Claudio Branch Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 My employer is ready to build me a very powerful machine spec-ed out like a BOXX monster: 4X – AMD (Quad Core) Opteron DC 8224 4X – 8 GB DDRZ DIMMS (64 GB RAM) 1X – PNY NVIVDIA QUADRO FX 5600 8X – SEAGATE 300 GB 15K RPM Serial Attached SCSi (SAS) OS – MS Server 2003 R2 x64 ed The only OS that will support this many processors is a server. And we are learning that it isn’t supported by most applications, but should work. Apparently Boxx provides support, but their machine cost $10,000 above this one... Anybody using Server 2003 with 16 processors? Any issues? The Quadro FX 5600 is a $3000 card and once we buy it we own it. PNY will not take it back once purchased. Anybody using a Quadro card? How well does it perform? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manta Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Well those aren't quad core CPU's, so you will have 4x dual core or 8 CPU's not 16...depending on how much this will cost you...maybe you should go for a Mac Pro they're pretty cheap and will probably be faster than an AMD machine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudio Branch Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 Well those aren't quad core CPU's... Good catch...we were quoted these processors even though we specified quads. Re-quote time ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Just curious -what are you doing that requires such a monster? (lucky bastard!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneis Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 I'm wondering why your boss would prefer to go with a hugely expensive PSC like that which will be unsupported (hence taking the risk of owning an expensive door-stop) as opposed to spending a "bit" more and sleeping easy knowing that if it does go belly-up, one has little to worry about. Is the machine you're looking at one of the TYAN PSC's? Why can't you get support for that? I mean, what's the main app you'll be running? If it's *NIX compatible, I'd be heading in that direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudio Branch Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Just curious -what are you doing that requires such a monster? (lucky bastard!) I work for a civil engineering firm. Most of my work involves large-scale projects such as dams, bridges, wastewater facilities and roadways. My scenes get very large quickly. Most of my deliverables are animations used either in client proposals or public involvement meetings. I usually am brought on board in the eleventh hour. We may get shortlisted and then have to do a presentation within a week. I recently had to put in a 94 hour week, usually it's in the 70's. But that's the nature of the 3D life... I'm wondering why your boss would prefer to go with a hugely expensive PSC like that which will be unsupported (hence taking the risk of owning an expensive door-stop) as opposed to spending a "bit" more and sleeping easy knowing that if it does go belly-up, one has little to worry about. Is the machine you're looking at one of the TYAN PSC's? Why can't you get support for that? I mean, what's the main app you'll be running? If it's *NIX compatible, I'd be heading in that direction. We initially wanted to get a Boxx machine ($40K), but we can have one built for $18K less than theirs. In fact, we were re-quoted because we requested quad-core AMD processors and they missed it. The price is now $22K and was $30K. The specs and OS are identical to what Boxx offers and the only concern is the lack of support for the server OS. If the server OS becomes an issue, perhaps we can take-out some of the processors and go with XP or Vista until Server 08 comes out? I am unfamiliar with TYAN and NIX compatiblity - please elaborate. The primary app is 3DS Max, but I am also using Real Flow. RF requires some serious processing power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneis Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 "...We initially wanted to get a Boxx machine ($40K), but we can have one built for $18K less than theirs. In fact, we were re-quoted because we requested quad-core AMD processors and they missed it. The price is now $22K and was $30K. The specs and OS are identical to what Boxx offers and the only concern is the lack of support for the server OS. If the server OS becomes an issue, perhaps we can take-out some of the processors and go with XP or Vista until Server 08 comes out? I am unfamiliar with TYAN and NIX compatibility - please elaborate. The primary app is 3DS Max, but I am also using Real Flow. RF requires some serious processing power." OK, I missed the OS support part. I'm wodering if the extra cost from BOXX might be worth it. Reason being, if this new machine goes down (or even while setting it up), how many people out there are going to be able to help you? A select few would be my guess. A machine like this is probably looking at at least 5 years service which (using the $18K figure as "support fees") works out at $3600 per year for support - provided that's how long BOXX will support you. That doesn't sound like a bad deal to me. Now, on to the *NIX/ TYAN rundown. If you're running Max and Real Flow, then you'd be better off staying away from any of the flavours of UNIX or Linux (*NIX). You'd need to run each under a Virtual Machine. Too much hassle on top of the hassles you already have. I asked about TYAN because I'm quite sure that the image you attached in the original post is a TYAN PSC. TYAN is a maker of servers, high-end workstations and the components therein. I've included a few links for you to check. The first is a site for m Australia - they retail the PSC, so you can check the specs and gauge the costs. $18,500AU for 6 x Quad Cores (yes, 24 cores!) base build. You can go up to 40! I'm pretty sure that will cover anything Real Flow can throw at it!!! http://www.ipspty.com.au/psc.html These ones are from the TYAN homepage http://www.tyan.com/where_usa.aspx http://www.tyan.com/contact.aspx Here are a few brief articles about MS Cluster Server 2003 and TYAN http://www.windowsfs.com/TheMag/tabid/54/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2013/Default.aspx http://www.digicor.com.au/content.asp?Link=70&News=1 As for your question re:- Quadro cards, in a system that's this hefty, I'm 99% certain that you'll have to go with a Quadro. I doubt very much that high-end games cards are going to be compatible with all this - drivers/ flop rates/ Cluster Server 2003 and the likes. The hard part is going to be finding someone to sell it to you. Good luck and try not to drool when you're reading it's specs S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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