Dual GPU shenanigans

[GmAc80]

Hi there, 

I have been using my Z620 as a recording studio, love the silent running, however I've hit a conundrum I'm not sure how to solve: 

It has a passively cooled quadro NVS300 which is perfect for silent running studio mode and I've recently purchased an old firepro v5900 for the odd spot of gaming. The firepro is too noisy so I'd like to switch it off completely when I'm not using it. The firepro has to go in the primary slot as the secondary slot doesn't have enough clearance for airflow, the fan is basically jammed against the bottom of the case.

So my question is - can the card in the primary slot be switched off and the machine use the secondary slot instead? Maybe by a boot option or switching a setting then restarting windows? 

Apologies if I'm asking a ridiculously simple question. I'm no noob but I'm certainly no expert, and googling has revealed nothing which is why I'm asking you good people. 

Thanks in advance!

Glenn

[BambiBoomZ]

GmAc80,

1.  As far as I know, as long as as GPU is in it's slot, it will be powered and the fans are capable of running.  However,  modern GPU's have become more energy efficient and run cooler, such that there are quite a number that have "silent modes". The silent mode mean that the fans will not run below a certain temperature which appears to be at perhaps 55C.  In the office z420_3, there is an EVGA GTX 1060 SSC 6GB (twin fan) and after running for more than seven hours,  at the moment, that GPU is at 43C and the fan speed is 0 RPM.

Carefully selected, a single GPU with silent mode could be used in all the subject system applications as the only GPU in the z620. It could run silently under the low sound recording load and then become a more game-capable card with proper cooling. Video editing though would change that and headphones would be the order of the day.  The  GTX 1060 in z420_3 does run the fans when rendering (Sketchup to VRay) but as I have the system under the desk, there is no serious noise when the fans are running.

2. Another possible  solution is to use a modern blower fan GPU and  place the z620 under the desk and pushed back. This is the situation in this office and z620_2 with an MSI GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Aero, blower-style GPU, the sound is below the office ambient sound level. I can not hear the z620 unless I am within about 18".

Ordinarily, the idea of a gaming GPU in a workstation is not recommended as workstation cases are designed for quiet and therefore have lower air flow.  Both the office z420 and z620 as they have XTU overclocked Xeons (4.3GHz on all cores), the solution has been to run both with the z420 AIO CPU liquid cooler. Z420 temperature after seven hours = 48C. As well as making the O/C sustainable, these compensate for the presence- in the case of z420_3 an open enclosure gaming card. Z620_2 has an MSI GTX 1070 Ti Aero which is a proper blower-style workstation GPU.

BambiBoomZ

HP z620_2 (2017) (R7) > Xeon E5-1680 v2 (8C@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid Cooling / 64GB (HP/Samsung 8X 8GB DDR3-1866 ECC registered) / Quadro P2000 5GB _ GTX 1070 Ti 8GB / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB AHCI + Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 500GB + HGST 7K6000 4TB + HP/HGST Enterprise 6TB / [Piano, Harpsichord,  > 2X Neumann KM184> Peavey VMP-2  or Yamaha S90 MIDI] > Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 sound interface + 2X Mackie MR824 / 825W PSU / Windows 7 Prof.’l 64-bit (HP OEM) > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)

[ Passmark Rating = 6280 / CPU rating = 17178 / 2D = 819 / 3D= 12629 / Mem = 3002 / Disk = 13751 / Single Thread Mark = 2368 [10.23.18]

HP z420_3: (2015) (R11) Xeon E5-1650 v2 (6C@ 4.3GHz) / z420 Liquid cooling / 64GB (HP/Samsung 8X 8GB DDR3-1866 ECC registered) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 SSC 6GB/ Samsung 860 EVO 500GB + HGST 4TB / ASUS Essence STX + Logitech z2300 2.1 / 600W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (HP OEM ) > Samsung 40" 4K

[Passmark System Rating: = 5644 / CPU = 15293 / 2D = 847 / 3D = 10953 / Mem = 2997 Disk = 4858 /Single Thread Mark = 2384 [6.27.19]

[Brian1965]

Hi Glenn,

I'm using 2x GPU's, (a Quadro card and a GTX card), in my HP Z620 and can easily switch between each card, without the need to reboot my Z620. Is the Firepro card silent when your Z620 is idling?  If yes, then you may be able to follow the approach I used, i.e. using a display port switch. Here's the post I wrote regarding the method I used.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/SOLVED-Quadro-P200...

If the Firepro card is still too noisy, even when the card is idle, then unfortunately the above method will not solve your issue.

[GmAc80]

The firepro is sadly not silent, nor does it have any low power setting that would make it so. So, unfortunately your solution wouldn't work, fascinating as it is. 

The issue is as bambi stated: if the card is plugged in then the fan will spin. 

Looking for silent GPUs about the same power as the firepro V5800 or hardware switcher 🤣