Vray Workstation Build. Is 128GB overkill?

[teetooque]

G'day CG folk. Assembling the following soon... feedback and ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

My Questions:

•Is putting 128GB RAM overkill?

•Is supermicro the better motherboard to use? should I go ASUS Z9PE ?? Has anyone used supermicro or (talus) in thier workstation???

•Fitting a two NH-D9DX cooling radiators to a dual motherboard( ASUS or supermicro) with RAM installed, has anyone tried this? Will they fit?

•Case recommendations please! so many out there!! -simplest, most functional and accessible design – no pretty candy needed. So far "corsair 750d" tickles my fancy.

•Whats the go on sealing un-used case openings / holes -Is there a standard methods to reduce dust and improve heat management?

 

 

WORKSTATION

 

-Motherboard: Supermicro MBD-X10DAX | Dual CPU, 16 RAM slots

A toss up between the above and the Asus-Z9PE ensued. I decided the X10DAX because the cpu cooler planning to use is quite large and seems it will fit the supermicro with all the RAM installed.

 

-CPU: E5-2650V3-10X, 25Mcache,2.3GHz,105W,DDR4-2133Mhz

at 2400AU$ a pop, this is all I can afford at the moment. I'm thinking two 2650's will get me across the line for most still and animated CG work . I figured going with 6 or 8 cores would be wasted on a dual cpu motherboard since a single I7 5820k CPU has great performance (evermotion ) for its price of 500AU$ and the 200AU$ difference between single and dual core motherboard.

 

-CPU cooling: Noctua NH-D9DX I4 3U

I know the water cooling systems are the rage right now but for reliability( less moving parts to fail) and its impressive cooling performance and impressive 6 year warranty... noctua makes sense. It is LARGE ( 110x95x95mm) so im a bit concerned it wont fit on the motherboard with all the RAM installed. I'd like to face the motherboard ports and CPU fans upwards so heat travels up and out of the case efficiently.

 

-RAM: Corsair Black Vengeance LPX| DDR4 2400MHz | 8x8GB + 8x8GB = 128GB

The 2650 CPU has max memory type ( intel ) of 2133MHz. Its my understanding higher Mhz does improve render times but only over longer periods ( longer than 24 hours) so i'm going with cpu recommended 2133MHz here (or 2400MHz -close enough )

 

-Drive for Windows 7: 240GB Kingston HyperX Predator PCIe SSD (SHPM2280P2H)

An SSD plugged into the PCI slot vs the usual SATA3 cable has significant speed difference and less internal case cluttering. SATA3 speeds at 200 to 500MB/s vs 1000 MB/s is a no-brainer for me. Faster data access – yes please.

 

-Drive for storage: Western Digital Caviar Red 2TB

Standard 7500rpm disk hard drive

 

-Graphics Card: K2200

Im using what I have already.

 

-PowerSupply: Corsair650

Again, using what I have already.

 

-Windows 7 Pro x64

 

thanks, T2Q.

[Nikolaos M]

- V3 Xeons aren't compatible with the Asus Z9 but the Z10. This is the one you're interested in https://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z10ped16ws.

 

- 128gb, i.e. 64gb per cpu seems way too large amount of RAM to me. I don't know what your projects are about and how demanding they are, but most users would be more than happy with 32gb per cpu, I think. Do you have an estimation of how memory intensive are your projects?

 

- You don't need this specific cooler if it seems too big to fit in your system. Noctua U12S is more slim and has better clearances, I think and it performs great.

 

- 750D is a great case, but there are good alternatives and newer designs around.

 

- Between the two motherboards, I think I would vote for Asus.

 

- Why 2400AU$ for the 2650V3? I see it's much cheaper in Australia https://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80644e52650v3. You can even do better in this field too.

 

If you could mention your total budget, it would be much easier for us to configure a setup for your Workstation. You can get a better ssd, and a much better psu. I wouldn't keep an older psu with all these new and expensive parts.

Also, k2200 is too "poor" for this system, but since you already have it, it's OK.

I tried to make a configuration inside pcpartpicker AUS. Take a look if you want. Other members could give you better advice.

PCPartPicker part list

[teetooque]

Hiya Nikolas, Thanks for the reply and links.

and thanks for pointing out the Z9's lack of compatibility.

 

Could you explain why you would choose a Asus Z10 over the Supermicro X10DAX ?

 

64gb per cpu seems way too large amount of RAM to me

I agree that 32GB per CPU will be more than adequate for most systems but if I'm getting into particle simulations its my understanding that 64GB per CPU is a good idea as simulations could run for days and more ram would improve system stability.

 

If you could mention your total budget

Build cost is 7000 to 8000$.

 

what your projects are about and how demanding they are

I'm mostly doing animation flythoughs and stills with vray , 3dsMax and high quliaty texturing in photoshop. I'll be looking into particle simulations soon with phoenix (or similar) and potentially into Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling later.

 

Noctua U12S is more slim and has better clearances

also my mistake on the cooler, the Noctua NH-D9DX I4 3U should fit a 2011-3 LGA socket without interfering with ram. I will look into the U12S. I looked on supermicro site and compated thier tested coolers sizes with the size of the Noctua D9. Within specs

 

update on the case: NZXT H630 Silent Tour - this case seems better build quality and features than the corsair mentioned above. one good source : hardwarecanucks review on youtube

rugged (full metal) , versatile spacious layout, simple design, eATX, noise dampening.

Edited March 2, 2016 by teetooque

[Nikolaos M]

Could you explain why you would choose a Asus Z10 over the Supermicro X10DAX ?

 

I've seen long reviews about the Z10. It's a top quality mobo. I don't like the lack of m.2 support in the SuperMicro board. It's unthinkable to spend 7-8KAU$ in a new system and not include a m.2 ssd. Besides, I became a traditional Asus user in the last two motherboards I had. I'm very pleased with their support, drivers, BIOS, and various utilities. These guys know about motherboards, alright. Only Gigabyte stands close to their quality in motherboards.

 

The H630 is a good chassis. I think you'll be pleased with it. I have its smaller brother, the H440, and I can assure that they are top quality products. If you want even bigger space inside the chassis, there is the NZXT Switch 810 to also consider.

 

If you choose the Asus Z10 keep in mind that because it is a SSI EEB board you should see compatibility warnings in various sites, but I think you want have a problem with the full towers. You'll just have to move some spacers in different spots.

Edited March 2, 2016 by nikolaosm