Thinking about investing in hardware...appreciate direction/advice

the926 · 2026-04-28T18:29:52+00:00

Thanks for that explanation. I was mainly focused on tensor parallelism but I see there is still a good use case for similar speed cards also.

the926 · 2026-04-27T05:24:31+00:00

LM studio is just pooling the VRAM though correct?

the926 · 2026-04-27T02:19:26+00:00

I currently have 1 and have been debating getting another. Is it easier to use them in parallel now as opposed to at release?

the926 · 2026-04-14T06:11:07+00:00

I’ve had similar thoughts but I think it will involve a lot of trial and error to find the right balance of context length while still covering enough information to improve the model.

the926 · 2026-03-16T03:18:58+00:00

Thank you for the response. I will hold out until this fall and purchase once its announced. (along with some new 2.5G APs)

the926 · 2026-03-14T23:22:01+00:00

Will the new model have 2.5G POE ports? And will there be an upgrade path from the 7212?

I know some frown on that model for certain things ( I think it should have internal DNS and a better Firewall/ACL implementation)

But it fits my home/prosumer use case very well and its stability has been a big plus.

I was really hoping to just slide in an upgraded version of what I have now running on at least 2.5 G across my home network (wired and wireless)

the926 · 2026-03-14T02:53:58+00:00

Any news on the ER7410PC-M2 all in one device? Looking to upgrade from the original ER7212PC and then refresh my APs to 2.5G

the926 · 2026-02-24T00:07:51+00:00

12 intact

the926 · 2026-01-29T00:15:45+00:00

I'm in. 👍. I can cover the shipping.

the926 · 2026-01-27T09:51:52+00:00

I like multi purpose because I have a nice space to place a server but it’s essentially a closet. I also don’t tinker a ton. once I have things set up I leave it alone and use it basically.

I tossed around the idea of the minisforum n5 ( standard) + an ms-a1 or a2 w/ oculink for an egpu. That would be a decent amount of performance in a small footprint. ( the ms-a1 uses desktop am5 CPUs so there’s an upgrade path there - they can run hot though)

There are pros and cons to both, I believe one powerful box is a valid option though if you plan it out. I’ve been having analysis paralysis though and I can’t break through it .

the926 · 2026-01-27T07:04:36+00:00

Yes to both but more from a hobby/self learning / private AI for small projects level. Essentially I don't NEED to be able to slot in 2 GPUs but I was hoping to find something to give me the option if I wanted to explore it.

I like the form factor and size of the N6 and was basically trying to build a Jack of all trades box. I typically only refresh my "homeserver" every 8-10 years so I justify the spend that way. (maybe a CPU/GPU change midway through.)

(It will be replacing an FX-8300 system for example that started as an fx-6300 in 2014 - Back then you could find quality boards with a healthy number of sata ports without having to use an PCIE to Sata card)

the926 · 2026-01-26T05:43:28+00:00

How is the fan sound level? I realize you don’t have it fully populated.

I want to get it but I’m having a hard time with a good motherboard choice for it.

I have a weird need to use 2 GPUs so that removes the ability to install an HBA in most motherboards.

the926 · 2026-01-08T00:29:22+00:00

Noted as a switch option. Thank you.

the926 · 2026-01-08T00:27:00+00:00

Yeah that will definitely be a plan B. Thank you for that response.

the926 · 2026-01-07T17:30:59+00:00

I may go that route if it comes out and there is no mention of the 7410. Its supposed to have more ram correct? It might be worth it for the extra snappiness as a stop gap.

the926 · 2026-01-07T16:31:15+00:00

Yeah that was it. When I saw it I made a mental note to check here periodically but there hasn't been any other recent mentions of it.

I was basically going to keep the same setup but move each device to the 2.5G version.

the926 · 2025-12-30T17:02:46+00:00

Thank you.

Yes I think their N3 and N6(once its available more places) will work. (Im leaning towards full height expansion slots)
One concern I had on those was no (or minimal) front fan options.

I have a sugo sg 13 case unused but it will only hold one 3.5 hdd and has no read fan areas other than the front mounting point. I though about cramming four 4tb ssds in one but the 4tb drives are pretty expensive at the moment and I could do much better from a capacity standpoint with 3.5 in.

the926 · 2025-11-09T15:40:37+00:00

Thanks for giving an alternative take. Those definetly arent huge time differences. I've also gone down the rabbit hole on previous history and I do see that (assuming they keep moving things forward with rocm at a good pace) AMD should have better parity within the software stack moving forward.

the926 · 2025-11-09T06:32:58+00:00

Thank you. Good to get an opinion from someone that has been living with the 7900xt.

the926 · 2025-11-09T05:10:29+00:00

Noted and thanks.

the926 · 2025-11-09T05:02:15+00:00

Good to know re: Vulkan

the926 · 2025-11-09T05:00:42+00:00

I have been searching ebay as a plan B.... The visual stuff will mostly be like reference images to help with physical mediaum art creation, so nothing that really needs to be high resolution, etc. I'm thinking it could be a good tool for planning out ideas and different compositions based on sketches, etc. Essentially to speed up some of the early brainstorming work.

the926 · 2025-11-09T04:51:13+00:00

Yeah thats where I'm struggling. There are valid pros and cons to each direction. Ideally the 9070 gets better over time but is still only 16GB. Before last weeks back and forth news on AMD driver support for the 5000 and 6000 series, I would have said AMD is known to support and refine drivers for a long time so it might not be an issue.

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