PC Workstation - about to invest in this setup - thoughts

[simonm]

Hi all

 

Looking for some assistance so that I can take confidence in knowing what im doing/about to get... The below is what I have selected for an upcoming build to use as my main PC and that will leave me with 2 render SLAVES. Would really appreciate your expert assistance on this... this set up comes to around $4,500 AUD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPU 1 i7 5820 (looking at the 5930/5960 and there is quiet a price difference, is it worth it?

 

Motherboard x99-A

SSD Samsung 850 PRO

1TB 3.5 HDD

WD black FAEX 4TB

MEMORY 16 GB Kingston Beast (8Gx2) x 4

GFX CARD 1 GTX 980 Ti Gainward

POWER SUPPLY Corsair 80+ Gold 1000

CASE 1 Fractal Design Desgine S Black with Window COOLER

Corsair H110 Liquid Cooling

[Nikolaos M]

It would be usefull to mention how the 2 render slaves are built and of course, the software you are using for rendering.

 

If the new setup above is going to be used mainly as a workstation, you could save a lot of money either by simply changing some parts (ex. the 980Ti is an overkill for viewport use and you certainly don't need a 1000W psu for a built like this, 550/650W would be more than enough), or you could even go for a s1150 based build (Z97/4790K), which would be much cheaper, equally or slightly more fast in everyday use compared to the 5820K, but would also limit the amount of RAM you could use to 32gb.

[simonm]

Hi Nikolaos thanks for the response...

 

The software i am using is 3DS Max/Vray/Corona/Photoshop - mainly for 3D stills..... Currently i have a i7 4930 with 32 gig RAM and a GTX 780 6 GIG evga gfx card, x99 sabertooth motherboard and a noctua ND14 cooler with a cooler master vanguard 1000W power supply. This will be one of the slaves should i get this PC... the other PC i have is older and its an i7950 with 12 gig RAM.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

It would be usefull to mention how the 2 render slaves are built and of course, the software you are using for rendering.

 

If the new setup above is going to be used mainly as a workstation, you could save a lot of money either by simply changing some parts (ex. the 980Ti is an overkill for viewport use and you certainly don't need a 1000W psu for a built like this, 550/650W would be more than enough), or you could even go for a s1150 based build (Z97/4790K), which would be much cheaper, equally or slightly more fast in everyday use compared to the 5820K, but would also limit the amount of RAM you could use to 32gb.

[simonm]

PS on a side note - i have just attempted to overclock my current i74930k to 4500MHz - however during the cinebench tests, I am getting in the low 80s degrees celcius - is that ok? Or am i pushing it too much?

[Nikolaos M]

80+° C is too much for this processor. Keep it under 70° during full load operations. The Noctua D14 is a very good aircooler but it's not adequate for mid-high oc especially in these extreme sockets. For anything above 4.2-4.3GHz you 'll need at least a good AIO cooler.

 

As for the main subject, in your place I would keep the X79 build (4930K, 32gb RAM, 780 6gb) as my main workstation and I would build a s2011-3 based render node. With 4500AU$ I think you could pick some good parts. Keep in mind that a good render node needs a multi core cpu and lots of RAM but not a fancy gpu (just a basic one).

[simonm]

so forgive my dumbness, the s2011-3 based render node is just the new i7 5930 and your suggsting to build a node with that with say perhaps 32gig RAM and a compatible motherboard/hdd? Would it need anyting else?

 

In regards to the overclock, so is it worth while upgrading to an AIO cooler and then doing a 4.5 overclock or should i leave it alone? I got a few bluescreens doing it and have now resorted to the default setup

 

Thanks for the help so far....

 

80+° C is too much for this processor. Keep it under 70° during full load operations. The Noctua D14 is a very good aircooler but it's not adequate for mid-high oc especially in these extreme sockets. For anything above 4.2-4.3GHz you 'll need at least a good AIO cooler.

 

As for the main subject, in your place I would keep the X79 build (4930K, 32gb RAM, 780 6gb) as my main workstation and I would build a s2011-3 based render node. With 4500AU$ I think you could pick some good parts. Keep in mind that a good render node needs a multi core cpu and lots of RAM but not a fancy gpu (just a basic one).

Edited July 22, 2015 by simonm

[Nikolaos M]

A s2011-3 based node with 4500AUD budget could be either something with a 5960X (8c/16t and oc'able), or a 10-12 core Xeon based node, that fits inside budget and has a rendering performance that surpasses the 5960X oc'ed. I'll give an example:

 

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2690 V3 2.6GHz 12-Core Processor ($2939.00 @ CPL Online)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.00 @ Umart)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X99-UD4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($415.00 @ IJK)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($365.00 @ IJK)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($135.00 @ Umart)

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Titanium) ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.00 @ CPL Online)

Power Supply: Cooler Master VS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.00 @ Scorptec)

Total: $4231.00

 

The system above is built around a Xeon E5-2690 V3 that costs almost 3000AU$. It's Cinebench R15 score is around 1850-1900cb.

 

A 5960X, on the other hand, costs around 1500AU$ (half the Xeon's price), has a Cinebench score of 1350-1400cb at stock speed and could reach 1750cb if oc'ed at 4.4-4.5Ghz. It's by far a better value for money but a 4.5GHz oc is hard to get and would need a superior psu and of course a top cooling solution (a top AIO like Corsair H110i GTX, or a custom loop).

 

Here is an example of a 5960X based node:

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-5960X 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($1459.00 @ PLE Computers)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($185.00 @ CPL Online)

Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($369.00 @ CPL Online)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($365.00 @ IJK)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($135.00 @ Umart)

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Titanium) ATX Mid Tower Case ($159.00 @ CPL Online)

Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($154.00 @ IJK)

Total: $2826.00

 

 

The difference in cost is huge while performance is not in any way inferior.

 

For the systems above you'll also need a cheap gpu. You could easily find something used or new with 50-70$.

 

PS: And one more thing. You must upgrade the RAM amount of the other node (the one with the i7 950) because it will cut down your combined RAM limits.

Edited July 22, 2015 by nikolaosm

[Nikolaos M]

Another idea is to build 2xnodes around i7 5820K. This setup will give you 12 cores and 24 threads in total with the ability to overclock the cpu. A 4.4-4.5Ghz oc is much easier to get with a good cooler. 2 nodes would give a 2500-2600cb score at Cinebench R15 with a 4.4GHz oc and I think it's the best performance you can buy with this budget. Of course, I don't know how you are going to manage the software licenses for 3 nodes against the 2 you were thinking about.

[simonm]

Thanks so much for the replies... ill definately get my head around all this and write back my final decision....

in regards to your comment about the i7 950 and RAM Limits - so youre saying when i am using the distributed render, i am limiting myself down to whatever RAM is on the i7 950?

 

in regards to licences, i have a 3DS Max subscription so im pretty sure i can put it across multiple slave machines.... for Vray i have 1+1 licences (for main and render node) will need another 1-2 depending on what I decide....

 

Then for the plugins ill have to check what the licencing is... i have forest pack, railcone, most of vizparks plugs

 

Thanks again for your help man that super helpful

 

Another idea is to build 2xnodes around i7 5820K. This setup will give you 12 cores and 24 threads in total with the ability to overclock the cpu. A 4.4-4.5Ghz oc is much easier to get with a good cooler. 2 nodes would give a 2500-2600cb score at Cinebench R15 with a 4.4GHz oc and I think it's the best performance you can buy with this budget. Of course, I don't know how you are going to manage the software licenses for 3 nodes against the 2 you were thinking about.