QUESTION (3): Will the TVS-882ST3 support Virtual Station "GPU Pass-through" via a Thunderbolt-3 PCIe Expansion Box, hooked up to one of the Thunderbolt-3 ports? (i.e. https://www.akitio.com/expansion/node )
- OR - should we assume, when the QNAP website is mentioning "GPU pass-through is available for the TVS-X82/TVS-X82T series." Source: https://goo.gl/22wum2
...they are not speaking to the "TVS-882ST3-i7-16G-US", 2.5" SSD/HDD only "S" version of the "TVS-X82T" product line? (i.e. https://goo.gl/e8RE7r )

With the use case above (depending on the compact "TVS-882ST3"), I would need to purchase a 3rd party External Thunderbolt-3 PCIe enclosure with it's own Power Supply, and depend on it for the PCIe GPU Pass-through device.

>> THE STORAGE GOALS:
Speaking to some of the before mentioned storage needs: I currently have 4x 4TB 2.5" HDD volumes housed within a (JOBD) Thunderbolt-3 external ("mini") enclosure. (i.e. https://goo.gl/y7gBBf ); so I'm hoping to confirm such a device can be hooked up directly to one of the TVS-882ST3's Thunderbolt-3 ports for fast file transfer to any RAID established after fully populating it with 8x 2TB (7mm) 2.5": HDDs.

QUESTION (4): If attaching a 3rd party HDD (JOBD) enclosure to one of the QNAP Thunderbolt-3 ports is NOT supported; would you see any problem with daisy-chaining the QNAP off of the same Thunderbolt chain on my enclosure, since it offers a second Thunderbolt-3 port?

I have seen some Mac users (although mine is a fully PC environment,) expressing "issues" with connecting some of their DAS equipment, (such as Promise Pegasus P2 & Drobo 5D,) within the same Thunderbolt Chain as their QNAP device. (Source: https://goo.gl/zBz2x2 )

>> PROSUMER VERSUS CONSUMER:
I admittedly even tried to consider a more consumer directed product, (versus a higher priced professional solution,) after seeing a review of the updated QNAP TS-453B & 635B https://youtu.be/x3UvNOLA81o; later asking the author via Twitter last week, if he thought the PCIe slot on the QNAP TS-453B would support a Thunderbolt 3 PCI card & then offer DAS support through it?

He was then good enough to point me to the recently announced QNAP TS-653BT3-8G-US (source: https://goo.gl/syoRh5 ); which now of course has me wondering if that devices one available PCIe slot might house a GPU?? (Since it already has Thunderbolt-3 ports built-in of ht front face of the device.)

HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION (5):
Will the recently announced Thunderbolt-3 capable TS-653BT3-8G-US, support a GPU within it's one available PCIe slot. It is after all listed as a Virtualization Station, compatible model.

>>CONCLUSION:
I've actually begun a spreadsheet cost comparison, to help both compare the value & cost of each HDD and SSD selection being considered for populating the final QNAP selection; as well as a 2nd Sheet within the document, attempting to total the overall cost of each speculative QNAP choice, along with the respective total order cost when including the SSD or HHD's they support.
...You're welcome to review the progress of this little comparison tool if you wish, here: https://goo.gl/8fECsr

Thank you again for the amazing resource you offer all of us via this user Forum. I look forward to your insight, answers and advice!
User avatar
Toxic17
Ask me anything
Posts: 6469
Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:41 pm
Location: Planet Earth
Contact:

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by Toxic17 »

The new upcomming TS-x77 range of NAS's also support Graphics cards....."The x8 slot can be used for a graphics card for display output, transcoding, or hardware pass-through for virtualization"

https://www.qnap.com/en-us/news/2017/co ... -based-nas
Regards Simon

Qnap Downloads
MyQNap.Org Repository
Submit a ticket • QNAP Helpdesk
QNAP Tutorials, User Manuals, FAQs, Downloads, Wiki
When you ask a question, please include the following


NAS: TS-673A QuTS hero h5.1.2.2534 • TS-121 4.3.3.2420 • APC Back-UPS ES 700G
Network: VM Hub3: 500/50 • UniFi UDM Pro: 3.2.9 • UniFi Network Controller: 8.0.28
USW-Aggregation: 6.6.61 • US-16-150W: 6.6.61 • 2x USW Mini Flex 2.0.0 • UniFi AC Pro 6.6.62 • UniFi U6-LR 6.6.62
UniFi Protect: 2.11.21/8TB Skyhawk AI • 3x G3 Instants: 4.69.55 • UniFi G3 Flex: 4.69.55 • UniFi G5 Flex: 4.69.55
User avatar
Trexx
Ask me anything
Posts: 5393
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2011 7:50 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by Trexx »

I agree the new TS-x77 family will give you quite a bit of bang for the buck. Also do you NEED to have T3 support or could you go with 10/40GbE. I know there are T3 -> 10GbE adapters on the market. I know Bob Zilon on the boards prefers to go with 10GbE for heavy video work vs. T3 as it scales better for multinode access to the QNAP's.

The other model you might want to look into that support GPU passthrough as well is the TS-1685.

In terms of your questions:
Q1: As long as it is on the compatibility list, you should be fine. Although again I would probably go towards 10GbE for more flexibility.
Q2: As long as the model supports GPU passthrough that should be fine, but I don't believe you can have MULTIPLE GPU's in a box, but am not positive on that one. QNAP will need to weigh in.
Q3: Not to my knowledge. GPU passthrough is only via the PCIe slots.
Q4: Again I don't believe that is support. QNAP currently supports storage expansion 1 of 3 ways. 1) Via USB expansion chassis connection to NAS. 2) Via SAS expansion chassis to NAS (not all models support this). 3) via Virtual JBOD which is an iSCSI connection to another QNAP NAS. Option 2) is going to give you the BEST performance and flexibility overall of the 3 options.

And as far as the website goes, I would take some of the "supported model" information with a grain of salt. There have been a lot of new announcements/releases lately, and QNAP still has some cleanup/updating to do as to what supports what (GPU, QM2 cards, etc.).

You might also want to look at this review from a photographer who deals with Large files on his QNAP. It might give you some different thoughts/ideas to think about. https://photographylife.com/reviews/qnap-tvs-882t
Paul

Model: TS-877-1600 FW: 4.5.3.x
QTS (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x 1TB WD Blue m.2's
Data (HDD): [RAID-5] 6 x 3TB HGST DeskStar
VMs (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x1TB SK Hynix Gold
Ext. (HDD): TR-004 [Raid-5] 4 x 4TB HGST Ultastor
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 64GB DDR4-2666
UPS: CP AVR1350

Model:TVS-673 32GB & TS-228a Offline[/color]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018 Plex NAS Compatibility Guide | QNAP Plex FAQ | Moogle's QNAP Faq
User avatar
storageman
Ask me anything
Posts: 5507
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:57 pm

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by storageman »

Trexx wrote: You might also want to look at this review from a photographer who deals with Large files on his QNAP. It might give you some different thoughts/ideas to think about. https://photographylife.com/reviews/qnap-tvs-882t
The reviewer made the terrible mistake of claiming the Qnap was a DAS and NAS as something the Synology wasn't.
Both are NAS. The Qnap t/bolt connection is IP over t/bolt, not native t/bolt as in DAS implementation.
User avatar
Trexx
Ask me anything
Posts: 5393
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2011 7:50 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by Trexx »

storageman wrote:
Trexx wrote: You might also want to look at this review from a photographer who deals with Large files on his QNAP. It might give you some different thoughts/ideas to think about. https://photographylife.com/reviews/qnap-tvs-882t
The reviewer made the terrible mistake of claiming the Qnap was a DAS and NAS as something the Synology wasn't.
Both are NAS. The Qnap t/bolt connection is IP over t/bolt, not native t/bolt as in DAS implementation.
Yeah - QNAP probably does need to be careful on some of their marketing. Their T3 faq page does say though that it isn't a DAS towards the bottom.
https://www.qnap.com/solution/thunderbolt3-nas/en/
Paul

Model: TS-877-1600 FW: 4.5.3.x
QTS (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x 1TB WD Blue m.2's
Data (HDD): [RAID-5] 6 x 3TB HGST DeskStar
VMs (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x1TB SK Hynix Gold
Ext. (HDD): TR-004 [Raid-5] 4 x 4TB HGST Ultastor
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 64GB DDR4-2666
UPS: CP AVR1350

Model:TVS-673 32GB & TS-228a Offline[/color]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018 Plex NAS Compatibility Guide | QNAP Plex FAQ | Moogle's QNAP Faq
hulmevv
Starting out
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 5:50 am

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by hulmevv »

Thank you so much guys, for your feedback, suggestions & answers! ...Much appreciated!

I've often said, "You can wait for the next six month for innovative improvements and new/refreshed products, for the rest of your life." ...as sort of a snide discouragement to always "waiting" rather than finding a way to exploit the tools we already have today.
...Nevertheless, it looks like I might be in the waiting game myself when it come to the TX-x77 opportunity.
https://view.publitas.com/qnap-1/ts-x77 ... web/page/1

I admittedly have a newer Alienware system with a Thunderbolt-3 port which will sit adjacent to the QNAP system, which I was hoping to exploit when it came to extremely high local throughput. But perhaps I should go ahead and "adapt" that port back(wards) down to a 10Gbps or Thunderbolt-2 throughput; subsequently utilizing an existing Intel based systems with a 450w power supply. (Such as the: TVS-1282-i7-32G-450W-US )
...Still a bit confused as to why I don't see the availability of the TVS-1282T3-i5-16G-US in a 450w power supply version?

I assume the new TX-x77 product line is all AMD Ryzen based systems, because you are getting more "bang for the buck" with those CPU's?
...I've never depended on an AMD CPU based system. I guess there is never any hiccups in compiling development efforts from an Intel -versus- AMD system. Both maintain the fully compatible instruction sets on each CPU; not to mention I'm not publishing in such a "low level language" (a.k.a. Assembly) for any differences to probably impact me at all ( https://goo.gl/T5rh7a )? Much less if these publication are happening within a Virtual Environment. (It's not for me to question how all of the "Magic" happens!) ;-)

Thanks again for all the timely feedback!
...Now I'm just eagerly awaiting the official release of the TX-x77 QNAP product line!
ccclapp
Starting out
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2017 1:51 am

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by ccclapp »

hulmevv wrote:
I also understand you need the 450w power supply option within a model such as the TVS-1282 product line to adequately support an internal discreet GPU. Unfortunately, the only 450w upgraded models seem to all lack the Thunderbolt-3 DAS capability and are still useing the older Skylake (Intel Core™ i7-6700 3.4 GHz) CPUs (Amazon Link: https://goo.gl/pXYcNM) ; however, these older offerings also have more than one open PCIe slots.
I am not an expert but have been reading (read entire 91 page x82 thread in the "Presales" forum section, phew!) I believe you can find and install another power supply if you want to. There is a discussion of required cables in that thread.
QUESTION (1): Can a PCIe Thunderbolt-3 Card be added at the same time a GPU within these units?
I have been asking this question too. My understanding, but not 100% confirmed, is there are NOT any TB2/3 cards that are compatible with QNAP and QNAP does not sell its compatible cards separately from the NAS (i.e. no add-on cards sold). If you know otherwise, please let us know. See pg 91 of that thread.
QUESTION (2): Can one of the Thunderbolt-3 (2-port) PCIe cards be removed & replaced with a GPU within one of these newer Kabylake models?
I would expect so, based on other models, but an not certain.
berrybok
New here
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2017 5:26 am

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by berrybok »

Any word on when the TS-X77 product line will actually be available? Several announcements have already missed. July 2017, Q3 2017, etc...
User avatar
Trexx
Ask me anything
Posts: 5393
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2011 7:50 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by Trexx »

berrybok wrote:Any word on when the TS-X77 product line will actually be available? Several announcements have already missed. July 2017, Q3 2017, etc...
QNAP to my knowledge never said July, that was an Anandtech article timeline. The last information QNAP shared was in the video below saying Q4. Remember they are the 1st vendor to offer Ryzen in NAS, which also likely means it might take a little longer than all (including QNAP) would like to get those 1st products released.

If you haven't viewed it already, there is some very good information about the new line below:
[youtube=]ngEJOAGkc7A[/youtube]
Slides
Paul

Model: TS-877-1600 FW: 4.5.3.x
QTS (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x 1TB WD Blue m.2's
Data (HDD): [RAID-5] 6 x 3TB HGST DeskStar
VMs (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x1TB SK Hynix Gold
Ext. (HDD): TR-004 [Raid-5] 4 x 4TB HGST Ultastor
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 64GB DDR4-2666
UPS: CP AVR1350

Model:TVS-673 32GB & TS-228a Offline[/color]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018 Plex NAS Compatibility Guide | QNAP Plex FAQ | Moogle's QNAP Faq
User avatar
Trexx
Ask me anything
Posts: 5393
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2011 7:50 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by Trexx »

hulmevv wrote: ...Now I'm just eagerly awaiting the official release of the TX-x77 QNAP product line!
As are many others.

Just an FYI regarding GPU Passthrough, regardless of the HW family (x82, x77, etc.) you are limited to assigning the GPU to *1* VM at a time. So if you have 3 VM's, only 1 VM can have the GPU assigned to it, while they others would use the QXL or other emulated video options.
Paul

Model: TS-877-1600 FW: 4.5.3.x
QTS (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x 1TB WD Blue m.2's
Data (HDD): [RAID-5] 6 x 3TB HGST DeskStar
VMs (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x1TB SK Hynix Gold
Ext. (HDD): TR-004 [Raid-5] 4 x 4TB HGST Ultastor
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 64GB DDR4-2666
UPS: CP AVR1350

Model:TVS-673 32GB & TS-228a Offline[/color]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018 Plex NAS Compatibility Guide | QNAP Plex FAQ | Moogle's QNAP Faq
hulmevv
Starting out
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 5:50 am

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by hulmevv »

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THESE EXCEPTIONAL PAST RESPONSES ON THIS THREAD!!
THEY HAVE ALL BEEN A HUGE HELP!
I now have a brief question about upgrading the Power Supply in the new TS-877... :-)

I'm about to pull the trigger on a new QNAP Ryzen based solution. (The Shopping Cart is fully populated!) :-D
...However, due to the anticipated location for the server, I'm trying to conserve space and stick with the TS-877 model rather than the TS-1277. With that said, we also intend to utilize it's GPU expandability, for various rendering and VM purposes. While the 8 bays provides more than enough storage expandibilty for our needs, I'm afraid the downgraded 450w power supply in the 877 versus the 550W in the 1277 is limiting our GPU options. (For instance, when utilizing the "compatibility tested & approved" Gigabyte 1070 Nvidia option, which is the current goal.)

The compatibility list for the TS-877 simply says: "GIGABYTY GV-N1070IXOC-8GD HD Station /Linux Station /Hardware Transcoding /Virtualization Station"; "Extra 550W power supply is required." (Ironically, this same Nvidia 1070 based GPU is not yet listed on the "compatibility list" for the TS-1277!) :-/

For our application and logistics, it would be worth it to us to simply upgrade the power supply immediately after receiving the unit, to the required 550W version power supply; in order to support the Nvidia 1070 GPU. So my question is, is this required 550W power supply for our GPU goals, a part number that is already available? Is there a compatible 3rd party power supply that can be utilized, or does the case require some type of proprietary form factor? ...what are the specs?

The closest thing I've found thus far, is the Power Supply Model:PWR-PSU-550W-FS01 Price: US$279.00, listed in the QNAP accessory store. But it doesn't appear to be the correct form factor, and it doesn't list compatibility for the TS-877. (Plus, it's price appears to be about $200, to high!) :-/

Any advice and direction to the correct part is much appreciated! Thank you!
User avatar
Trexx
Ask me anything
Posts: 5393
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2011 7:50 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by Trexx »

First off what is the use case for the GPU? VM, transcoding, etc. I think I replied to a cross post of yours in another thread, so see that as a starting answer.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Paul

Model: TS-877-1600 FW: 4.5.3.x
QTS (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x 1TB WD Blue m.2's
Data (HDD): [RAID-5] 6 x 3TB HGST DeskStar
VMs (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x1TB SK Hynix Gold
Ext. (HDD): TR-004 [Raid-5] 4 x 4TB HGST Ultastor
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 64GB DDR4-2666
UPS: CP AVR1350

Model:TVS-673 32GB & TS-228a Offline[/color]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018 Plex NAS Compatibility Guide | QNAP Plex FAQ | Moogle's QNAP Faq
hulmevv
Starting out
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 5:50 am

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by hulmevv »

Both VM sharing for 3D Virtual environment development via non-collocated contributors, and Network rendering of frames and pre-rendered scenes.
Why do you ask?
Does it change the answer to which 550W power supply should be utilized?
User avatar
Trexx
Ask me anything
Posts: 5393
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2011 7:50 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by Trexx »

Just trying to make sure understand what you are trying to achieve first.

I would probably then look at the TS-1277. If you are doing a lot of direct video rendering storage then the recommendation is to use 8 spindles for the video storage over 10GbE. That will allow you to render directly to the NAS at 4k rates. It also give you the 550W power supply standard.

I would put the VM on SSD for performance. The TS-1277 has (2) m.2 slots plus (4) 2.5 SSD slots, which I believe you could create a Raid array across. If you need even higher performance, then I would get the QM-2P w/10GbE. That will give you (2) NVMe slots for even faster storage performance than the m.2 or 2.5" SSD for your VMs plus it gives you your 10B-T connection connection as well.

For GPU, it can only be assigned to a single VM at any point in time and you have to unassign from 1 before you can assign it to the another. So while you could have a remote user access it say via VPN, you wouldn't be able to have 2 separate VM's leveraging it at the same time.
Paul

Model: TS-877-1600 FW: 4.5.3.x
QTS (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x 1TB WD Blue m.2's
Data (HDD): [RAID-5] 6 x 3TB HGST DeskStar
VMs (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x1TB SK Hynix Gold
Ext. (HDD): TR-004 [Raid-5] 4 x 4TB HGST Ultastor
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 64GB DDR4-2666
UPS: CP AVR1350

Model:TVS-673 32GB & TS-228a Offline[/color]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018 Plex NAS Compatibility Guide | QNAP Plex FAQ | Moogle's QNAP Faq
hulmevv
Starting out
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 5:50 am

Re: Wishing to choose the right QNAP System for both "GPU Pass-through" support & Thunderbolt-3 DAS utilization:

Post by hulmevv »

Great insights!!
Thanks for that encouragement... Many exceptional thoughts & details. (My initial posting at the top of this thread, which kicked it off, also has many more details about my goals and original hopes for the exciting hardware update.)
...I should have logged in last night to review your encouragements, to better prevent any "buyers remorse"! :-/

For the final NAS, I placed an order for the "Qnap TS-877-1700-16G-US" via Amazon Prime, last night; and ordered the Power Supply Model: PWR-PSU-550W-FS01 for just US$179.00 from B&H; with anticipation of upgrading the TS-877 immediately upon arrival. (B&H is also providing a "RM-IR004 IR remote control" for $15.)

For the primary HDD's, I also ordered 6x of the "Seagate 8TB IronWolf Pro 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch NAS Hard Disk Drives (ST8000NE0021)"; with anticipations of RAID-50 implementation.
To further enhance throughput/cache performance, I also ordered 1x 2.5 SSD, "Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E500B/AM)"; as well as 1x 256GB "Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD".

I also ordered a 32GB RAM kit "Ballistix Sport LT 32GB Kit (16GBx2) DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) DIMM 288-Pin BLS2K16G4D240FSC"; in order to get up to at least 32GB ASAP. I assume the 16GB that comes with the unit will not be usable at the same time. :-/ (I don't think anyone would recommend running 48GB of RAM, on different sized DIMMs?)

For the GPU, I ordered the "Gigabyte AORUS Gaming Box GTX 1070 Graphic Card GV-N1070IXEB-8GD eGPU"; so I'll be robbing the QNAP "Compatibility" recommended Gigabyte GTX 1070 video card out of it, and utilizing the box for an external peripheral for my Thunderbolt 3 capable, adjacent Alienware laptop. (Considering placing a 10Gbe card in it, in order to better connect to the QNAP NAS.)

Lastly, I got some type of "4 Year Asurion PC Peripheral Protection Plan ($2000-2499.99)" through Amazon; which claims to cover power surge related damage and many other nuances.

I hope I prevented as much "buyers remorse" as possible, while still maintaining a bit smaller footprint and plenty of performance and workflow opportunities!?!

My only intimidate disappointment is the unit's lack of Thunderbolt 3 support. :-( And as far as I can tell, there is no current offering to utilize any of the available PCI slots for that peripheral addition. (At least not an option I'm seeing QNAP on record as supporting?!) I assume even with the one Nvidia GPU loaded into the unit, I will still have space for a Thunderbolt 3 compatible card?

Again, I really appreciate all of your encouragements! I think the only thing that concerned after my belated review of your reply, was the mention of "recommended use of 8 spindles for the 4K video storage, over 10GbE". :-/ I'm hoping that the performance of the drives I chose and the proposed RAID-50 utilization will cope in an efficient manner with these goals, despite not having "8 spindles"?? Lastly, I just hope the power-supply upgrade, (with the QNAP part number I chose,) will take care of any demanding concerns with that GPU. Moreover, most all 4K footage we access, store & edit is unfortunately, highly compressed. Our days of rendering original RAW uncompressed 4K materials are very limited.
...We limit most all original rendering to just 1080p, just to save on CPU/GPU hours. Whereas any 4K footage, is typically sourced from drone on ground video shots; so again, highly compressed! (While our local system drives are utilized for any "scratch disk" post rendered issues, which admittedly often wield uncompressed temporary clips.)

Any further thoughts & comments you have a very welcomed; now that you've seen the gory details of order I've committed to. ;-) I'm not aversed to returning and/or exchanging anything that might be slated for delivery. I actually think I could still alter the entire order, as I've yet to get a "fulfillment (or much less a final "shipping") notification yet.

Thanks again...
Post Reply

Return to “Presales”