Render Farm Computer Specs

Tech masters need your advice for whats the current best computer specs for rendering farm with best price. for office use..
any idea please..Thanks a lot.

Render Pro from BOXX

bokkins wrote:Yung kaya mo lang bro. That's the key word I guess. Any computer can be linked up.

yup yung tama lang sa budget dude, pero i would suggest at least quad core ung slave servers mo, kase pag dual core, maasar ka lang sa sobrang bagal magrender nung part na un...

Thanks guys, anyway I got specs from a friend tired of waiting for the reply here.

I already submitted to my boss and waiting for approval.
I'm not sure how many he want to purchase.
We are currently using i7 on the workstations.
But he still think we are slow. So he ask me for powerful PC out there.
We are not just 1 project per day. So hope you understand.

I will just share it here maybe can help to others that need too.


Render Farm

CPU = Intel i7-X980 3.33 ghz (Gigabyte X58A-UD9 X58) = 2288
Memory = DDR3 Kingston HyperX PC3 2000mhz CL9 6gig = 2pcs = 578
VGA = EVGA GTX 465 1GB GDDR5 = 459
Hardisk = WD 1TB 64MB (Caviar Black) SATA3 = 127
Casing = cooler master elite 430 (black) 12cm Fan + side window = 79
Power Supply = Cooler Master Silent PRO GOLD 800W 80+ = 269
Monitor = Philips 19" = 189
DVD = LG GH22 22x DVD+-RW IDE /SATA = 33
keyboard & mouse = LOGITECH INTERNET PRO DESKTOP BLACK (USB/PS2) = 28
OS = WINDOWS 7 PRO 64BIT = 195


ROUGH PRICE = 4245

by the way the price is base in SGD.

You can save a lot by getting rid of expensive graphics board and hooking up a single mouse, single keyboard and single monitor to a switch.

Slaves do not need the power of a hi-end graphics board because technically you aren't supposed to be working on it - just renderin.

The most important thing is CPU, RAM and a reliable network connection.

v_wrangler wrote:You can save a lot by getting rid of expensive graphics board and hooking up a single mouse, single keyboard and single monitor to a switch.

Slaves do not need the power of a hi-end graphics board because technically you aren't supposed to be working on it - just renderin.

The most important thing is CPU, RAM and a reliable network connection.

Thanks Sir V, got it. my previous work the company is hooking up 40 machines for render farm. with one monitor and we use VNC to access it. but im not more on hardware side. so got no idea how it really works.

for my renderfarm i use the following stations:

8 -I7 (2600) Processor with built-in vga
8 GB of each
Network Administrator Monitor (for viewing rather than using KVM switch)
1 GB switch para sa networking
1-Unit Network Storage Device (2TB)
1- Workstation for modelling

kung isang tao per project no need for i7 980x for a render farm, ordinary i7 can get the job done, i7 2600 is fast enough for a renderfarm. hindi mo naman kelangan ng superfast computer like 980x for rendering kung ikaw lang ang tatapos ng mga nirerender mo, unless kung madami kayo tumitira sa isang view, 980x can benefit kase matatapos agad at masisimulan ang psd works. cgurado per project madming views, you can do photoshop work for another project or dun sa ibang view na natpos na irender while waiting for the rendering of the farms. bali wala ang mga i7980x kung yun tao overloaded at ndi rin naman masisimulan kaagad ayusin ang natpos irender ng rendering farm nyo. i7600 is fast enough and by the time tpos kana mag psd work sa isang view, tapos narin si i7 2600 sa render para sa next view mong gagawin. thats my point hope that can help

a price of i7 980x processor can buy 3 sets of normal core i7.

I agree with oby20

Drooling over the specs..

I still maintain the belief that as long as you can get the fastest machine and can afford it, use it as for your farm.

Wherever I work, I also see to it that I have a side-machine. A pc that runs fast as my main machine. Much like a policeman's 45 or a 38 in addition to his m16.

Is it a luxury? No!

I use it to compute simulations, I use it for test renders, I use it as a quick renderfarm when the real farms pretty loaded with work or when I need to distribute render. It makes me productive, so I can multitask. No time lost.

Did I tell you I steal CPU power from my co-workers and renderfarm via distributed rendering?

It always boils down to INTEL fastest processor is just a gimmick.

Example given:

the old Core2 Extreme QX9650 processor that cost around 50-60k pesos which will be probably beaten by the new Sandy Bridge Intel 2600k that only cost around 16-18k pesos.

So....

This is not about whether you have a money to buy or not, as we know that money is hard to earn nowadays. It is not practical to buy the fastest processor because later on, it will be the slowest among them all.

Being practical doesn't mean you are saving money. It is how we balance the thing's value and its worth.

just my 2 cents

yes very true sir, i agree with necrolyte, an i7 980x can buy 2 to 3 - i7 950 or even i7 2600k.
its not twice the speed because its only a 6core processor vs. 4 core processor but the price is 3 times more. you can do alot of things while waiting for the rendering, you can do psd works or 3d modelling of another work. its not all about the fastest pc but its also how fast you work and how organize you work. 980x can cost you 100k per setup, so 3 setup for farm is already 300k, gumastos ka ng 300k ako 150k lang and you are just a few minutes faster than my i7 950