{"id":182748,"date":"2024-07-11T13:56:29","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T13:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/?post_type=topic&p=182748"},"modified":"2026-05-05T15:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:16:19","slug":"rocky-gpu-buying-guide","status":"publish","type":"topic","link":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/knowledge\/forums\/topic\/rocky-gpu-buying-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocky GPU Buying Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

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With Ansys Rocky\u2122 <\/strong><\/em>particle dynamics simulation software\u00a0<\/strong> you can use one or more Graphic Processing Units (GPUs)<\/strong> to process your simulations.\u00a0<\/em>Before investing in new hardware, see the FAQs below to find guidelines and recommendations.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mastering Multi-GPU in Ansys Rocky Software and Enhancing Its Performance<\/a>
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\/<\/span> Rocky GPU Performance Benchmark<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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  1. Rocky GPU Performance Benchmark<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. The benefits of GPU<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Performance Benchmark<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Benchmark results for Ansys Rocky 2026 R1<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Relevant conclusions on simulation performance<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Rocky GPU Performance Benchmark \u2013 DEM case (Distributed parallel computing)<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Rocky GPU Performance Benchmark \u2013 CFD-DEM case<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Rocky GPU Performance Benchmark \u2013 SPH case<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \/<\/span> Rocky GPU FAQs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Rocky GPU FAQs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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    1. Which license is required to run Rocky on GPUs?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Which GPU cards are recommended for use with Rocky?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    3. What are the minimum requirements for GPU cards that will be used for running Rocky?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    4. What cards are best for running only spherical particles? What about cases using shaped particles?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    5. Which cards are best for running SPH?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    6. Can you provide some examples for comparison?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    7. There are a lot of cards on that list! How do I choose the one that is right for me?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    8. I have only a mid-range budget. Can you recommend a card for me?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    9. If you had to recommend one, all-around best card for most situations, which would it be?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    10. Won\u2019t the (non-recommended) card I already have work just as well as a recommended one?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    11. Assuming I use a recommended GPU card, how much faster can I expect my simulations to run?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      <\/div>\n
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      \n<\/div>\n
      <\/div>\n

      \/<\/span> Rocky GPU FAQs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
      <\/div>\n

      \/<\/span>1. Which license is required to run Rocky on GPUs?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

      The Ansys Rocky base product license allows you to run a single job with up to 112 graphic cards SM’s (Streaming Multiprocessor). It is indifferent whether this is with a single or multiple GPU cards.<\/p>\n

      For example, if you have one A100 card (108 SMs), you can run your Rocky simulation without needing any additional HPC license. In the same way, if you have four RTX 3060 cards (28 SM\u2019s each), you can run on multi-GPU as the total SM\u2019s count in this case is 112.*<\/p>\n

      To run any job with more than 112 SM’s, you need to add Ansys Rocky HPC Licensing. 1 Ansys Rocky HPC task enables 14 SM’s, e.g, 1 Ansys Rocky HPC-8 license includes 8 tasks, that enables 112 additional SM\u2019s.<\/p>\n

      Additional SM\u2019s can be enabled with Ansys Rocky HPC Licensing.<\/p>\n

      1 Ansys Rocky HPC task enables 14 SM\u2019s, e.g, 1 Ansys Rocky HPC-8 license includes 8 tasks, that enables 112 additional SM\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      \n

      SM\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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      Rocky HPC tasks<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

      1 \u2013 112<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      113 \u2013 224<\/td>\n1 \u2013 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      225 \u2013 336<\/td>\n9 \u2013 16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      337 \u2013 560<\/td>\n17 \u2013 32<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      561 \u2013 1008<\/td>\n33 \u2013 64<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      Now consider another situation, in which you have one RTX 4090 card (128 SM\u2019s) or five RTX 3060 cards (140 SM\u2019s). In both cases you will need to invest in 1 Rocky HPC-8 License (see the table below).<\/p>\n

      HPC features required according to the card(s) SM count<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      RTX 3060<\/strong><\/td>\nRTX 4090<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Cards<\/strong><\/td>\nSM Count<\/strong><\/td>\nRocky HPC-8<\/strong><\/td>\nCards<\/strong><\/td>\nSM Count<\/strong><\/td>\nRocky HPC-8<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      1<\/td>\n28<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n128<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      2<\/td>\n56<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n256<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      3<\/td>\n84<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n384<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      4<\/td>\n112<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n512<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      5<\/td>\n140<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n640<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      6<\/td>\n168<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n768<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      *For more information about SMs, refer to the APPENDIX section.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Notes:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n