Last updated: October 1, 2022
A little while ago, we asked our social media followers what GPU model they’d like to see Contabo offer next. Inspired by your suggestions and after extensive internal evaluation, we have released a high-end GPU Add-On for our Dedicated Servers: The NVIDIA Tesla T4 with 16 GB super-fast GDDR6 memory.
5 Reasons Behind Choosing Tesla T4
Tesla T4: Countless Possibilities
Our goal was to offer you a single GPU which covers a wide range of possible use cases and the NVIDIA Tesla T4 is made just for that: whether you visualize CAD applications, train machine learning algorithms or even mine cryptocurrencies, the Tesla T4 will handle any compute-intense task with ease. Other GPUs we considered were gaming graphics cards that didn’t cover as many use cases as the T4 did.
Great Price/Performance Ratio
Compared to other GPUs on the market, the Tesla T4 offers the best price/performance ratio. Although its purchase price is rather expensive if you compare it to other GPUs on the market, its key benefit is the low power consumption of 70 Watt, which is why we can offer it at a great €379.99/month. The high purchase price gets compensated by low power usage, so this GPU works great for workloads lasting at least a couple months. The T4 excels with the right mixture of purchase price and operating costs.
Flexibility and Compatibility
Opting for a GPU with a higher power consumption instead would result not only in higher price, but also with less flexibility for our customers. Most GPUs occupy more space in the server chassis and the power consumption is generally much higher (roughly 300 Watt on average). As a consequence, we’d have to perform changes to our rack set-up (for example, provide special racks for Servers with this GPU only). What is more, a longer provisioning time would be required as we would need to add a stronger power adapter to the server whenever you select the Add-On.
Since none of that is necessary with the Tesla T4, it can be added to all of our Dedicated Server platforms (excluding Outlet Servers). “It was simply the best choice for us and our customers”, says Michael Förster, our Business Development Manager.
GPU That Works Well in Computing Clusters
Apart from the aforementioned reasons, choosing the Tesla T4 with a Contabo Dedicated Server allows you to perform compute-intense calculations at a fair price. Since it works well with our existing Dedicated Servers, you are able to internally connect servers with and without a GPU in Dedicated Private Networks.
Flexibility for Existing Customers
As an existing customer, you can add the GPU to your Dedicated Server, simply by reaching out to our customer support – a short downtime for adding the GPU is all it will take. Should you for any reason not need it any longer, it can easily be removed again from your server; additional changes to the server configuration won’t be necessary.
oneclick – Tesla T4 Launch Customer
You might recall oneclick TM from a previous blog post, showcasing how they have built their cloud platform relying on our Virtual Dedicated Servers. This time oneclick became a launch customer for Dedicated Servers equipped with the Nvidia Tesla T4 GPU, with CAD rendering being the main use case for them. With the new GPU we were able to provide them the right hardware configuration for the task. According to Michael, “our high-end GPU is perfect for oneclick’s purpose of application and since it works with any of our Dedicated Servers, we can easily adjust the setup depending on their requirements”.