render slaves - new i7s or older xeons?

[viscorbel]

I'm looking to get a few machines to boost my DR render speed.
With my budget, I can get one of these combos

2x 5960x I7s (total 64 GHz after OC)
or
3x 5820k I7s (total 74 GHz after OC)
or
4x dual X5670 xeons (total 140 GHz)

They all come out to pretty much the same cost.

Now looking at the numbers, I'm getting way more GHz per buck with the older xeon machines (refurbished with 12 month warranty).
They are in a rack server format and the cpus are kind of on the old side, launched 5 years ago.

Is there something I'm missing that I should consider before going with the xeons? Older architecture/maintenance and reliability issues, etc.
Never had much to do with server machines, so don't know how easy/complicated it will be to set them up.

Which option would you choose and why?

[super gnu]

well electricity consumption and noise will be the two main issues.. rackmount servers make a right errr.. rack-et. you could maybe get em, remove the case tops and do a watercooling loop? otherwise put em several rooms away.

i cant comment on performance, as ive not used any of those processors. stands to reason the newer ones will give you a bit more bang per ghz, but the xeons are double the ghz, so i guess they would win.

[viscorbel]

So how loud are we talking about? Are they as loud and annoying as a vacuum cleaner/blowdrier?
I have to look into ways to quiet them down, as I won't have the luxury of keeping them 'several rooms' away

[super gnu]

depends if they are 1u or 2-3u servers. the 1u ones are the worst, they have about 20 high speed 60mm fans in them. its hard to have a conversation in a room with 10 of them, i know that.

imagine a vacuum cleaner but higher pitched.

im sure it varies by model, we had the cheapest supermicro ones we could get and this was about 10 years ago, when i worked in an office with a renderfarm.. but 1u = 60mm fans=very high speed fans=screamy noise.

[super gnu]

to be honest if they are as much more horsepower as they sound, id get em and spend a bit modding them with some aftermarket cooling. would of course kiss your warranty goodbye.

[viscorbel]

It's tempting, just have to be sure I'll solve the noise problem...
Listened to some videos of 1u servers on youtube and the sound is very annoying, especially under full load (which is where they will be when rendering)

[arobbert]

Twice the power consumption and more heat to dissipate. Also double the cost of licenses.

I used to use four single space servers. The noise was horrible. You do not want them in the same room with you!

Is the amount of ram similar? I believe the RAM will need to be split in half for each processor in a dual.

[viscorbel]

Let me get this straight - dual processor computers need 2x the ram to get the same usable amount, so 32 gb on a single proc is equal to 64gb on dual?
Can anyone confirm?

Damn, that makes things less appealing...

[super gnu]

hm, i dont think it quite works like that. its just like having a single processor with twice as many cores (although with higher latencies for inter-core communication) ive never heard of the idea that you need twice the ram for a dual machine.

[super gnu]

you can always solve the noise problem. it just depends how enthusiastic you are to get your hands dirty. youd almost certainly not be able to have the tops on the cases if you added aftermarket cooling.

you can get low profile 1u watercooling blocks for cpus, but that means going for a full custom watercooling setup. which is only for those who enjoy the process (for example.. me.)

if you dont mind taking the tops off the cases, or even moving the innards into new cases (likely needing some fiddling to get a fit, i dont know how well 1u server motherboards fit in standard cases.. shouldnt be a problem though.. ) you can go with standard aircoolers or all in one watercoolers.. then the noise will be the same as any workstation.

the project im working on at the moment would be ideal for those boxes. . its a giant external watercooler, sits in the corner of the room, with an umbilical hose that connects to my workstations. will have the ability to cool 2kw almost silently, and 4kw if i dont mind a low whooshing noise.

having said that its cost me 600 quid in parts, and im gradually putting it together when i have gaps in my work.

once its done is shall start a thread about it

[werticus]

The 5960x (8 core) (haswell E) is so very very fast. It is literally twice as fast in vray as a 3930k (6 core from 2 gens ago (sandy bridge E))

I just sold my older 3930k i7 and also sold my dual xeon x5650 and got enough money to buy one new 5960x computer which renders the same speed as those two computers combined. With less than half the electricity and heat generated. Less software costs too if you running out of nodes etc.

[Booska]

Regarding the noise issue, if it's in your budget and you have the space in your home, why not put the render server in a separate room and install a dedicated air conditioner for it? My brother built a recording studio at home and installed a second air conditioning unit in the attic (Well, between the ceiling and the roof anyway) and piped the cold air down to the studio. This was in southern Cal and even in the hottest summer months it stayed distinctly chilly in there... and quiet! So instead of fooling about with water hoses and fans, maybe you could just keep the stock ones and cool it in the room with a/c? What's more, you could hire somebody else to do that kind of installation. And if there's any money left over, maybe toss in a dehumidifier as well.

Just a thought.

[Morbid Angel]

I have 12 rack servers. I've bought a sound proof rack mount for it, it dampens around 60% of the noise. Not enough to keep it in the office, but if you put it in a separate room its totally fine.

About power, yeah I have to have every 2 nodes on a separate plug otherwise it blows the fuses.