settec+ Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hi everybody, I was thinking to set up a small "render farm" to do architectural renderings. Well, maybe render farm is not the right definition, anyway the idea was to collect 5-10 pc to do net rendering. So I'm here asking some advice hardware/network wise. We'll be using mainly 3dsmax with some 3d part rendering engine. Which kind of pc should I use considering we are on a low budget ? I thought some middle end athlon processors (e.g. Xp2000), with 512Mb pc2700 ram, 30Gb ATA100 hd, motherboard (which one?), net adapter, 1 network switch (which one?) and nothing else (perhaps an old videocard just for booting up). Should I go for 1Gbit ethernet? Should I consider putting a video adapter on any render slave, even if it's not connected to a monitor? Just a side note: since max won't run on linux OS, I have to buy 10 copies of win Xp just for net slaves... Any cheaper solution I didn't thought of? Thank you for any help you will give, settec+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggy Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 For lower budgets I would recommend AMD processors. I happen to have specs on a renderfarm I'd like to build once I can justify one. Here's what I would get- Biostar M7NCG 400 Motherboard ($65) - Features onboard video (you need a video card to boot a windows computer), LAN, 3 RAM slots AMD XP 2500 "Barton" ($85) - 1.83Ghz with 512K L2 cache, heatsink and fan don't really matter if you don't need the quietest or coolest Crucial 512MB DDR2700 ($75) Any modern ATA/100/133 HD will be good ($70) - You can shave a few dollars to get smaller drives, but I don't think it's worth paying almost the same $ for much smaller drives Almost any case and power supply will suffice. I highly doubt gigabit networking would be needed. Again, almost any name-brand switch will suffice (I use D-Link). You can probably buy extra licenses for XP, which would run maybe 1/2 the price for each additional copy (? - no idea but it'd be cheaper than buying 10 boxes off the shelf). Prices are US$, and I'm not sure what models of hardware are available to you in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
settec+ Posted January 16, 2004 Author Share Posted January 16, 2004 Thank you really much, this is a good starting poit. So, you say it's not worth going for 1 Gbit lan? From test I have done, on a small lan with 1 crappy hub, I've seen really poor performance lan wise ... But again, maybe it was my config that was crappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggy Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Was it a 10mb hub? A switch will keep chugging along fine with more computers, whereas the hub will keep splitting it's bandwidth between all the networked computers. A 100mb switch should easily be plenty. If you're running 10mb, you NEED 100mb, and if you're running a 100mb hub you should probably switch to a switch sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Alexander Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 settec, Don't forget about the -used- option. E-baY and the likes. Local computer resellers. Friends neihbors and relation can be FREEBIE aquisitions, for used equipment. I picked up two P3 933 for nothing. Only cost a NIC card and new hard drive. Stuck my hard earned dollars into a new mobo and p4 3.2ghz chipset for my work station. Swapped out one of the old mobos a couple hundred $ , whole new sytem. More than adequate for a render farm. I use a 5 port switch & 10-100mb nic cards all linksys. Have had absolutely terrible luck with D-link, but thats a personal opinion. OEM system software is the way to go, many pricing options avialable. Good Luck, WDA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
settec+ Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 Thank you guys, some nice advice here... I guess a 10 barton 2500 renderfarm is better, but maybe I can start with a 10 duron 1000 one Much more affordable and certainly enough rendering power for the beginning. @Wiggy : yes, it was a 10Mb hub indeed... Any suggestion for a good and relatively cheap 100Mb switch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggy Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 If you want a cheaper start I would recommend fewer barton 2500s than going with durons. I've had good luck with d-link unlike wda, but d-link or linksys will be about as cheap as you can get with a name-brand switch. They're around $45 for a 8 port or $75 for a 16-port here in the states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graphix Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I personally run a renderfarm of 15 machines. They all have xp2000 cpus, best bang for the buck at the time. Various all in one motherboards, check out newegg.com's refurb section most of the boards I picked up were under 25 bucks shipped. I would say 512 ram, I ran tests with 256 and 512 makes a world of difference. HDs pick up what you can get 10GB or better. a 10/100 switch will work just fine. The first push to the computers will be slower but 10/100/1000 equipment costs alot more. As for windows, yes you should purchase a copy for each machine. And microsoft does offer 10 pack user upgrades that are MUCH cheaper then individual. If you are looking for CHEAP bug your friends. a whole bunch of 800mhz machines works just fine. My office now uses 150 of our old 800mhz machines as the inhouse renderfarm, yes its noisey, yes its gigantic, but it was "free". If you have any questions about setting it up just let me know. P.S. As for someones post about you need to have a graphics card to boot a windows system that is false, yes you need one to load the os but after that it can be removed and runs just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggy Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by graphix: As for someones post about you need to have a graphics card to boot a windows system that is false, yes you need one to load the os but after that it can be removed and runs just fine. How can you say my post is false if you immediately agree with me right after you say you don't agree? I would recommend you NOT take out a video card while the computer is running- it's easily damaged that way, as well as full of hassles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Alexander Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Now gentlemen, no sqawbling. Look for motherboards that have graphics cards on board the mobo, usually 16 or 64 mb, i.e. A-open, Asus & others. Thats all you need for the op system install from my humble experience. Free is good, free with IT tech install & set up would be better. But... that takes all the fun out of it? rgrds WDA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graphix Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Wiggy....I negelcted to mention turning the machine off first before pulling the card. Then turn the machine back on.I thought that went without saying. Windows will boot just fine if there is no graphics card present. You can then access the machine via remote control software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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