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Boonzies t1_jamckvc wrote

Bottom line, in this field you will have to pay. Equipment, the tech, matters.

For most models I use my PC or laptop both of which have decent Nvidia cards, good CPUs, and ample RAM. I develop my models off line and when ready (if need be) for the final large scale training I use my AWS/Google accounts.

For super large models I go straight to AWS or Google.

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jcoffi t1_jamq5h8 wrote

You can get around this with "sweat equity". But money is more effective.

I've used Ray.io in the past to connect old laptops with Nvidia GPUs together on a local network to get the job done.

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[deleted] OP t1_jamw50x wrote

I see.

But is nvidia gpus the only popular way to compute fast to your knowledge? I cant believe that cant be achieved w a Radeon card.

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jcoffi t1_jan1zj5 wrote

As of right now, nothing is as fast as CUDA. You don't have to take my word for it. There are papers out on the topic.

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Whispering-Depths t1_jaohrtj wrote

You can use even a cpu to train. It doesn't matter, it's just slower.

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[deleted] OP t1_jaokckq wrote

I think some models restrict training to gpu, but I may be wrong and its just configuration

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[deleted] OP t1_jamvfi6 wrote

Great info, thank you. I am not against paying but it is a shame if you are just started and have skills to write models but cant train them properly.

My laptop is fairly old Lenovo, has no NVIDIA but Radeon graphics card. So it cant use cuda if I am correct.

I wonder how difficult it to set it up for calculations. That card is useful for "gpu calculations with cuda" correct? That is so much faster afaik.

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Boonzies t1_jamzn2t wrote

There are some AMD GPU chips that might work. But Nvidia is just so much better integrated with TensorFlow and Pytorch and thus the much better hardware.

I equate machine learning to art. You may have great ideas and know-how but at some point you have to buy the material (e.g., good paint, canvas, the better brushes, clay, etc.) to bring your ideas to life.

I know it's frustrating having slow machines when testing models... It really kills the enthusiasm.

I suppose the best thing to do is get into or involved with or work for groups that have the hardware and go from there, or buy new good hardware, or build your own for half price.

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[deleted] OP t1_jan07a3 wrote

Thank you.

I agree, now trying to get the company pay for it.

I'm learning the basics of what is used, for example from this video

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