CPU Based Renderfarm, Componant Multiples - VALUE: Few Expensive vs Many Cheap?

[TomasEsperanza]

Typically the best value is found somewhere in the middle ground,

but where exactly?; Which items are worth buying in bulk when

starting to build a bang-for-buck home built renderfarm from

scratch, with economical future expansion being a key

consideration?

 

Its far easier to compare apples with apples, but we have to look

at the sum of the parts here. Starting from scratch, would you

build many or few machines, and with what type/quality of components?

 

If we put our heads together, we could probably save many people in this

arch-viz community from investing in hardware set-ups that don't

expand well or represent good value.

 

A concept for a scale-able farm isn't always straightforward, for example, we can ask ourselves:

 

(assuming that space and aesthetics are not a concern, but that

good value raw render power is paramount)

 

 

CPUs

 

Considering the context of the overall hardware configuration:

What presents better value computing capability, e.g. lots of i7s,

multiple pairs of Xeons?; Bottom of the range, Middle, or Top?

 

 

GPUs

 

Considering the context of the overall hardware configuration:

Discreet graphics are probably good enough - right? Probably depends on the

motherboard?

 

 

PSUs

 

Considering the context of the overall hardware configuration:

Lots of cheap ones, or one really powerful PSU?; Which makes more

economic sense?

 

 

MOTHERBOARDs

 

Considering the context of the overall hardware configuration:

Are two single Motherboards ultimately better value than one dual

CPU board?

 

 

SSDs

 

Considering the context of the overall hardware configuration:

One OS for every CPU/or two, does not seem very practical.

 

 

CASEs

 

Considering the context of the overall hardware configuration:

One huge/or custom case or lots of separate boxes?

 

 

AND... then there is COOLING as well!

 

 

Finally, what is the best value private render farm solution you've seen? and/or propose?

 

(The concept is key. The exact specs are secondary).

Edited January 28, 2016 by TomasEsperanza

[TomasEsperanza]

I note that price/performance comparisons like this can be very useful:

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_value_available.html

 

However, these don't tend to aggregate the performance/price ratio over a whole farm of computers (as one would need to do) but just on a component vs component basis. This can be quite misleading, because, for example, a 4 core Xeon maybe be "better value" than a 8 core Xeon, but that ignores the need for double the amount of components to harness that power. This phenomenon, effects not just a render-node build, but the whole farm.

 

Thus going through a list and picking the "best value" part (as compared to similar components) doesn't yield the best value farm.

Edited January 28, 2016 by TomasEsperanza

[Nikolaos M]

I had a thought, a few months ago, to organize tables in Excel, in which one could find all the active cpus of current or previous generations, classified according to their Cinebench scores and also, their cb/$ ratio. Cinebench (both R11.5 and R15) is the most widely used cpu rendering benchmark, it has results very close to the real rendering performance of modern cpus (at least for Intels) and one could find plenty of feedback online about cb scores for cpus both at stock and oc frequencies.

 

I'm afraid, I don't have either the time or the mental stamina to organize something so simple as that anymore...

[TomasEsperanza]

I had a thought, a few months ago, to organize tables in Excel, in which one could find all the active cpus of current or previous generations)

 

The discussion I am prompting, is not about processors per se, but rather to contemplate the most pragmatic format for building a value farm from scratch. i.e. Whether to use: cheap pcs, server racks, custom cases, to buy second hand, or to "future proof", Single Socket or more, etc. There are many options, but for the sole purpose of value mass rendering, there should be a consideration at the onset of investment.