NVIDIA HGX Systems
DGX vs HGX: which 8-GPU system should you buy?
The GPUs are the same and so is the fabric between them. DGX is NVIDIA’s own complete system built on the HGX baseboard. An HGX system is that same baseboard, with the same GPUs and the same NVLink and NVSwitch, integrated into a chassis by Dell, Supermicro, HPE or Lenovo.
So the decision is almost never about performance. It is about the chassis, the management tooling, who holds the support contract, and how much configuration freedom you want. We supply both, which is the only reason our recommendation here is worth anything — we are not steering you toward the side we happen to stock.
DGX and HGX, side by side
| NVIDIA DGX | HGX systems (what we supply) | |
|---|---|---|
| GPUs and NVLink fabric | NVIDIA HGX baseboard | The same NVIDIA HGX baseboard |
| Chassis and integration | NVIDIA | Dell, Supermicro, HPE or Lenovo |
| Systems management | NVIDIA Base Command | iDRAC, iLO, XCC or IPMI — whatever you already run |
| Support relationship | NVIDIA enterprise support | Your existing server vendor's support |
| Configuration flexibility | Fixed configurations | CPU vendor, storage layout, cooling and DPUs all selectable |
| Cooling options | As specified by NVIDIA | Air-cooled or direct liquid-cooled variants |
| Supplied by | Nexus Compute, via authorized distribution | Nexus Compute |
Systems we configure and quote
22 NVLink-baseboard configurations across H100, H200, B200 and A100 — DGX and vendor HGX alike — quoted as complete systems or as multi-node clusters with the fabric specified.
NVIDIA DGX GB200 NVL72
Seventy-two Blackwell GPUs and thirty-six Grace CPUs as one liquid-cooled NVLink domain.
- One NVLink domain
- Rack-scale density
- Delivered as a unit
Supermicro SYS-821GE-TNHR 8x H100 SXM5 (8U HGX)
Flagship 8-GPU SXM5 node for large-model training and dense inference.
- Maximum GPU bandwidth
- Tested before it ships
- Authorized-channel assurance
Dell PowerEdge XE9680 8x H100 SXM5
Dell-engineered 8-GPU HGX platform with enterprise serviceability built in.
- Fits Dell-standard ops
- Enterprise serviceability
- Authorized sourcing
Supermicro 8x H100 SXM5 Direct Liquid-Cooled (8U HGX)
Liquid-cooled 8-GPU H100 density that cuts cooling power and noise.
- Lower cooling power
- Sustained peak clocks
- Integrated and validated
HGX H100 8x SXM5 Rail-Optimized InfiniBand Training Node
Cluster-ready 8-GPU H100 node with eight NDR400 InfiniBand rails.
- Linear scale-out
- Fabric-tuned on delivery
- Cluster-ready building block
Dell PowerEdge XE9680 — 8x NVIDIA H200 SXM (HGX, 141GB HBM3e)
Dell's flagship 8-GPU HGX H200 node for frontier-scale AI training.
- Frontier-scale single node
- Vendor-backed reliability
- Cluster-ready fabric
Supermicro SYS-821GE-TNHR — 8x H200 SXM with BlueField-3 DPUs
8U HGX H200 SuperServer with 1:1 BlueField-3 networking for HPC at scale.
- True 1:1 GPU-to-NIC
- DPU-offloaded networking
- Serviceable density
HPE Cray XD670 — 8x H200 SXM, Direct Liquid Cooled
Liquid-cooled 5U HGX H200 node engineered for dense, efficient training rows.
- Higher density per rack
- Improved power efficiency
- Supercomputing fabric
Lenovo ThinkSystem SR685a V3 — 8x H200 SXM, AMD EPYC 9005
AMD EPYC Turin paired with 8x H200 for high-throughput generative AI.
- Massive CPU headroom
- Generative AI throughput
- Lenovo serviceability
Questions buyers ask
Do you supply both DGX and HGX systems?
Yes. We source NVIDIA DGX through authorized distribution, and we supply HGX-based systems from Dell, Supermicro, HPE and Lenovo. Both are quoted as complete configured clusters with the fabric and storage specified alongside. Being able to quote either is what lets us give you a straight recommendation instead of a pitch.
What is the actual difference between DGX and HGX?
HGX is the NVIDIA baseboard: the GPUs, the NVLink and NVSwitch fabric between them, as a module that server vendors build systems around. DGX is NVIDIA's own complete system built on that baseboard, with its own chassis, software stack and support contract. The GPUs and the interconnect between them are the same silicon. What differs is the chassis, the management tooling, the support relationship and the price.
When is DGX the right choice over an HGX system?
When you want one vendor accountable for the whole stack including the software, when the DGX software environment matters to your team, or when you are buying a SuperPOD as a designed unit. Those are real reasons and we will tell you when they apply to you.
When is an HGX system the better buy?
When you already run Dell, HPE or Lenovo operations and want accelerated compute inside that same management model rather than alongside it. When you need configuration choices DGX does not offer — a different CPU vendor, a specific storage layout, direct liquid cooling, BlueField DPUs. And frequently on cost, for the same GPUs and the same NVLink fabric.
Can you quote a multi-node HGX cluster with fabric?
Yes, and that is how these should be bought. We specify the nodes, the InfiniBand fabric, the rail-optimised layout, cabling, management network and rack power together, because a training cluster ordered without its fabric is a set of servers rather than a cluster.