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Setting up new studio for Arch Viz - Tell me about workstations and render farms


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Hello folks, we are planning to setup new office for Arch Viz works using 3ds Max and V-ray. We are buying new hardware to start fresh. We are planning for six workstations for modeling and a decent render farm for rendering. Our budget is $26000. Please suggest me some good configurations. Please also guide me through setting up a render farm. I don't have any knowledge about render farms. Please also help me up regarding GPU rendering.

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What are you using now, specs of the pc's?

 

What are you looking for? Specify pc requirements, like quiet, super fast, or descent enough to get the job done, size.

 

What kind of pc you have in mind?

 

You have some serious money to burn. You want to spend it all or you want to watch your spendings?

 

What are your models? How big? Examples?

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What are you using now, specs of the pc's?

 

What are you looking for? Specify pc requirements, like quiet, super fast, or descent enough to get the job done, size.

 

What kind of pc you have in mind?

 

You have some serious money to burn. You want to spend it all or you want to watch your spendings?

 

What are your models? How big? Examples?

 

I don't have anything now. I wanted to setup Arch Viz studio. It will contain 6 workstations and a render farm(It is because i'am planning to hire six 3d artists). I want to use 3ds max and v-ray but i am also keeping an eye on fstorm(yes i know it is GPU based, but still). My models size would be from small bungalow to large commercial property. Please find attached images for sample.birdEyeView2_large.jpg

ex3.jpg

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Well Chaitanya,

 

there have been so many setups already posted in previous topics, I think it would be wise to take a look into them. Especially Nikolaos and Dimitris have given so much good advise on what parts to buy. Just take some time to look into their advise.

 

And if you are hiring six 3d artist, why won't you let them work on the pc's they already own, instead of randomly start buying stuff. They are 3d artist right? So they must have a pc that should do the trick. You could even team up with the people you are going to hire and ask for their advise on what to buy down the road, making it some kind of a group project. I think they would be knowlegable in pc hardware too.

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I think, if you can wait a few weeks, it could be interesting to see how the upcoming AMD Ryzen 8-cores will perform and how they will be priced. This could bring some new dynamic to the market.

 

But besides that the best bang for the buck regarding render nodes is still a dual CPU setup of used Xeon E5-2670 v1 with used DDR3 RAM which is still priced much cheaper than new DDR4 RAM - if you don't need/want more GHz in one box.

 

edit:

If these prices are true the Ryzen release could be VERY interesting, especially the R7 1700X if they are really unlocked as announced and can be clocked in the same range like the 1800X...

 

Ryzen R7 1800X 8-core = 599.99€

Ryzen R7 1700X 8-core = 469.99€

 

and maybe even the

Ryzen R7 1700 8-core for 389.95€ if they are all unlocked and not only the "X"-models.

 

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/amd-ryzen-r7-lineup-of-8-core-16-thread-cpu-prices-revealed.html

 

 

edit2:

It seems that all models might be unlocked and the "X" stands for "Extended Frequency Range" (XFR) which means that the CPU uses an auto overclocking mechanism based on the cooling.

 

Some more supposed benchmark scores

videocardz-physics-ryzuurg.jpg

Edited by numerobis
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Thank you guys for your valuable replies. I am planning to start new arch viz business and my budget for hardware is USD 26000. If you guys think this budget is too much then please guide me. My plan is to serve clients all around the world. My plan is to become big arch viz studio in the world one day. Please help me guys with the hardware specs within my budget. Give me your own personal views.

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Oke chaitanya,

 

first of all i have no idea where you will be buying your stuff from, but below is a guidline:

 

Cpu: get yourself a i7 6700k/7700k for a workstation. For a rendering-station wait as numerobis said for amd new cpu's. Below are some links for comparisson:

 

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1029 (for rendering speed)

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1028 (for modelling speed)

 

http://www.hardware.fr/articles/946-5/performances-applicatives.html (for rendering speed)

 

Cpu cooler:

 

Go to the website of Noctua or Scythe or Bequiet and pick something to your liking. The bigger the cooler, the better it gets rid of heat.

 

Mobo:

 

Go to Asus or Msi website and find a compatibel mobo for your needs. No need to go for the expensive ones, just make sure the one you are picking has all the connections you need.

 

Ram:

 

Go to Kingston or Crucial website and find a compatibel ram for your needs (32 gb).

 

Gpu:

 

Get yourself a Gtx 1070. Later on you can get another one if you decide to go gpu rendering. If you want two, make sure you take this in consideration when shopping for a mobo.

 

Psu:

 

Look at corsair RM550x for a single gpu. Corsair RM750x for two gpu's. Also go to the website of Superflower and see if you can get your hands on one of their offerings.

 

Case:

 

Go to the website of Phanteks, Fractal Design or Nzxt and pick a rather big case to your liking.

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cpu: ok

cpu cooler: ok

mobo: both are ok, however the gigabyte has no support for sli, have a look on the website of the mobo manufacturer for more info

ram: ok (you could buy 16 gb first and monitor your ram usage. If you need more down the road simply buy more)

gpu: oke guess, but what version of the 1070 from gigabyte is it, like: founders edition, g1, xtreme, mini, windforce?

psu: it's a budget solution. Has thick cables, non modulair, would have trouble with cable management in your chosen 'cabinet'. You can do better. If you really want to stay in that price range, the corsair cx600(m) would be better, but there a better options.

case: it's a budget solution. You know how the case looks like? it comes with only one front intake fan: http://www.corsair.com/en/carbide-series-spec-01-red-led-mid-tower-gaming-case

monitor: ok-ish

 

I find that the shop you are buying your stuff from tend to go for budget solutions, like case, monitor, psu. For a workstation and if everything has to be new, i would like to have slightly better parts.

 

You will be buying a pc from a shop? Can't you build one yourself? The shop you are buying from, doesn't have a parts list where you can pick your components from, so it is hard for me to give any advise.

 

If you use your worksation for modelling only, you can go budget, no problem, just make sure you get a cpu that has a high single core clockspeed, for example: 4,4 ghz instead of 3,4 ghz:

 

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Like the case, I didn't suggest the corsair spec-o1 case, it has only has one fan. Not ok if you are putting high end components in your case. I think you live in a hot country, so some fans in your case would be nice. Also a case with dustfilters would be nice to.

 

And the psu, I only suggested the cx600 as a alternative for the vs550, that is only if you want to stay in the same price range. But I don't think it would do you harm getting a very good psu, like I suggested earlier. It will last you 10 years.

 

The Gigabyte GTX 1070 Windforce OC is one of the cheaper 1070. Not sure what is available over there.

 

It is hard to give any advise, because I don't know what is avaialble over there. If you bought from something like amazon it would be much easier to give advise because then I know you can get your hands on every model from every maker.

 

If you can build the pc yourself, have another look at my post in which I suggested which components to choose and what websites to visit. I think it is a good guidline, if you can get your hands on the parts.

 

And please, don't take my advise and think you will be fine. Make sure that with every part I suggest, you do a google search.

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Yes i understand Joel, I am using Air Conditioners to maintain room temperature. I am going to meet one of my friend who is computer vendor to see which parts are available here in India and how he can help me building the machines. After that i will decide whether to buy them from online stores or from somewhere else. I will also your post here in cgarchitect.

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