HELP! I've got 5K Usd for a new system

#1

I need a killer rig with no fewer than 24 cores (Intel only )and a screaming Nvidia graphics card, ( Sorry No ATI ) and 32 gig ram. Where should I go to have my new system built? Also what models do you recommend? It will be a Maya / 3Ds max system :beer:

#2

You might have to lower your aim for the build. Dual processor with 12 cores each are not in the budget at $5,000 unless you’re talking just the processors and nothing else. What specifically will you be doing with the machine in Maya and Max? What do you spend the most time waiting on?

#3

The only screaming nVIDIA Quadro (the k6k) will eat almost the entirety of that budget. A screaming GTX one will take only a 15 to 20% off.
24 physical cores, as Olson mentioned, will simply not fit in that budget at all, period, let alone in 4 grands or little more that will be left after putting a top of the line 9xx or Titan in it.

This is assuming you only need case and innards and no displays.

You’ll have to lower your aim considerably.
Is overnight rendering such a big part of your requirements, because that is basically the main point of piling a shitton of cores into a day2day workstation, that you’re prioritizing core count?

#4

Yes, Mostly I’m trying to make a render box for Vray and maxwell, I’m looking at Octane so that’s why the Nvidia Graphics card. Currently I’ve got a 3.5 ghz, 32 gigs memory system that just isn’t cutting it for clients. I’ve done the Farm out my rendering needs to a 3rd party before and I’m not a fan. Should I just build 4 or 5 $1000 render boxes and network render all my jobs? … I just hate the idea of wasting all that power and possibly blowing a circuit breaker. :shrug:

#5

You are wasting your money. I recommend you look at redshift 3d for rendering. Put two gtx 970’s in that box and redshift will render it faster than anything else out there.

#6

It gets a bit tricky if you mix GPU and CPU rendering and don’t know what your priorities will be. Setups for those two things couldn’t be more different, and without knowing your rendering needs, your clients, and whether you will be able to mix engines or not, it’s impossible to figure out an optimal solution.

With that said, if you are willing to bet on GPU rendering, do get one or two decent videocards to chew through that.
If you’re often on the memory heavy side of things getting something with a lot of RAM could be invaluable, so a 4GB 9xx at the minimum, if not a Titan for its 6GB. If you know you’re relatively safe on the memory footprint side, then you could toss in a couple 970s as Ali suggests.

Alternatively you could put just one card in your current workstation, give GPU rendering a solid trial, and come to conclusions and eventually extend that setup with another card later on (GPU rendering engines usually play well with multiple cards not in SLI, even to the point where you could toss in that Titan later on and work on your box with the 970 while the Titan does nothing but chew frames, as long as you don’t mix quadro and GTX multiple cards are a non issue).

As for CPU rendering, blowing a fuse isn’t really a concern. If you keep your setups in check you can get very power and space efficient.
Render mules don’t need a videocard, the integrated FX on Intel CPUs is plenty, they don’t need much power if you pick the right CPUs, and they don’t have a lot of parts to them. Most blades can actually run with 400W PSUs that run at 60% most of the time just fine.
There are two different downsides to owning single CPU mules, one is that you need to double up on memory compared to multiCPU boards, but that’s majorly offset anyway by the way cheaper components, and second that you have to manage them one way or another, which will require you build some experience.

In your place, I would toss in a 970 or 980 with 4GB, and give GPU rendering some serious consideration to see how far you can take it, and whether it’s for you. If it turns out you can live with the feature set of an engine like Octane or Redshift and want to go in with all your chips, you can then set yourself up with a mule with another couple videocards, or add another to your workstation, or both.
Save the rest of the money until you can reach that conclusion IMO.

If instead you find you like GPU rendering but still need to patch over your CPU rendering for a few months, put together a good value for money single mule without a GPU , either a top tier i7 or an 8core xeon, making sure you can add a videocard later on.

If you find GPU rendering doesn’t do it for you, no big deal, you have only forked out a few hundred, got a decent videocard for it anyway, and then you can decide what to do with the remaining 4.5 grands to get yourself a mini farm of decent value and low power consumption.

In no scenario that seems to fit your needs I would consider going all out on beefing up your workstation with components that are meant for high computational power per cubic foot, but have horrible value for money in terms of dollars per cycle. Separate mules will turn out a lot more frames for your bucks, and you can get there in stages while deciding your rendering strategies for the future.

#7

Hum… Great advice I’m going to have to mull things over on this for a few days. Still if anyone comes across any good system deals post them here. :keenly: