HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

[london]

I'm an associate at an architectural office and are exploring the option of setting up a render farm to start producing animations for client presentations and for fund raisers...

I've researched plenty online regarding render farms but I've found nothing tangible, in terms of the necessary components required, that has allowed me to put any sort of price tag on.

Taking into consideration that we run Rhino/Vray on 32 bit quad core 2 machines...below are some of my concerns (basically everything):

-the eventual release of Rhino 5 and its 64 bit capabilities
-the fact that we run 32 bit machines and its compatibility if we were to purchase 64 bit processors for the render farm
-number of processors and optimal RAM using DR Spawner.
-adequate hard drive space
-anything else I would need to know about

In short, a comprehensive description of what I would need to take into account when setting up the render farm and "set-up" scenarios that would best serve our needs.

Thank you in advance...

[foglite]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

First I would start by chekcing out Boxx and seeing what they have on offer and what they recommend for specs. They are certainly not cheap, but the best out there.

Definitely get machines that are 64-bit capable, you should be able to run a 32 bit OS on them, but like you point out, eventually you are going to need to go to 64 bit to take advantage of more RAM. There is no real conflict between 32bit & 64bit processors, it's just the OS that they are running. You can get a 64bit processor and run a 32bit version of XP on it without any conflicts.

These days an 4-8 core, 8gbs of ram machine is considered appropriate for a rendering/ workstation machine.

[jrharvey]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

How do you feel about building your own? Im not sure how the firm feels about that but I know its what I would do if I was faced with the decision. I agree about BOXX. They make some pretty powerful 16core (32 thread) render boxes. Their workstations are a bit over priced but the render farms are doable I guess. Also it sounds like if your office is running quad cores then its already 64bit. Since the core2 series in intel there have been 64bit instructions in the chips and AMD has had it for a while. Definately go 64bit to save tons of headaches. TRUST ME on that one!!

[london]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

thanks for the insight...to answer your question John, it is our intention to build from scratch.

[jrharvey]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

Well my recomendation is to go with a Core i7 build for overall greatest benefit. If your trying to get the best bang for your buck then the AMD Phenom II is the best choice but the i7 is just so powerful and compact (Power per CPU) its hard to resist. I could walk your through building the right components and what to do. Are you planning to overclock? That will determine which parts I would recomend.
BTW... I HIGHLY recomend overclocking. Its basically the same as getting a $1,000 cpu for the price of a $300 cpu.

[london]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

Is it too much trouble to recommend components if we do decide on overclocking? I need to do some research, specifically on the disadvantages of overclocking. Like voiding warranty, longevity, durability, up-keep and so on.

I really appreciate your help.

I would prefer the i7. The machine will have no monitor. It will only be accessed remotely/DR Spawner for animations and renderings; basically, it will not be used as someones workstation.

[london]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

an amendment to the previous post:

can you recommend components suitable to both the overclocked machine and the standard. I'd like to take everything into account, if its not too much trouble, thanks.

[jrharvey]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

Well a good place to start your research is http://www.overclock.net/
They will help you get every ounce of performance you can out of your new machine. There aren't really that many disadvantages to overclocking if you keep it in a safe zone and don't go crazy. Its kinda like swimming in the ocean, you can keep on going for what seems forever and the water is still below your sholders and then all of a sudden it drops off and the current gets really strong where you have reached the danger zone. Ive found that most can get AT LEAST 3.6ghz out of a 2.66ghz stock core i7 920 ($300) in comparison to the 3.2 ghz 965 ($1,000). I have mine running at 3.8ghz and there are others lucky enough to run 4ghz with no problem and no overheating. I can help you alot with this as I have an i7 machine and have helped MANY others with there own machines. One thing to notice here is that if your running remotely you WONT need a video card except for initial setup because you cannot enter the BIOS remotely. You can either use an existing card that you have or buy a really cheap one to throw in there for setup and stability testing and then hot swap it to other machines if you have them. Also not that you can do the same with the CD/DVD drive. You can buy one and hot swap it to your other machines. You definitely don't want to go cheap on the power supply. Getting some no name, low budget piece of junk is only going to leave your PC broken after a year or two. 550W should be more than enough to power an i7 rig without a video card. Here are some suggestions on parts.

CPU and Motherboard Combo $450 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.213702
HDD $40 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136075
Memory $95 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231225
Power supply $86 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004
CPU cooler (Very important) $65 http://www.frozencpu.com/products/88...2_AM2_AM3.html

$736 total

OPTIONAL.........
Optical drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106291
Video card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127368
This card is absolute crap but its only for getting the computer setup.
Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042
Fans (maybe 5 or so) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185065

[london]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

So, you think one is enough? if I were to purchase say three i7 processors (to make it 16 cores)...would it make sense to supply each with less RAM, less hard drive space, or stick to the specs you've already suggested? thanks in advance, this is of great help to me.

[schultzeworks]

I started a render farm

I recently posted about using the shuttle SFF (small form factor) PCs to build a super cheap render slave. I just finished my first module and it worked great! I built a 4-core machine with 4GB of RAM and it cost only $705. That was an excellent cost-per-CPU ratio and I am planning to buy more and "stack 'em up." The specs are on the ASGVIS thread here http://forum.asgvis.com/index.php?topic=6387.0

There is a great overview of the process, with far more variables than I explored. Its on Toms Hardware here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/render-farm-node,2340.html

Keep us posted what you find or build.

[jrharvey]

Re: HELP W/ RENDER FARM SPECIFICATIONS

So, you think one is enough? if I were to purchase say three i7 processors (to make it 16 cores)...would it make sense to supply each with less RAM, less hard drive space, or stick to the specs you've already suggested? thanks in advance, this is of great help to me.

3 core i7 machines would give you 12 cores and 24 threads. I would stick with the 6gb kits of RAM (with 64bit OS) because the next step down is 3gb and that just isn't enough in my opinion. You could get as little as an 80gb hard drive if you wanted. I picked the bigger one just because it was only 5$ more. Get whatever hard drive you want. Just make sure its at least 40gb to hold your OS as vista takes up about 30gb now.