Michael Humes :
I am trying to build a computer that will produce rendering much faster with Maxwell Render. The more CPU's the better as this software uses any CPU power available. Does anyone have any suggestions on processors and mother boards--or where I can buy a computer that can handle this software so that it doesn't take 5 days to render one image.
Micheal Humes,
I've been using Maxwell with Sketchup Pro. I'm preparing to do a series of 40 large renderings of a 110MB Sketchup model and am thinking of changing to vray.
The best cost / performance benefit I could think of for high image quality and ultimate stability is to buy a used Dell Precision with dual Xeons, ECC RAM, and a Quadro card. The Dual Xeons provide the maximum cores- all of which can be assigned to renderings, the ECC error correcting RAM filters about artifacts, and the Quadro can run extremely high anti-aliasing- in some programs up to 128X.
For this scheme, you can find a used Precision T7500 with the excellent Xeon X5680, 3.33/ 3.60GHz Turbo, six core / twelve thread processor.
http
/www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Dell+Precision+intrusion+switch&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&_nkw=Dell+Precision+690+intrusion+switch&_sacat=0
> a completed listing for a remarkable T7500 with an X5680, 48GB DDR3 1600 RAM, an NVIDIA 7300 GS (don't know that one- and and the amazing feature, a Tesla C1060 co-processing unit- $2,200 new)- all for $1,479.
I see private sale T7500 /X5680 systems in the $1,300-1,600 range and then with dealers for much more. Keep in mind that new, the X5680 CPU cost $1,600 alone and the system was probably in the $5000+ range. These are often sold now without the OS, little RAM, and an inadequate graphics card. With a reasonable amount of RAM and a good Quadro- the 4000 (2GB,used $350) or Quadro 2000 (1GB). The Quadro 4000would be the best if you're 3D modeling, but you can use an $120 FX 3800 if you're working only in 2D. The system above would cost with a Quadro 4000 about $1,900.
If the 6 cores / 12 threads are not enough, you can add later the CPU / RAM /Fan riser for about $250 and a second X5680 - another $500-600. That would give you a 12 core / 24 thread super- renderer with ECC accuracy and Quadro image quality. By the way, while the AMD FX 8350 is listed as 8 core, it is not hyperthreading so it would be equal in computational power to an Intel quad core with hyperthreading.
In Passmark Benchmarks, a T7500 / Dual X5680 / Quadro 4000 had a system rating of 3953 / CPU=14312 , 2D=672, 3D=1988, MEM=1555, Disk (LSI RAID) = 10738
The performance of the T7500 / , especially with a Quadro 4000 and dual Xeons X5680 could be very good and difficult to duplicate or improve for less than $4,000+ new. With careful configuration, that is a high quality system you could confidently set up to render and then walk away from and let run 24 hours a day.
Or, if your budget is tight, for about half the cost, you could have an 8 core / 16 thread system similar to the one I use >
Dell Precision T5400 > 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @ 3.16GHz, 16 GB ECC , Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB)[Passmark 2D=517, 3D=1097], WD RE4 / Segt Barcd 500GB > Windows 7 Ultimate < Total investment about $1,100 2010 to 2012
Running > AutoCad, Revit, Solidworks, Sketchup, Adobe CS MC, Corel Technical Designer, WP Office, MS Office] [In Passmark Benchmarks, system rating =1859 / CPU=8529 , 2D=517, 3D=1097, MEM=729, Disk=929]
Today, this system could be done for about the same cost but with significant improvements > an SSD for the OS- that would double the disk score and programs and a two generations newer Quadro >
http/www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-T5400-2X-Quad-Core-XEON-X5460-3-16GHz-8GB-160GB-DVD-R-ATI-V5200-C-/390562282184?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item5aef537ac8
> which is a completed listing of a dual X5460 (8 cores / 16 threads) / 8 GB RAM / Quadro FX 1700 for $470. To this add 8 more GB of RAM- $120, and a used Quadro 2000- $160, a 120GB Samsung 840 SSD for OS and Applications, $100, WD black 1TB for Files, $90 and Windows 7 Professional OEM, $120 > =$1060. There is the Precision T7400, which can use up to 192GB of RAM (T5400=32GB) and has a 1000W PSU (T5400=875W), and these are not much more expensive. The TX4XX systems are also of the highest build quality, accuracy, and reliability and their only really weakness is the limitation to 4 cores - but there can be 2 of those, the DDR2-667 RAM is expensive, runs quite hot, and of course is not as fast as the DDR3, 1333 RAM of the X5XX series-- which can use two of a variety of faster 6 core CPUs that are the natural domain of the dual Xeon > ECC > Quadro world.
Personally, I would suggest not to be tempted by a gaming system / components, and overclocking as the cost savings is replaced by frustrating unreliability and quality problems. I tried only substituting a GTX 285 for the original Quadro FX 580 in my T5400, and the GTX 285 ($350) was selected as it has the same 512-bit GPU as the Quadro FX 5800 ($3,100) except with 1GB memory instead of 4GB, and I had bizarre shadows. viewports wouldn't open in Solidworks, artifacts that appeared as lines raining from tree leaves, and renderings in Maxwell on a Sketchup file of 15MB would crash after 25 minutes. On my 100MB model, I could never complete a Maxwell rendering of any size or resolution. The Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB, $1,200 new, purchased for $150) solved all my problems. Quadros do not score general benchmarks as well as Geforce at the same price level- but in AutoCad, Catia /Solidworks, Adobe CS, they really deliver the goods. The drivers are magic and all those software companies optimize- they issue "partnered drivers" for Quadros. I don't know the AMD Firepro line, but they are said to work very well, often have higher performance at he same cost, and Autodesk does also certify certain Firepros.
Only because it's easy to copy and paste, the following is a kind of ideal system I would do for myself that is still not stratospherically priced>
BambiBoom PixelDozer Cadarendergrapharific IV®©™℞
1. Xeon E5-1650 6-core 3.2 /3.8GHz $600
http/ark.intel.com/products/64601
2. Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 140mm and 120mm PWM SSO CPU Cooler $90
3. ASUS P9X79 WS LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 SSI CEB $380
4. Kingston 32B (4X 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ECC Unbuffered Server Memory w/TS Intel Model KVR16E11/8I $300.
5. NVIDIA Quadro K4000 3GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card $800
6. SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $250
7. 2X WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB HARD DRIVE SATA 64MB 6 Gb/s WD AV-GP (RAID 1) $170
8. ASUS Black Blu-ray Burner SATA BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS $85
9. LIAN LI PC-A75 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case $182
10. SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $150
11. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit - OEM $190
____________________________________________________
TOTAL > about $3,200
The thing is my current system doesn't have any serious deficiencies for the architectural and industrial design work I'm doing in performance terms, image quality is excellent and the system is rock solid reliable. I may not change for another 3-4 years.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
PS > For entertainment purposes, my Powerball celebration system >
BambiBoom PixelCannon Cadarendereditgrapharific Extreme Signature Supermodeler VI ®©™℞©™®℞
1. (2) Intel Xeon E5-2687W Sandy Bridge-EP 3.1GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 2011 150W 8-Core Server Processor BX80621E52687W $3,869.98 ($1,934.99 each)
2. (2) COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler $67.98 ($33.99 each)
3. Intel S2600COE SSI EEB Server Motherboard Dual LGA 2011 DDR3 1600 $599.99
4. 64GB RAM> (2)Wintec 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ECC Registered Server Memory Model 3RSL160011R5H-32GQ $619.98 ($309.99 each)
5. LSI MegaRAID Internal Low-Power SATA/SAS 9260-8i 6Gb/s PCI-Express 2.0 w/ 512MB onboard memory RAID Controller Card, Single $498.99
6. PNY VCQ6000-PB Quadro 6000 6GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card $3,658.99
7. NVIDIA TESLA K20 (900-22081-2220-000) GK110 5GB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card $3,499.99
8. (2) SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD512BW 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (RAID 0) $1,039.98 ($519.99 each)
9. (5) Western Digital RE WD4000FYYZ 4TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal Hard Drive (RAID 10) $2,149.95
10. LIAN LI PC-V2120X All Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case $469.99
11. CORSAIR AXi AX1200i 1200W Digital ATX12V v2.31 and EPS 2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $329.99
12. ASUS Black Blu-ray Burner SATA $79.99
13. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit - OEM $190
____________________________________________
Total = $16,975.79
Facebook
Twitter