On-the-cheap Machine Learning computer

I recently put together a cheap-and-cheerful machine-learning-capable PC.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/wwyQ2R

Highlights are:
  • Pentium G4560 CPU
  • NVIDIA 1060 6GB GPU
  • 16 GB RAM
  • 512 GB SSD
The main difference from a budget gaming rig is that I chose a relatively overpowered GPU. This is because for machine learning I think the main bottleneck will be GPU RAM size. This particular GPU model has a lot of RAM (6GB) for a relatively low price.

The other extravagance is the 512 GB SSD. It would have been cheaper to use a smaller SSD coupled with a traditional hard drive. I went with a single SSD because I don't want to deal with the hard drive.

So far my son's done far more gaming than I've done machine learning. He likes the system a lot. It's >10x the graphics performance of his previous machine, a 2012 Mac Mini running Windows 10 in Bootcamp.


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