Highly flexible GPU options make Comino Grando well suited to a wide range of workflows from rendering and simulation to AI and deep learning
Comino, a specialist in liquid cooled workstations and servers, has updated its Comino Grando ‘hyper performance’ workstation offering the AMD Threadripper Pro 7000 Series processor with up to 96 cores.
The workstation can be configured with up to four high-end GPUs. This includes traditional graphics-focused boards, such as the Nvidia RTX 6000 Ada Generation (48 GB), Nvidia RTX GeForce 4090 (24 GB) and AMD Radeon Pro W7900 (48 GB), plus those designed for AI workflows and high-performance computing (HPC), such as the Nvidia A100 (80 GB), Nvidia H100 (80 GB) and Nvidia L40S (48 GB).
The Comino Grando is different to most desktop workstations in that the CPU, GPUs and VRM modules on the motherboard are cooled with Comino’s custom liquid cooling technology. According to the company, it makes the workstation significantly quieter and cooler than standard workstations and prolongs the lifespan of the hardware.
It also allows Comino to push more power into the AMD Threadripper Pro processor compared to an air-cooled workstation and therefore maintain significantly higher all-core frequencies. According to Alexey Chistov, Comino CTO, the Threadripper Pro 7995WX (96 cores) can reach 4.5GHz @ 900W and the Threadripper Pro 7985WX (64 cores) can reach 5.0GHz @ 900W, compared to 2.5-3.5GHz for an air-cooled workstation.
Comino manufactures its own high-performance waterblocks out of copper and stainless steel. For desktop GPUs, it replaces the standard coolers with a slim water block that takes up a single PCIe slot on the motherboard, rather than the two or three slots occupied by the same high-end GPU in a typical workstation.
Altering a GPU in this way would typically invalidate the GPU manufacturer’s warranty, but Comino provides a full two-year warranty for the workstation and all its components. The warranty can be extended to up to five years.
Comino places a big emphasis on serviceability and its approach is to make it as easy as air cooling. Should a GPU fail or need to be upgraded, Comino says its Quick Disconnect Couplings (Comino TheQ) make it easy to remove / replace.
Comino would ship a pre-assembled GPU with a waterblock, which the customer attaches to a manifold on the cooling system without having to drain the coolant from the circuit.
Other specifications include up to 2TB of RAM, up to 8 x NVMe SSDs, up to two 3.5-inch drives and up to up to 2 x 10 Gbit/s LAN.
The workstation is 439 x 681 x 177mm in size and can be used as a traditional desktop or mounted in a 19’’ rack (4U).
Comino also offers a Grando Server which can support up to six high-end GPUs.
