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There's some EUA that prohibts you from using consumer-grade GPUs in server or renting them (can't remember the exact rule, but for sure it's not allowed for Am

There's some EUA that prohibts you from using consumer-grade GPUs in server or renting them (can't remember the exact rule, but for sure it's not allowed for Amazon or others to use them).

Scaevolus 3y ago
You can't legally use their drivers, particularly CUDA, for consumer gear in a datacenter.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Has that clause ever been tested? You'd say this is against the doctrine of first sale. https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1854-copyright-infringement-first-sale-doctrine https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual...
slashdev 3y ago
Could you use them for your own purposes? Not to rent/resell? At that price differential, on premises might make much more sense, provided you have decent utilization. Your breakeven is likely well under 10%.
latchkey 3y ago
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/geforce-license/ https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/geforce-license/ "No Datacenter Deployment. The SOFTWARE is not licensed for datacenter deployment, except that blockchain processing in a datacenter is permitted."
- slashdev 3y ago
  Can I stick it in the corner of the office? Serious question.
  - latchkey 3y ago
    Is your office a data center?
    - WithinReason 3y ago
      That's the question.
  - wongarsu 3y ago
    Yes. Realistically you can also build a server with 8 RTX 3090 and put in in colo in a datacenter. That would technically violate the license, but nobody is going to go after you for that. What Nvidia wants to prevent is hosting providers/IaaS renting out servers with consumer GPUs.
- moffkalast 3y ago
  Haha so as long as you append some light proof of work to every task, you get them on a technicality? Honestly though, who the fuck are they to tell you what to do with the hardware that you bought? Like telling people they are not allowed to drive their car on gravel roads or not being allowed to drink wine from a beer glass without paying for a special overpriced version or something.
  - latchkey 3y ago
    Usually it involves warranty issues. Although in this case, it seems especially odd since this clause was added to effectively force data centers to buy their more expensive hardware. It goes back a while (~2018), so you'd think they would have revised this policy: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/nvidia-updates-geforce-eula-to-prohibit-data-center-use/ https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/nvidia-updates-ge...
  - dotnet00 3y ago
    It mostly just means that don't expect them to provide you any support for that use case. It isn't all that uncommon for smaller studios to just cluster together a couple of computers with 3-4 high end gaming GPUs each as a fairly powerful rendering farm for instance.
- eternityforest 3y ago
  Why the #-@-#&# do they allow blockchains??? I guess they probably figured out it's good for the bottom line and all, but it's pretty obnoxious to allow blockchains, which seems to have been the cause of the shortages, while banning everything else.
  - latchkey 3y ago
    After ETH switched from PoW to PoS, it had the effect of decimating the entire GPU mining market. Very few GPUs are being used for crypto any more. If there are shortages, these days it is because of ML/AI/Gaming. In fact, there are shortages... did you know it is nearly impossible to get data center space of any size for any decent price? AI has eaten it all up. On top of it, AI doesn't care about the environment. There is so much money being dumped into it right now, that people are pulling power from wherever they can get it and at any cost. On the bright side, at least crypto tried to go the cheapest routes... which happened to be mostly green based power. So yea... be mad at AI now.

There's some EUA that prohibts you from using consumer-grade GPUs in server or renting them (can't remember the exact rule, but for sure it's not allowed for Amazon or others to use them).

Scaevolus 3y ago

You can't legally use their drivers, particularly CUDA, for consumer gear in a datacenter.

jacquesm 3y ago
Has that clause ever been tested? You'd say this is against the doctrine of first sale. https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1854-copyright-infringement-first-sale-doctrine https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual...

slashdev 3y ago

Could you use them for your own purposes? Not to rent/resell? At that price differential, on premises might make much more sense, provided you have decent utilization. Your breakeven is likely well under 10%.

latchkey 3y ago

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/geforce-license/ https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/geforce-license/ "No Datacenter Deployment. The SOFTWARE is not licensed for datacenter deployment, except that blockchain processing in a datacenter is permitted."

slashdev 3y ago
Can I stick it in the corner of the office? Serious question.
- latchkey 3y ago
  Is your office a data center?
  - WithinReason 3y ago
    That's the question.
- wongarsu 3y ago
  Yes. Realistically you can also build a server with 8 RTX 3090 and put in in colo in a datacenter. That would technically violate the license, but nobody is going to go after you for that. What Nvidia wants to prevent is hosting providers/IaaS renting out servers with consumer GPUs.
moffkalast 3y ago
Haha so as long as you append some light proof of work to every task, you get them on a technicality? Honestly though, who the fuck are they to tell you what to do with the hardware that you bought? Like telling people they are not allowed to drive their car on gravel roads or not being allowed to drink wine from a beer glass without paying for a special overpriced version or something.
- latchkey 3y ago
  Usually it involves warranty issues. Although in this case, it seems especially odd since this clause was added to effectively force data centers to buy their more expensive hardware. It goes back a while (~2018), so you'd think they would have revised this policy: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/nvidia-updates-geforce-eula-to-prohibit-data-center-use/ https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/nvidia-updates-ge...
- dotnet00 3y ago
  It mostly just means that don't expect them to provide you any support for that use case. It isn't all that uncommon for smaller studios to just cluster together a couple of computers with 3-4 high end gaming GPUs each as a fairly powerful rendering farm for instance.
eternityforest 3y ago
Why the #-@-#&# do they allow blockchains??? I guess they probably figured out it's good for the bottom line and all, but it's pretty obnoxious to allow blockchains, which seems to have been the cause of the shortages, while banning everything else.
- latchkey 3y ago
  After ETH switched from PoW to PoS, it had the effect of decimating the entire GPU mining market. Very few GPUs are being used for crypto any more. If there are shortages, these days it is because of ML/AI/Gaming. In fact, there are shortages... did you know it is nearly impossible to get data center space of any size for any decent price? AI has eaten it all up. On top of it, AI doesn't care about the environment. There is so much money being dumped into it right now, that people are pulling power from wherever they can get it and at any cost. On the bright side, at least crypto tried to go the cheapest routes... which happened to be mostly green based power. So yea... be mad at AI now.