Difference

[Jago_0108]

Whats the difference between the desktop, server and worksation?

 

Which system (desktop based, server or workstation) is better for architectural rendering and animation?

[manta]

Well this is probably just an opinion, but...

 

A desktop used to be considered a 1 cpu computer, with the advent of dual core cpu's and soon quad core, this doesn't really hold true anymore...but it would probably still only have one socket ( the place where you put the cpu).

 

A workstation would be a computer with multiple cpu's and hard drives...

It would have 2 or more sockets....

 

A server is a computer ussually very large storage and processing power, like a web server, which would have racks of motherboards with multiple sockets and cpu's and large amounts of memory for handeling thousands of queries of web traffic per second...

 

Basically these terms are somewhat interchangable...

[Jago_0108]

So a workstation with a dual socket motherboard and more ram, maybe with 2Core 2 Duo processors should work better than a desktop with a single slot motherboard and maybe a Quad Core, less ram?

[Greg Hess]

Desktops are also generally consumer based, and the type and quality of the hardware tends to reflect that. They generally use bargin bin parts, and skimp on the quality of electronics, as well as meeting just the bare minimum specifications for power, cooling, etc.

 

Workstations are desktops which have undergone an "upgrade" both in reliability and quality of components. Though a desktop and workstation may be similarly spec'd in terms of performance, the workstation will tend to be significantly more reliabile and consistent over time.

 

A server is a workstation taken to the next level of redundancy and reliability. Most servers have redundant harddrives, power units, external backups, and run an excessive amount of ram and cpu's to handle massive continuous loads. Where as a workstation may be turned off at the end of a day, a server will run until it dies....which if spec'd correctly, is usually when its being replaced by a newer server.

[AJLynn]

So a workstation with a dual socket motherboard and more ram, maybe with 2Core 2 Duo processors should work better than a desktop with a single slot motherboard and maybe a Quad Core, less ram?

 

Also, you can't use more than one "Core" CPU per system. To get dual CPUs (as in, more than one multi-core CPU) you need Xeons. The Xeons you want are the ones number 5100 and above, which are the new line. Since these and the Core2 chips use the same basic architecture, rendering speed (assuming you're using software that handles multiple cores/CPUs efficiently) is proportional to the sum of the speed in MHz of the CPUs, so 2 Xeon dual-core 2.6GHz chips wouldn't really have much or any advantage over one quad-core 2.6GHz Core2, except that Xeon systems tend to be workstations and Core2 systems tend to be desktops and (what Greg said).