Need a new Workstation for Keyshot

Started by Subclub, April 21, 2013, 02:05:06 PM

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tfinlay

I totally agree on the i7 vs. xeon bang for the buck.

Something to consider in the cost is managing the machines/software on each machine.  We have an render farm of 8 (or 9?) machines/ 192 cores.  Doing that with i7s would approx. double the number of machines, which means 8 more computers to load/manage windows 7, vray, keyshot network rendering, etc. on.  Its a lot of work, and I can understand how the additional cost of dual CPUs in the computer could offset the trouble associated with double the number of computers to manage.

Speedster

Hi Dries;

Actually, my plan is later this year, maybe.  My box is doing fine as is, except my 180 GB C Drive in in the red with only 12 GB left!  And nothing but apps! My first plan as soon as I can let it go for a couple of days is to have Datel install an SSI, and clone the C, as things are running a bit slower now. 

At Siggraph I was looking at the RenderBOXX, which was running KeyShot at hyper-speed.  It had, if I remember, 72 cores.  Have not checked prices lately, but I think it was about $4k, which would be a lot less then a new computer, and I can plug it in right now.  But I'll spec things out later this year when and if the time comes.  I don't do computational or FEA stuff, so SolidWorks, KeyShot and CS5 are my primary apps.  The core count is critical for me as KS has become such a large part of my business.

Thanks for the advice, and I'll certainly look into it...

Bill G

DriesV

#17
Bill,

Mmh...72 (physical) Xeon cores for $4k? I find that pretty hard to believe. ???
I just ran the configurator for RENDERPRO on boxxtech.com.
The cheapest 16 physical cores (32 logical) configuration -based on dual Xeon E5-2650 (max. turbo 2.8GHz)- I could make totalled at around $6400.
Theoretically extending that to 72 physical cores would total at $28800! :o

On the other hand:
A currently top of the line 4 core i7 3770 (max. turbo 3.9GHz) machine with 16GB RAM and W7 64 bit can be had for $1k easily.
For a 72 core configuration you would need 18 of those, totalling at $18000. That's a lot cheaper and actually much more powerful too (3.9GHz vs 2.8GHz).
Granted, managing 18 machines is more of a hassle than 4 to 5 workstations, but with identical machines you can eliminate most of that through network deployment and management solutions.

btw, that 18 machine i7 network rendering setup would equal around 1000fps camera scene bench score. 8)
That $28800 Xeon setup would score 650fps to 700fps, I guess... (extrapolation based on performance figures on cpubenchmark.net)
If you want equal render performance with RENDERPRO you'd be looking at spending around +$40k easily...
Oh, and i7 3770 is much more energy-efficient than Xeon E5 too. 8) So in the long run -despite having more machines- the i7 solution should be cheaper to run.

greetings,
Dries

Speedster

Yikes!  I didn't run the numbers!  You are so right- there are better options for sure!  And thanks for the constructive comments, as I think many of us are in search of a balanced solution now that KeyShot has become such a major player for us.  But few of us are in the big leagues, myself certainly included.  Maybe we could prod Luxion into offering an optimized "KeyShooter"!
Bill G

3D Off the Page

Speedster, if you are looking to swap your hdd to an ssd take a look at something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239050

It's a upgrade kit that includes the drive, mount, software and external usb enclosure.  With your pc off, put the ssd into the usb enclosure, plug it in, boot up with the cd your optical drive and it will boot to a tool that will allow you to clone your existing drive to the ssd.  After it's done swap the hdd's and you are all set with your new drive.  Then keep the software and enclosure to use again.  I have used this same kit many times over with different ssd drives and it works great.

Steve

Robb63

Hi Speedster, I did the HDD to SSD swap myself a month or two ago. I bought Crucial's 250GB SSD with the transfer kit, and had myself up and running in under 30 minutes. My system is quicker doing everything than it was before.

I've looked at the RENDERBOXX solution too. It is pricey, but I currently have a BOXX system and they are fantastic. Now that I'm on my own as a designer, anytime I'm tinkering with computers I'm not earning a living. I'm a tinkerer by nature, and it was hard not to build my own system knowing I could save a chunk of change. But, the BOXX system had run nearly flawlessly for a year and a half now (it's always on 24 hr a day). The one issue I had was the center of one of the USB ports in the front panel broke. I called BOXX, and they overnight-ed me an entire new front panel that I swapped out in 10 mins. Then they called and emailed to make sure it was all working (they even offered to walk me through the install over the phone too!).
I'm definitely a fan of theirs, despite the premium on their systems.

DriesV

What about this?
Dell PowerEdge R210 II Ultra-compact Rack Server
It can be configured with Xeon E3-1270 v2 (equivalent in speed and price of i7 3770), +8GB RAM, SSD drives and comes with Windows Server 2012 Essentials.
It's a server node in 1U form factor (very slim!) that you can put into any standard server rack.
Quite moderately priced too...

A bunch of these is what our preferred DTP agency is using for in-house rendering. They have 2 racks stuffed with these babies. :)

Dries

tfinlay

Quote from: DriesV on April 26, 2013, 12:46:58 AM
btw, that 18 machine i7 network rendering setup would equal around 1000fps camera scene bench score. 8)
That $28800 Xeon setup would score 650fps to 700fps, I guess... (extrapolation based on performance figures on cpubenchmark.net)

Someone should probably devise a simple network rendering benchmark...

I imagine the pendulum swing animation @ 3200x1800, no frame output and max samples of 32 would be a good test.  I just tried it and it took 1:51.