CPU Rendering Hardware Question

[JabbaTheNut]

Forgetting cost considerations, is render time faster with three 6-core PCs or one 18-core PC (assuming both PCs have the same clock speed, ram, etc.)? I am trying to determine if having one massive core PC is better than having several smaller core PCs from a render speed perspective.

[vlado]

Are you looking at using distributed rendering, you just frame-by-frame rendering for animations? For raw performance, take a look at https://benchmark.chaosgroup.com/next/cpu - you can find results for various configurations there; to what extents those results are applicable to you, depends on the use case.

Best regards,
Vlado

[JabbaTheNut]

Hi Vlado,

I am looking at frame by frame batch rendering for animations. Consider these two scenarios:

1. 3 PCs with 6 cores each.
2. 1 PC with 18 cores.

I am assuming that when I send an animation in scenario 1, that 3 frames will be processed at the same time (one frame on each of the three 6 core PCs).

If I send an animation in scenario 2, what happens? Will only one frame be processed on the 1 PC across all 18 cores? Or, will multiple frames be processed at the same time each using an allocated portion of the 18 cores?

[SonyBoy]

Like Vlado said, "it depends". Impossible to answer that question definitively as so many factors go into determining which scenario will be faster. Generally speaking, more physical CPUs is preferable over more cores for batch rendering sequences, but other hardware considerations such as memory, bus speed, network speed, file size etc. etc. all play into how long a render takes. It's often more art than science.