Backstory
One of the most common requests we have heard since the launch of NVIDIA GeForce 40-Series GPUs was “Can you build me a workstation with 4x 4090/5090s?” The immediate and obvious answer at first was… Obviously not. It’s impossible to physically fit, let alone power four desktop 5090’s in any existing standard computer or server case. Not being ones to back down from a problem, we decided to reject the notion that this was simply impossible and created the Orbital Quantum X4 using a heavily modified 6U+ chassis, full-speed PCIe Gen 5.0 GPU risers, and multiple ATX power supplies, combined with some custom manufacturing to make it all work!
Why Choose an Orbital Quantum X4 Over a GPU Server?
The Orbital Quantum X4 is uniquely positioned as the worlds only PC Desktop Workstation capable of running four RTX 5090 GPUs, so it’s worth asking, “Why has no one ever built something like this before?”
The most likely answer is because the RTX 5090 is not the ultimate peak of GPU horsepower. Professional and enterprise GPUs like the RTX 6000 Blackwell and H100 are capable of greater performance at an exponentially higher cost and are manufactured in compact form factors fit for actively cooled server racks in a datacenter.
When deciding between the Orbital Quantum X4 and a dedicated GPU server, you’re really deciding between:
Affordable High End Workstation-class LOCAL Compute
vs
Datacenter/Server-class REMOTE Compute
Decision Matrix
Considerable Differences...
The differences between a GPU server and the Quantum X4 can be summarized as essentially: a GPU server can provide additional video memory and remote management features, at the cost of requiring a dedicated server room with industrial power and HVAC. The Quantum X4, configured with 4x RTX 5090s, can compete in performance near the level of a GPU server in terms of raw compute power at a fraction of the cost and does not require existing server infrastructure build out.
Power Requirements
- A fully loaded Orbital Quantum X4 requires 2x standard 120V AC outlets with a combined power draw of up to 2800W. This means that on 15 amp residential circuit breakers, you must connect each power cable to a different breaker. Compared to a typical GPU server that requires dedicated industrial 220V AC power, this still allows the Orbital Quantum X4 to be deployed directly into home workspaces, offices and small laboratories where 220V outlets are not available.
Cooling & Acoustic Noise
- GPU servers use passively cooled, or blower style cards that depend on server grade fans and an HVAC controlled room with hot and cold aisles. These server fans can move insane amounts of air at the cost of being as loud as a jet engine. While this solution works great for a server that can be kept far away from end users, it is far from ideal if your goal is to have local access and work directly off the hardware. Since the Orbital Quantum X4 uses Desktop/Workstation GPUs, it can be cooled with simple Noctua 140mm fans providing a not just less than deafening noise level, but an actually quiet operating volume.
Software and Network Requirements
- GPU Servers run on OEM server grade motherboard products that only support server operating systems such as Windows Server. Windows Server Licenses are sold on a per CPU core basis, meaning the licensing cost for just the operating system can quickly skyrocket to an order of magnitude higher than standard Windows editions. Additionally, configuring and managing a GPU server requires dedicated IT staff to manage security, access control, VDI deployment, resource allocation, etc.. depending on the use case for the server. For a small team, outfitting each team member with an dedicated workstation while avoiding the ongoing costs of a fully remote managed solution can offer greater value.
TLDR;
The Orbital Quantum x4 Workstation is a great choice if:
* You need extreme GPU power
–And–
* You want to be able to iterate on projects quickly
* You value the convenience and reliability of local hardware
* You do not have a datacenter or HVAC controlled server room and an IT team to manage it
A GPU Server may be a better fit if:
* You’re scaling across teams or nodes
* Running continuous production workloads
* Building an AI Cluster
**Customized GPU Servers are configurable by consultation. To build an Orbital Computers Custom GPU server, reach out to our team and we’ll work directly with you to build the exact machine you need.**
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Orbital Quantum X4
Our most powerful workstation - The Orbital Quantum X4 is an innovative Air Cooled 4x 5090 or 7x RTX Pro Deep Learning Powerhouse Machine supported by an AMD Threadripper CPU, up to 2TB ECC RAM, and nearly limitless GPU-Compute capabilities in a compact form factor.
From: $12,667.00
Orbital GPU Pro
AMD Threadripper Pro Based Rendering, Simulation, and Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning & Computation PowerHouse - Configurable up to 96 Cores, 192 Threads, and 4x Nvidia RTX GPUs.