High performance render nodes

[DJ-Studd]

Hi Guys,
we're looking to purchase some high performing render nodes.

This is what I've put together so far:

- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Dual Core Processor, Socket 939, "Toledo Core", HT2000 MT/s, 2 x 1MB L2 Cache, Boxed

- ABIT KN8 Ultra Motherboard

- Corsair TWINX2048-3200 2GB (2x XMS1GB) PC-3200

- ELSA GLADIAC PCX 736, NVIDIA GeForce PCX 5750, 128MB DDR, PCI-Express

- 4U Enlight BLACK Rackmount Chassis, 9 x 5.25" Drive bays, 7 x PCI expansion slots, Support Nocona CEB / ATX 12*10 / 12*13 M/Bs, NO PSU

- Antec NEO480 Watt ATX12V Power Supply

- Samsung NCQ 40GB SATA II HDD - 7200RPM, 8MB Buffer, NoiseGuard, ImpacGuard, SilentSeek, Hot-Plug & Hot-Swap capable, 3-year warranty

That comes in at around $1,845.90. I've purposely chosen crappy hdds and video cards.


How will that perform? Am I skimping on anything that I shouldn't be? We'll be looking at 5 or so to begin with and adding another 5 shortly down the track.

Thanks guys!

[jujubee]

You'renot skimping IMO unless you want to put someone on those nodes. Performance should be good. SATA II is relatively new at 300 mbps transfer rate - not a bad hard drive at all and 40 gigs should be more than plenty.

I purchased a Gigabyte A8N for $80 with onboard sound, gig network, and onboard Geforce (6100?) video. I recommend it as you could possibly cut costs even further.

As for your Chassis - which Enlight are you getting - full ATX 8990? Do you have the rack as well?

[mike.edel]

since those machines will probably be running 24/7 i'd tend to use hdds that are designed for longtime use - f.e. the smaller wd raptors (about 100€ for the 37gb version)

no need to go for sata2 though - there still are no single disks that have more transfer rate than sata or p-ata can handle

juju's suggestion to go for onboard graphics is a good one, too
there really is no need to use anything better

as for the power supply: i have a review here that recommends the ultron un-550 pfc
550W, measured to supply a maximum of 615W, removable power cables (= tidy case) - only costs about 65€ (its only drawback: its a little noisier than others - 23db/A)