Suggestions for a new PC

[Carlos777]

Hi,

I need that it has at least 8 physical cores, mainly to run engine vs engine blitz tournaments, 1 core per engine, no ponder (at least 7 simultaneous games). Also to analyze chess games. I guess 16 GB RAM might be enough.

OTOH, what would be a good GPU for that PC so Lc0 could compete vs SF with 7 cores?

My budget is $1000.

I am considering to buy an AMD Ryzen.

Best regards,
Carlos

[Ras]

IOTOH, what would be a good GPU for that PC so Lc0 could compete vs SF with 7 cores?

This is the worst time ever for buying a GPU. Stuff is scarce and even if available, it's massively overpriced. That is not likely to change in the first half of 2021. You could postpone the GPU and buy a Ryzen 4750G (eight cores, 16 thread) with integrated graphics along with a B550 mobo such as Asus B550-F. RAM is OK for now, but 2x16 GB 3200 RAM is better than just 16 GB. SSD e.g. Samsung Evo 970 Plus M.2 with up to 2 TB. CPU Cooler e.g. Scythe Mugen 5 Rev B. Over-dimension the PSU for accomodating a GPU later.

[Carlos777]

IOTOH, what would be a good GPU for that PC so Lc0 could compete vs SF with 7 cores?

This is the worst time ever for buying a GPU. Stuff is scarce and even if available, it's massively overpriced. That is not likely to change in the first half of 2021. You could postpone the GPU and buy a Ryzen 4750G (eight cores, 16 thread) with integrated graphics along with a B550 mobo such as Asus B550-F. RAM is OK for now, but 2x16 GB 3200 RAM is better than just 16 GB. SSD e.g. Samsung Evo 970 Plus M.2 with up to 2 TB. CPU Cooler e.g. Scythe Mugen 5 Rev B. Over-dimension the PSU for accomodating a GPU later.

Thanks for the reply.

So with this integrated graphics, I guess Lc0 can't run at full strenght. Although, I read it is very good in other tasks.
About the CPU cooler, isn't it enough with the stock one?

[willmorton]

IOTOH, what would be a good GPU for that PC so Lc0 could compete vs SF with 7 cores?

This is the worst time ever for buying a GPU. Stuff is scarce and even if available, it's massively overpriced. That is not likely to change in the first half of 2021. You could postpone the GPU and buy a Ryzen 4750G (eight cores, 16 thread) with integrated graphics along with a B550 mobo such as Asus B550-F. RAM is OK for now, but 2x16 GB 3200 RAM is better than just 16 GB. SSD e.g. Samsung Evo 970 Plus M.2 with up to 2 TB. CPU Cooler e.g. Scythe Mugen 5 Rev B. Over-dimension the PSU for accomodating a GPU later.

Thanks for the reply.

So with this integrated graphics, I guess Lc0 can't run at full strenght. Although, I read it is very good in other tasks.
About the CPU cooler, isn't it enough with the stock one?

I also suggest the 4750G and to stay away from GPUs for now (both new, if you can find them , and used).
AMD stock cooler are much better than Intel's ones, I think it should be enough.

[lithander]

A good cooler allows your CPU to boost higher and it's also much quieter. But don't pay more than 20-30$ for it!

I also don't think there's any threshold where a GPU allows Lc0 to run at full strength. The better your GPU the higher Lc0 node per second. See here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... dit#gid=0

But scalpers and miners make GPUs very expensive at the moment. I paid far less for my RTX 2070 two years ago than what you would pay now for something comparable. So fully agree with Ras post!

[towforce]

So with this integrated graphics, I guess Lc0 can't run at full strength.

Can Leela use a TPU instead of a GPU? I tried Googling it, but didn't get a clear answer - if I'm lucky, someone here will know!

[Nay Lin Tun]

So with this integrated graphics, I guess Lc0 can't run at full strength.

Can Leela use a TPU instead of a GPU? I tried Googling it, but didn't get a clear answer - if I'm lucky, someone here will know!

I am sure , the answer is "No".
There is no LCO code written for TPU. (TPU code is written by Deep mind)

[Ras]

So with this integrated graphics, I guess Lc0 can't run at full strenght. Although, I read it is very good in other tasks.

Correct. The iGPU of the 4750G is fine for office, web, movies, and it can deal with 4k monitors if you are into that. It can even cope with light gaming (but not at 4k of course) as long as you reduce details and resolution, and don't try demanding games.

With LC0 however, there's not enough GPU computing power, and even a discrete AMD graphics card would not be the best choice. For years, AMD has been trying to catch up to Nvidia in games and has nearly succeeded (minus raytracing). In the meanwhile however, Nvidia has established a whole software ecosystem in the domain of machine learning, and that's where also Lc0 falls into. So what you will want is an Nvidia GPU, and these are even more scarce than AMD ones right now.

Or has anyone a different take on that, and AMD cards are now good for Lc0?

About the CPU cooler, isn't it enough with the stock one?

The 4750G has never been released for retail, i.e. there is no boxed version. It's the tray version only, and that doesn't come with a cooler. The Mugen 5 is one of the more expensive ones, and if all you care about is temperature, it is overdone. If however you also care about low noise level at full CPU load, that's the cooler you'll want. Watch out for Mugen 5 Rev B specifically because the mounting set includes accomodation for AM4 sockets such as for the 4750G.

[Nay Lin Tun]

Hi,

I need that it has at least 8 physical cores, mainly to run engine vs engine blitz tournaments, 1 core per engine, no ponder (at least 7 simultaneous games). Also to analyze chess games. I guess 16 GB RAM might be enough.

OTOH, what would be a good GPU for that PC so Lc0 could compete vs SF with 7 cores?

My budget is $1000.

I am considering to buy an AMD Ryzen.

Best regards,
Carlos

You need around 2060 GTX gpu for Leela to compete 7 cores Stockfish.
The cost for GPU alone is $500+ (depending on market).
Unfortunately , you need minimum of $1500 PC to compete Stockfish.

[towforce]

So with this integrated graphics, I guess Lc0 can't run at full strength.

Can Leela use a TPU instead of a GPU? I tried Googling it, but didn't get a clear answer - if I'm lucky, someone here will know!

I am sure , the answer is "No".
There is no LCO code written for TPU. (TPU code is written by Deep mind)

Thank you. Might be something to consider for future releases if not too difficult to implement. I think that TPUs (and equivalents) are cheaper and use less power than GPUs for the same NN work.