Dual CPU render rig

Hardware Build a PC
21

i guess if that's waht you want....

22

I'm looking to get a dual CPU render rig when I came across this thread. I am mainly rendering out of Maya and I like the list Commissar put together, but it's really expensive and I'm on a budget. What do you guys think of these?

mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182343

cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008494%20600303512&IsNodeId=1&name=LGA%202011

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239230

I already have an SSD. Also, it was my understanding that rendering is more CPU intensive than GPU intensive so I was planning to use my ATI Radeon HD 5670.

What do you guys think of this as a budget rig? I'm trying to stay under $1000 so I can buy a decent IPS monitor.

23

budget and multi-cpu are mutually exclusive. and I think autodesk has god gpu acceletation.... not as dumb as adobe

24

i refuse to believe you can't build a dual cpu system on a budget. everyone has a budget of some sort. also, maya and mental ray do not utilize gpu acceletation

25

LGA 1356 and ATX: Supermicro X9DAL and X9DBL series ($350)

2x Xeon E5-2403 (4 cores @ 1.8GHz, $200) or 2x Xeon E5-2407 (4 cores @ 2.2GHz, $260) or 2x Xeon E5-2430 (6 cores @ 2.2GHz, $570)

LGA 2011 and ATX: Supermicro X9DRL series ($350)

2x Xeon E5-2603 (4 cores @ 1.8GHz, $210) or 2x Xeon E5-2609 (4 cores @ 2.4GHz, $300) or 2x Xeon E5-2630 (6 cores @ 2.3GHz, $650)

There are higher clock xeons for both boards but price grows exponentially with clock, there are also 8 core versions but they start at about $1000 per cpu. Both boards support ecc/non-ecc and registered/unbuffered ram - so pretty much anything that will physically fit should work.

and a warning: Not all Xeon cpus support dual-cpu configurations, the one you mentioned (Xeon E5-1650) can only work as a single cpu. E3-1xxx and E5-1xxx series are single-cpu versions, E5-2xxx are dual-cpu and E5-4xxx quad-cpu.

Then there is AMD (more cores cheaper and support for 4 cpu systems at that price):

Supermicro H8DG series (2-cpu E-ATX, $500)

2x AMD Opteron 6212 (8 cores @ 2.6GHz, $290) or 2x AMD Opteron 6234 (12 cores @ 2.4GHz, $400) or 2x AMD Opteron 6272 (16 cores @ 2.1GHz, $520)

Supermicro H8QGL series (4-cpu SWTX 42cm x 33cm, $750)

cpus same as above but 4x, with 4x Opteron 6272 you would end with a 64-core system for about $3000 (mobo, cpu, ram)

* all prices are approximate

26

I like how you think nowakpl. I was able to put together a 12 core cpu for just a little more than $1000.

AMD Opteron 4234 Valencia 3.1GHz Socket C32 95W Six-Core Server Processor $195

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113013

SUPERMICRO MBD-H8DCL-I-O ATX Server Motherboard Dual Socket C32 AMD SR5690 DDR3 1600 $300

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182320

OR

ASUS KCMA-D8 ATX Server Motherboard Dual Socket C32 AMD SR5670 DDR3 1333/1066/800   $290

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131670&Tpk=ASUS%20KCMA-D8%20ATX

Anyone know which mobo is better?

27

also, what are your thoughts on buying a used machine? I found a dual quad core from 2007 for $400. Significant cost cutting but don't know how it would do as a render machine.