Which render nodes?

[mikeyjm26]

Hi Guys,

 

we are looking at purchasing a couple of render nodes which are either from CAD2 Rx8 or Boxx Renderboxx 10200. What are your opinions on these and is there anyone else we should be looking at? Basically we have around £10k to spend and want the best for the money.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Mikey

[AJLynn]

I don't know about the CAD2 but the Renderboxx is optimized for CPU power per space taken up, and it's a good one if that's what you need. First figure out how much space you have for this, and how good your cooling system is, then look at options like Renderboxx vs. traditional rackmounts.

[moshenko]

I have a bunch of 10200's and they're fantastic. They pack more units into a similar space as a traditional rackmount. I hope you have a server room/closet for either option; any rackmount unit is going to be LOUD!!

[mikeyjm26]

Thanks for the replies. The renderboxx seems to be quite good, only problem is the price which seems quite expensive compared to other units of the same spec but is it that much better the justify a nearly £2000 hike.

 

I am waiting on times from CAD2 and Boxx to see how they compare and I will keep you informed.

 

Mikey

[moshenko]

The renderboxx seems to be quite good, only problem is the price which seems quite expensive compared to other units of the same spec but is it that much better the justify a nearly £2000 hike.

 

You know that each 10200 unit has two dual-quadcore machines sandwiched together, right? If you're comparing prices you need to cost out two of your other rackmount units to be on even ground. Maybe that really is the cost difference, but I thought I would mention it:)

[mikeyjm26]

You know that each 10200 unit has two dual-quadcore machines sandwiched together, right? If you're comparing prices you need to cost out two of your other rackmount units to be on even ground. Maybe that really is the cost difference, but I thought I would mention it:)

 

Yes, but at £4600 for one 10200 and £1765 for a CAD2 node I am still about £1000 cheaper, or I could go for the CAD2 Rx82 for £2600 which is 2 nodes.

[moshenko]

Yes, but at £4600 for one 10200 and £1765 for a CAD2 node I am still about £1000 cheaper, or I could go for the CAD2 Rx82 for £2600 which is 2 nodes.

 

Right, then! I guess it comes down to your budget and comfort with each company. I wouldn't imagine any radical performance differences between equal platforms. The only question is density - BOXX will pack more into the same space with their size format.

[Tommy L]

I would work it out as power per $.

 

I bought rendernodes at $850 each including:

 

windows xp64 pro

4 gig of ram

Q6600

80g HD

a pcu cooling upgrade

 

Ive had them a year and have had no problems. They take up the same amount of room as a standard pc....because they are essentially standard pcs. But I do have lots of space.

[mikeyjm26]

I would work it out as power per $.

 

I bought rendernodes at $850 each including:

 

windows xp64 pro

4 gig of ram

Q6600

80g HD

a pcu cooling upgrade

 

Ive had them a year and have had no problems. They take up the same amount of room as a standard pc....because they are essentially standard pcs. But I do have lots of space.

 

How fast do you find the machines? We are looking at 1U Armari Dual Nodes 6015tc-t and CAD2 RX8 render nodes.

[Tommy L]

I do mostly stills, so vray DR is a big deal for me. The way I see it is i've bought a bunch of 2Ghz buckets with 1 G of ram a-piece for $215 each.

Edited September 17, 2008 by Tommy L

[AJLynn]

The formula here is more complicated than power-per-dollar, because what the Boxx people are doing is throwing space used into the mix. If you have the space for a normal rackmount, there's not much point in buying the Boxx, but if you want to increase power per space by a factor of something like 2.5x, the Boxx is the way to go.

 

There are two tradeoffs. One is obviously money, the other has to do with the density of electrical consumption per volume. With the Boxx, this number is also increased by a factor of 2.5x. This increases the amount of heat produced per volume, which means that:

 

-Boxx had to include some ridiculous fans. These are a lot louder than normal PC fans, and the likelihood of hardware failure if a case fan breaks down is high.

 

-You need very substantial cooling for the room in which the rack is located - it will need its own air conditioning system. We actually experienced some failures in my office because of heat and had to install a new cooling system, even though our density was substantially less than you'd have with the Boxx system.

 

You also need to keep your server room quite clean as dust buildup will be a bigger issue for these than for other computers. So the Boxx system is not for the casual user.