Budget render nodes and network, advice needed please

[notamondayfan]

Hey guys,

 

I'm looking to buy and build 1 render node for around the £500 - £600 mark. The node needs to be reliable more than super fast. I don't want to over-clock. I'd also like to use microATX to keep size down.

 

So I've been looking at the i7s (I currently use AMD X6).

 

There appears to be 2 i7s within budget and look impressive on benchmark test sites, these are the 4770 and the 3770.

 

The 3770 components can be seen here -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/registry/wishlist/1QUTUAFJ9CK6Z

 

And the 4770 components can be seen here -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/registry/wishlist/8NU7AA2D0TOL

 

Both nodes share the same ram, hardrive, case, DVD, etc, the only difference being the CPU and motherboard.

 

The 3770 set-up comes to £594.50

The 4770 set-up comes to £620.20

 

So what does everyone think? Price wise going £20 over is fine, but the 4770 is new, and it faster, but untested, where as the 3770 is pretty much guaranteed to work straight away with no problems.

 

 

The other query I have is I'm going to need to upgrade my network, well basically at the moment I don't have on, I just use wifi to connect to the internet router.

 

One solution is to use a powerline AV homeplug for routing the internet to the office,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Link-DHP-307AV-PowerLine-Homeplug-Network/dp/B003L78F6U/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1ZA48RJPQVB0A&coliid=I2ZP9XZJQD9CXP

 

Then using a small switch for the network.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-SF1005D-100Mbps-Unmanaged-Desktop/dp/B000FNFSPY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1ZA48RJPQVB0A&coliid=I2WIIPCUYG0H18

 

Is this the simplest / fool proof way of doing it?

 

Any advice is always appreciated!!

 

Thanks,

Dean

[Dimitris Tolios]

4770K should be pretty secure investment. Only the IGP is new(er) in Haswell chips, the rest is the ol-trusted core architecture with micro-refinements to run more efficiently, thus a tad faster than Ivy Bridge @ same clocks.

For 20 pounds I would not go 3770K, merely for the chance to get a drop-in upgrade with the LGA1150 socket in a couple of years, while LGA1155 the 3770K uses is already phased out.

 

Never used powerline LAN, but I think the latest iterations of it are pretty good.

If wifi suits you already, why bother tho? Does the node need internet access?

Just get a Gigabit switch if you will have both your workstation and node close to each other.

[notamondayfan]

Hi Dimitris,

 

Thanks for advice on the socket, I think the 4770 is the way to go. I don't plan on over-clocking, so is there any benefit of the K version?

 

For the LAN, my wifi is hazy at times, and in the past when I've tried to use wifi along side LAN there appears to be a conflict and only one network will run at the same time. I don't know if this is a set-up problem with my PC, but networking really isn't my strong point, so for the sake of a few quid I could just remove wifi all together.

 

Cheers,

Dean

[neil poppleton]

Hi Dean,

 

Scan provide good reliable units : http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ShowSystem.asp?SystemID=1328

[Francisco Penaloza]

at home I use a power link to get internet to my home office, from there I have a small d-link 8 port gigabit switch to connect my computers, 1 mac 1PC win and 1 Hackintoch and 2 NAS

I used to connect trough wireless but during renderings always something came up and everything act very slow so the better option is separate yourself of the House wireless and have a stable small network.

[notamondayfan]

Cheers for the link Neil, but I think to keep costs down I'm going to build myself.

 

I've also found with a lot of companies, they keep costs low by using "generic RAM" and undisclosed power supplies. I need reliability, so by sticking with Corsair I think the system should last a few years.

 

I also cocked up the initial specs, and only gave each node 8gb ram. When I priced up 16gb, the price of the node rose. RAM has risen in price, last year I bought 16gb RAM for £80, now the same is over £100.

So I decided to look elsewhere, and DABS, who I haven't used in years, was cheaper on nearly every item, so all in all, an i7 4770 node cost £620, including windows 7 pro, which I think is pretty damb good!