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New Rendernodes


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I'm putting together 5 new render nodes, I'd appreciate any advice on this configuration I don't want to get something that will be substandard as these will need to last for at least 3-4 years. Thanks :)

 

-Windows 7 Pro 64bit

-Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131378

 

-Memory 12GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148259

 

-Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233124

 

-Processors

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117231

 

-Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811152112

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Looks good. Never seen the Asus board. I would just make sure you have enough clearance with the cpu fans in the case.

Also, you may wait on the SSD till the OCZ vertex2 is released with the sandforce s1200 chip on it. Here is why: http://www.behardware.com/news/11200/vertex-2-and-agility-2-25nm-from-ocz.html

http://thessdreview.com/latest-buzz/sandforce-firmware-update-confirmed-great-news-for-new-ssd-buyers/

Edited by Slinger
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I realize these SSD's are super fast compared to standard spinning drives but beyond opening the programs and booting up quickly will they really impact render times significantly?

 

I know Max does use disk caching but in theory if you have enough ram to hold the entire scene in memory disk access should be minimal.....right?

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I've just had a major rethink on these nodes, instead of going with 5 of the X5650 dual processor systems I'm going to go with 10 of the i7-980X systems. The Xeon motherboards only support DDR3 1333 ram while the i7 boards can use DDR3 1600 which will give me a big boost in performance along with the much faster processor.

 

Can anyone see any reason why I shouldn't go with this configuration?

 

Also I'm running everything over a 1GB network, I've been told that if I add a 10GB switch to my network any bottle necking I'm experiencing will be minimized, does anyone know if this is true?

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DDR3 1333 vs. 1600 is not much of an influence on render speed. Actually, I'm pretty sure that in this case it would do nothing. You could look this up but I think the default on an X58 board with a 980X is either 1066 or 1333 - this is regardless of the speed rating on the RAM, which should be looked at as the manufacturer's recommended maximum speed. To take advantage of the faster RAM you actually overclock it, which with the 980X you can do without also overclocking the CPU because the X and K CPUs have unlocked multipliers meaning you can drop the multiplier while increasing the RAM speed to keep the CPU speed the same.

 

As for the network. This really needs to be addressed by your IT staff because there are going to be particularities in any network (the rating and quality of the cable and net drop installs, esoteric LAN topologies, etc.) that are specific to any network. But 10Gb equipment is exotic - we're talking $500 per PC for the network card alone - so I can't imagine it's worthwhile to even try.

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I realize these SSD's are super fast compared to standard spinning drives but beyond opening the programs and booting up quickly will they really impact render times significantly?

 

nope.

i've said this before.. my render nodes got normal drives in them n i only see them adding render buckets only a couple seconds behind the workstation.. from that point on its all up to the CPU..

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Just to let you guy's know I've been able to get these 10 i7 systems for about $1500 more than the 5 Xeon systems. I'd have preferred a smaller number of total machines because maintnance and updates would have been simpler but overall I think I'm getting a lot more power for such a small amount of money.

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i've just had a major rethink on these nodes, instead of going with 5 of the x5650 dual processor systems i'm going to go with 10 of the i7-980x systems. The xeon motherboards only support ddr3 1333 ram while the i7 boards can use ddr3 1600 which will give me a big boost in performance along with the much faster processor.

 

Can anyone see any reason why i shouldn't go with this configuration?

yes...don't order the 980x. They will not work right.

 

why do you ask...they are not dual QPI chips, which is what you have to have for them to both run on one motherboard.

 

Or maybe you have a completely new build around the 980x???

Edited by Slinger
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  • 2 weeks later...

The 2500K is clearly the new go-to value CPU. I'd hold off on evaluating the CB numbers until there are a statistically significant number of CB 11.5 results out in the wild. 10.0 is not as efficient a multithreader, it undervalues multiple threads.

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depending how much you want to expend....if you initially wanted you get 5 new nodes, I'll buy first 5 nodes and if you still need extra power I'll buy the othet ones later....and you stil get latest proccessors.

I7 950 are on sale now for $250, they are 3.06GHz Quad Core....my I7920 (2.66GHZ) after overclocked is running at 3.9 with air cooler system if do it with 950 you still have a super fast computer for low price....I would put some money as well in a good cooler system if you want OC them....Corsair has a good one for very low price too(water cooler system)

regarding the case, Cooler Master has a good ones, with a lot fans and water cooler system space to be conected.....so far they have very ggod reviews too.

about network what I did is installing mirror copy of my main library drive locally, MAX files still thru network....library drives have textures and proxies...they pick the projects very quick!!!

Why do you need SSD for nodes? once they load MAX in memory you get much benefit of those drive I think.

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