Hyperthreading

[vikrantbakkar]

Hi people,

 

I'm planning to buy HP Z620 workstation for doing Architectural rendering(still and walkthrough both) using 3DS Max 2013, V-Ray 2.3, Adobe Photoshop. My configuration is like:

 

Intel Xeon E5-26092.4Ghz 10MB 1066 4C 1st CPU(2Nos.)

32GB DDR3-1600(8x4GB) 2CPU Reg RAM

256GB SATA 1st SolidState Drive

1TB 7200 RPM SATA 2ndHard Drive

NVIDIA Quadro K50004GB 1st GFX

My doubt is the processor which my vendor has suggested doesn't support Hyper Threading. Is it neccessary to have MOBO with HT?

And please comment on the overall configuration; I'll highly appreciate the comments. Please guide me.

 

Regards

 

Vikrant

Edited August 8, 2013 by vikrantbakkar

[numerobis]

I would not buy one without HT. But the bigger "problem" for me would be that it is only a quadcore and not a hexa or octocore and that it only has 2,4GHz! It really makes no sense today, to choose dual cpu and take quads... A single hexa core 3930K (3,2GHz/HT) will be faster i think in both single core and multicore performance. And you don't need to buy expensive dual cpu components.

So i would say either a single i7 3930K or at least two hexa cores or octo cores.

The problem is that the fastest current sandy bridge E5 hexa cores only have 2,9GHz and the octos 3,1GHz. So if you really plan to build a 2 cpu system you should definitely wait til the new Ivy Bridge E5 will be released (maybe sept-oct).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Xeon_microprocessors#.22Sandy_Bridge-EP.22_.2832_nm.29_Efficient_Performance_2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Xeon_microprocessors#.22Ivy_Bridge-EP.22_.2822_nm.29_Efficient_Performance_2

And this is the other point... i really wouldn't buy a new system NOW if it is possible to wait 2-3 months with this investment. A new generation is coming - even if it is only a few percent faster than sandy bridge - so why buy old tech?

The replacement of the 3930K will be the 4930K btw... (mid sept)

Edited August 17, 2013 by numerobis

[Stephen Hughes]

interesting numerobis,

 

Will the new Ivy Bridge E5 be any more expensive and what GHz can we expect? Are there ever gonna be dual cpu of i7's as that would bring the price way down.

 

If i knew i could get a decent i7 3930k + gtx titan 6gb setup for £3k, would the following dual cpu setup (as expensive as it is) gonna be more than double the performance??

 

http://www.3dtools.eu/#&&iE7gZbPsD/VmI3YGq5Uz9+40TlIHKxN652cWh+FxOIS86vXWoyIbjOChtX90oVQj8z9m41UTJVHLDCD6d6sidqGPUWi81KiBmLo2+g==

 

Is there anything that comes close to the dual cpu performance on a single i7?

[numerobis]

... what GHz can we expect?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Xeon_microprocessors#.22Ivy_Bridge-EP.22_.2822_nm.29_Efficient_Performance_2

 

the dual cpu xeons are basically the same as the i7 extended by a dual QPI link (and some other Xeon features like support for ECC RAM).

So no, i don't think it will be possible to use i7's in a dual cpu setup because the additional QPI link is missing.

 

If the first price tables are correct the 4930K should be a bit cheaper than a 3930K (~10%). So maybe the new Xeons E5 v2 will get a slight price cut too.

But i don't expect to see the octo cores at a price point of a hexa core. I think the new 10-core and 12-core chips will be way beyond $2000.

But maybe we see higher clock rates for the same price... i hope so.

 

Your link doesn't work for me...

[Dimitris Tolios]

The new Xeons will be Ivy Bridge based, much like the 4930K/49 X series i7s.

There have been dual CPU capable consumer CPUs, but Intel has no interest pushing i7s instead of Xeons for that.

 

Getting "net-double" the performance of a fast 6-core i7 is hard outside rendering tasks, no-matter if you are running 6 or 8-core xeons.

Single thread performance is still very important, and the i7s are clocked faster, thus almost by default beating Xeons of the same architecture.

 

Make sure not to cut corners just to squeeze that K5000 in your budget.

Edited August 8, 2013 by dtolios

[numerobis]

some early E5 2600 v2 prices (i think no retail prices):

 

http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2013/2013080801_More_details_on_Intel_Xeon_E5-2600_v2_lineup.html

http://de.mouser.com/Intel/Semiconductors/Embedded-Processors-Controllers/CPU-Central-Processing-Units/_/N-ba96s?P=1yy2mkjZ1yy5ushZ1yy6lwv

 

i think the most interesting one for me would be the E5-2643 v2 with 6 cores and 3,5GHz... but the price 1.591,01 €

http://de.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Intel/CM8063501287403S-R19X/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsOUZO1TdTlbNF8JUp2gb%252bSKETS5X3tJ%2fY%3d

 

I really hope for a good clocking 4930K... i think this will be my way.

 

 

btw. there has been the rumour some days ago that intel will release a smaller sandy bridge hexa core (3910K) with slightly lower clock speed but open multiplier and smaller cache for ~350€... if this is true and it is clocking well, then this could be a great one...

Edited August 8, 2013 by numerobis

[vikrantbakkar]

Thanks, Numerobis, Stephen and Dimitris for valuable comments. I'm still finalizing on the configuration. Do you think 4 cores wont be sufficient and quadro 5000K is not that necessary for doing architectural walkthrus and doing photoshop/after effects work.

 

Regards

Vikrant

[Dimitris Tolios]

The more cores, the better, especially if you will be doing walkthroughs (i.e. videos) that will keep you workstation occupied rendering them for many hours or even days (depending on duration, detail, resolution etc).

 

The K5000 is definitely not "required", unless you are dealing with very complex scenes (and I do mean VERY complex). It is overkill for most.

 

If you can afford a K5000, you can definitely consider side-stepping to a i7 s2011 CPU, either a 3930K now or a 4930K as soon as it gets released, and opting for a cheaper K4000 or even K2000 GPU.

 

There is no current 1P Xeon system that can even come close in the combined single-thread/multithreaded performance of s2011 hex cores (with HT, i.e. 6C/12T). Those E5 V2 that will, probably will cost as much as a K5000 for the CPU alone...

[vikrantbakkar]

Thanks Dimitris,

So do you think if I choose Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-2620 (15M Cache, 2.00 GHz, 7.20 GT/s Intel® QPI) and k4000 graphics card will be a good config? Becasue the " i7 s2011 CPU" is not yet lauched.

 

Regards

Vikrant

[Dimitris Tolios]

No, I thought it was clear I was advising you against buying a low-end Xeon...

socket 2011 i7s are out for more than a year now: check i7 3930K and compatible X79 motherboards.

With s2011 I was referring to the socket, not the CPU's code name.

 

http://ark.intel.com/products/63697/Intel-Core-i7-3930K-Processor-12M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz?wapkw=3930k

 

This CPU has more than 1GHz advantage over the E5-2620 (that's more than 50%, we are not talking minor details), and costs slightly more.