Render Node Build

[Sgt_ Serial]

I’m looking at building a couple of render nodes to support my current workstation when rendering.

 

I’ve been looking at the following parts and because it’s my first Xeon build want to make sure all parts are compatible. Suggestions of different parts are also welcome. Budget is around £600-£700 max.

 

ASUS Z10PA-D8 Dual Socket

2 x Xeon 2678v3

2 x Hyper 212 Evo

Kingston 240gb Evo SSD

Corsair RM650 80 Plus Gold 

Samsung DDR4 ECC 2133mhz

 

Graphics card I don’t need as these as the nodes are CPU based only and from what I understand the board has onboard video.

 

Thanks

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Have you looked at used servers? you can normally get a much better deal than these chips. in a used server. There are also cheaper boards from supermicro id get instead if you want a tower.

 

Might as well try to get faster chips,  not that much more money, should be a good amount faster.

 

 

What programs are you using? 

[Sgt_ Serial]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Have you looked at used servers? you can normally get a much better deal than these chips. in a used server. There are also cheaper boards from supermicro id get instead if you want a tower.

 

Might as well try to get faster chips,  not that much more money, should be a good amount faster.

 

 

What programs are you using? 

Hey thanks for the reply I’ve considered servers but it’s going to be something to keep in the office close by to my actual workstation and the noise that comes from them...  I’ve seen you can pick up the 2678v3 on Ali express for around £69 per chip. I’m definitely open for suggestions on parts.

 

I did see super micro boards on eBay you can pick up for around £50 cheaper than the ASUS. 

 

I use mainly 3D Studio Max and Vray.

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, Sgt_ Serial said:

Hey thanks for the reply I’ve considered servers but it’s going to be something to keep in the office close by to my actual workstation and the noise that comes from them...  I’ve seen you can pick up the 2678v3 on Ali express for around £69 per chip. I’m definitely open for suggestions on parts.

 

I did see super micro boards on eBay you can pick up for around £50 cheaper than the ASUS. 

 

I use mainly 3D Studio Max and Vray.

 

 

Can you use gpu renering? A gpu will be much faster than this cpu setup.

 

Id really try to spend a bit more on cpus, they will give you a reasonable performance boost without spending much more in total.

 

 

[Sgt_ Serial]

7 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Can you use gpu renering? A gpu will be much faster than this cpu setup.

 

Id really try to spend a bit more on cpus, they will give you a reasonable performance boost without spending much more in total.

 

 

GPU still has some limitations in regards to rendering than CPU, granted it’s often faster but CPU has had the time to mature and work in all areas were GPU is playing catch up. Plus you’re limited with the amount of video memory of the GPU.
 

Are there any other CPU’s you could suggest? Vray is more core/threads than speed. 
 

Thanks

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Sgt_ Serial said:

GPU still has some limitations in regards to rendering than CPU, granted it’s often faster but CPU has had the time to mature and work in all areas were GPU is playing catch up. Plus you’re limited with the amount of video memory of the GPU.
 

Are there any other CPU’s you could suggest? Vray is more core/threads than speed. 
 

Thanks

Id just a bit higer tier chips like this guy https://www.ebay.com/itm/CM8066002031501-INTEL-XEON-E5-2680V4-14-CORE-2-40GHz-35M-9-6-GT-s-120W-PROCESSOR/264173228479?epid=571709461&hash=item3d81f391bf:g:ENkAAOSwXQtgIXVU. And its a v4 chip too, so more performance per clock. Pretty hard to beat that platform in terms of performance in that budget.

[Sgt_ Serial]

9 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Id just a bit higer tier chips like this guy https://www.ebay.com/itm/CM8066002031501-INTEL-XEON-E5-2680V4-14-CORE-2-40GHz-35M-9-6-GT-s-120W-PROCESSOR/264173228479?epid=571709461&hash=item3d81f391bf:g:ENkAAOSwXQtgIXVU. And its a v4 chip too, so more performance per clock. Pretty hard to beat that platform in terms of performance in that budget.

Thank you I’ll check that out, I’ll see if I can get a comparison between the two CPU’s.

 

I’ve just checked Ali Express and the 2680v4 is about £118 with the 2678v3 is £69. I’m just weighing out options as to see if the extra gains are worth almost the double price. I’m planning to build a couple of these when certain projects become very render heavy for them to jump onto.