GPU For StableDiffusion/LLMs/Moderate Gaming

N

Neotheone

Figuring stuff out
Adept
Hi People,

I am a bit of a novice with StableDiffusion/LLMs, but want to start off with it. I have a budget of up to INR 50K. Yet, my desktop configuration could be a bit of a constraint (I37100 + 16GB DDR4 + GIGABYTE H110M S2 CF)

In this context I am thinking of getting either an NVIDIA 3060TI 12GB , or a 406016GB (running it with a bottleneck for now with a plan to upgrade the CPU+MOBO+RAM combination somewhere down the line).

Any suggestions on whether I am thinking right ? Do any AMD alternatives match up ?

And lastly, in case I must upgrade now, can you suggest a low cost CPU+MOBO+RAM combination that would not bottleneck the 4060?

Thanks,
Neotheone
 
Stick to Nvidia for this use case, more VRAM the better but you've got your GPUs mixed.
There's no 12 GB variant of the 3060Ti and there's no 4060 16GB SKU either. There's a 3060 non TI variant that comes with 12GB and the base 4060 is limited to 8GB as well, only the 4060Ti comes in both 8 and 16GB variants.
As for a replacement in your budget, flip your old hardware and get a 13400F+B760M budget board, it'll cost you around 30k as a combo.
You can either splurge a bit more on a new GPU or buy a used 3060 12GB for 18-19k, that way you'll have your entire rig in 50k.
 
I was in a similar situation a few months ago & wanted to play around with SD. After doing some basic research, With SD/LLMs, Stick to NVIDIA because most of the time these are made with NVIDIA GPUs in mind utilizing their 'Cuda Cores'. Next thing is you need VRAM, the more the better. Don't even think 8GB because it will limit you, it will work but it will limit you. You have a good budget so maybe you can look into used 3090's due to their 24gb VRAM but I'm not sure if 50k will get you a 3090. If not looking to get used then I think the only options you are left with are 4060ti 16gb or 4070 12gb both of which cost around 50k-60k.
As psyph3r said, if you want to upgrade your whole rig for 50k, then 3060 12gb is pretty much your only option.
As for me, I got a used 3060 12gb because of budget and the horrible 30 series vram config.
 
psyph3r said:
Stick to Nvidia for this use case, more VRAM the better but you've got your GPUs mixed.
There's no 12 GB variant of the 3060Ti and there's no 4060 16GB SKU either. There's a 3060 non TI variant that comes with 12GB and the base 4060 is limited to 8GB as well, only the 4060Ti comes in both 8 and 16GB variants.
As for a replacement in your budget, flip your old hardware and get a 13400F+B760M budget board, it'll cost you around 30k as a combo.
You can either splurge a bit more on a new GPU or buy a used 3060 12GB for 18-19k, that way you'll have your entire rig in 50k.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that bit. Very helpful for someone out of touch of touch with what's going on lately.
cassanovalite said:
I was in a similar situation a few months ago & wanted to play around with SD. After doing some basic research, With SD/LLMs, Stick to NVIDIA because most of the time these are made with NVIDIA GPUs in mind utilizing their 'Cuda Cores'. Next thing is you need VRAM, the more the better. Don't even think 8GB because it will limit you, it will work but it will limit you. You have a good budget so maybe you can look into used 3090's due to their 24gb VRAM but I'm not sure if 50k will get you a 3090. If not looking to get used then I think the only options you are left with are 4060ti 16gb or 4070 12gb both of which cost around 50k-60k.
As psyph3r said, if you want to upgrade your whole rig for 50k, then 3060 12gb is pretty much your only option.
As for me, I got a used 3060 12gb because of budget and the horrible 30 series vram config.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this too. BTW could I check if you guys have a sense of how much of a bottleneck would my i37100+ CPU be for SD/LLMs ? Is it at all worth exploring that I buy a 4060TI 16GB now, and upgrade a few months down the line ? Asking because I am not necessarily looking for top notch frame rates in games, but would like to optimise the system performance for SD/LLMs other AI applications.
 
Neotheone said:
Thanks for that bit. Very helpful for someone out of touch of touch with what's going on lately.

Thanks for this too. BTW could I check if you guys have a sense of how much of a bottleneck would my i37100+ CPU be for SD/LLMs ? Is it at all worth exploring that I buy a 4060TI 16GB now, and upgrade a few months down the line ? Asking because I am not necessarily looking for top notch frame rates in games, but would like to optimise the system performance for SD/LLMs other AI applications.
Click to expand...
The i3 7100 is too weak to even keep up with 3060 12GB. Unless you are sure you can spend more money in the coming months for CPU, mobo & RAM upgrades, stick to what was suggested earlier about upgrading CPU & GPU.

I put 5700X instead because good B550 mobos are cheaper than good B760 ones. MSI B760M A Pro is the cheapest B760 that can handle 125W+ CPUs. I own Gigabyte B660M DS3H AX which is used for i5 12400 (80W on full load). While gaming my VRM temps are 75C+. On full load 85C+. A 125W CPU will surely throttle on my mobo because of lower quality VRMs of mobo:

mobo VRM B660 i7 12700.png


See how cheap mobos result in a 25% or so performance loss because VRMs are too hot. Cinebench is a popular CPU benchmarking tool.

mobo VRM all B550 (2).png


5700X draws 125W or so, so won't throttle like the 200W CPU used above.

mobo VRM all B550 (1).png
 
Thanks again for all the responses guys. I had to delay the purchase due to some unexpected travel but I'll buying soon now.

I have a couple of additional questions in case you can offer some perspectives.

1 Given the planned launch of some GPUs by Nvidia , does it make sense to wait a month or two before buying GPUs for prices to correct?
2 How good would 2 x 12GB 3060s be for LLM /Gaming, as compared to a single 16GB card, if I am willing to shell out about 50K but not too much more.
 
Neotheone said:
Given the planned launch of some GPUs by Nvidia , does it make sense to wait a month or two before buying GPUs for prices to correct?
Click to expand...
Currently 50$ has been reduced on 4070, 4060Ti and 4080 in US due to Super announcement but it won't effect on Indian market. You can go for super if you can wait.
 
T
ishashank said:
OP, Buy this https://www.pcstudio.in/product/zotac-geforce-rtx-4060-ti-16gb-twin-edge-graphics-card/ and call it a day.

if want to improve upon in budget, get Ryzen 3600+b450 combo second hand.

Intel is no longer recommended unless getting in a very good deal.
Click to expand...
I finally got the 4600TI 16GB from PC Studio along with a 5700X + MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI + Corsair CMK16GX4M1E3200C16GB for about 73K all included.

Thanks to everyone for their help. I would have taken days, maybe weeks to come up-to-speed in terms of what components to pick, but you helped make quick work of it. I am glad that TE remains vibrant at almost 20 years since inception, which is all due to members like you @psyph3r @cassanovalite @OMEGA44-XT @NevermoreLove @ishashank .

Just one last question (probably should have asked this before) : I have a corsair VS550 PSU. Is that going to be sufficient, or should I consider another one ? In addition to the above components, I would need to power a 1TB Crucial BX500 SSD and a Seagate barracuda 2TB internal HDD.
 
Neotheone said:
Just one last question (probably should have asked this before) : I have a corsair VS550 PSU. Is that going to be sufficient, or should I consider another one ? In addition to the above components, I would need to power a 1TB Crucial BX500 SSD and a Seagate barracuda 2TB internal HDD.
Click to expand...

Yes, It should be enough. The 40 series are pretty power efficient. The 4060Ti is rated at around 150w & 5700x is rated around 65w. Along with other components, the 550w should be sufficient.
 
Update: I was a little bit skeptical at first and thought that a better GPU like 4060ti 16GB alone might give at least playable frame rates on current titles.

How wrong was I ! I tested the GPU on my old system (i37100 + 16GB DDR4)- and titles like Alan wake 2 played worse than a power point presentation. However, it is super smooth with the same GPU on AMD Ryzen 5700X + MSI B550 + 16GDDR4.

Thanks for the help again, guys.
 
Neotheone said:
Update: I was a little bit skeptical at first and thought that a better GPU like 4060ti 16GB alone might give at least playable frame rates on current titles.

How wrong was I ! I tested the GPU on my old system (i37100 + 16GB DDR4)- and titles like Alan wake 2 played worse than a power point presentation. However, it is super smooth with the same GPU on AMD Ryzen 5700X + MSI B550 + 16GDDR4.

Thanks for the help again, guys.
Click to expand...
Yes what you experienced is 'bottleneck'. Basically the CPU is too weak to fully utilize the GPU. In this case your CPU will be running 100% while your GPU will be at considerably lower usage like 30-50%. While the optimal conditions should be reversed hence with 5700x as the CPU - the GPU is being fully utilized & the CPU is not running at !00%.
 
Back
Top