I purchased my current machine two years ago, used on eBay and I think I am ready for an upgrade. My current is: Dell Precision T7910 36-Core Dual E5-2696 v3 Max 3.8GHz 128GB RAM - EVGA GeForce GTX 1080Ti 11GB. What would be better? Of course, I am looking for speed for V-Ray CPU. I would use my current 1080ti and I would want to add a second.
have a look at V-Ray Benchmark | Chaos
your pc holds up pretty well.
if you want faster, then get some render nodes and use DR.
if you wanted new render node to add to yours, i would look at threadripper. but its still 10s slower than your current one.
otherwise getting older dual xeons from ebay is pretty good value.
So, my two year old used eBay buy is still pretty good? I would go with a slave, but space and cost for V-Ray makes me question that. I wanted a second 1080ti, but my case doesn’t even hold my one 1080ti; I have to have the side panel off. I think I can put a second 1080ti, but I am not sure I have the wattage. Plus, I am still not sold on GPU rendering.
I would stay with cpu, but you can always see how your scenes render on gpu, and invest more in that if it works for you. but i find ram limits and a few missing features that i often use, is stopping me from going to gpu.
Yeah, same here, so I am not all in on GPU. Those top benchmark CPU’s are 20 grand processors. Which is the fastest realistic one?
So when you say you need faster cpu, do you feel you need more render power? or is that when your machine is rendering you are unable to do more work and work is waiting? The issue is, even if you get a $20 grand cpu, it still is going to speed up things by so much. What you really need is a second machine, or multiple machines. Offload your render there and keep working on main workstation, imho its the only way to expand.
I am still fighting the extra V-Ray license, although, it’ll pay for itself with one job. How about the BOXX Render Pro 2? I have always thought they were gouging us, but the form factor on the Render Pro 2 is nice.
http://www.boxx.com/quick-ship/quick-ship/render/renderpro-2-2x-e5-2630v4\-\-32gb-240gb-ssd-w10
I guess it depends on how much getting the small size it worth it to you. a single threadripper will be faster.
your pc was benchmarking around 30s, vs 50s for the 2630 v4.
I might invest in a second 1080ti and really give that a real chance. I have never built my scene with GPU rendering in mind, so it might be my best chance to speed up my workflow. I have a dozen interiors lined up, so now is the time. I’ll have to make sure my power supply has the plugs and the power to support another one; I think it does.
Well i have just upgraded to a dual E5 2697v4 128 gb ram upgrading from an i7 4930. Hopefully arrives saturday so ill let you know what i think of it. I know yours is V3 but still should be good for rendering speed.
Is your issue with the speed of renders or working on the machine etc. If its the speed of working then possibly an i9 high clock speed would suit your day to day needs and then dump the renders at the 72 core machine.
Until the memory of multiple GPU’s get added i prefer to stay away from it. Most complex arch scenes smash 11gb especially with scatters
About the licensing, well, close vray UI, launch render, move your chair to the second machine, open vray 
You don’t need to buy another license as when the UI closed, machine acts as a render node.
Or use a program like mouse without borders, get another screen next to you and use the second machine without even moving or changing mouse/keyboard 
Is the issue to purchase of a 2nd V-Ray licence what breaks the deal here ?
I wouldn’t hesitate to make that perpetual licence purchase if it gave me the flexibility to work more efficiently (plus it’s not as though we’re talking AutoDesk licensing agreements here, you can always sell it in the future should you want to).
I’ve used Xeon’s (in fact the same spec as you currently have) and as Lee touches on, the i7’s speed of working compared to that of a Xeon is more zippier (to me). Plus i7’s etc generally embrace multiple GPU moreso than any Xeon I’ve ever seen.
The Render Pro 2 sounds nice and I looked at one, I even looked at making my own - but was turned off by the reviews I read regarding their noise and heat (though things might have improved since). Plus there’s the Boxx pricing to swallow…
My personal guess, I imagine, is you’ll go for a higher / better spec of Xeon than you currently have.
Arent boxx machines really overpriced? I dont know what they offer to justify the prices? I build my own machines, so easy to do. Fractal design cases are really quiet and have great airflows. All parts have warranties so no issues there either.
Over the last 20 years I have build 100’s of machine, however, none in the last few years. When I was building them they were on someone else’s dime, so mistakes were cheap. I could pay our local guy a couple hundred bucks to build me one, I just want to make sure that it is the correct one. Ask ten people and you get ten different opinions. My understanding is the XEON’s are built to run 24/7 and have ECC memory and Intel’s i5, i7, and i9 are consumer grade processors. If I am not going to get great speed out of a new machine, over what I have, then I am not going to bother. I am pretty set on one machine, so I am not having to become an I.T. guy again.
But what do you actually want the new machine for ?
Rendering power or a fast machine for modelling / setting up lights / multiple scatters etc etc single core operations where max doesnt freeze while doing a complex operation
I would suggest adding a new render node as your machine is still good and with the money you will invest in upgrading your machine you can get a very good render node that will increase the render speed way more than any new machine can ( with the same price)
The license is not an isssue as you will pay for once (except for 3ds max) and in 2 - 3 projects based on your prices it will pay for itself ..of course you will need to do the math to see if the work load justfy this or not.
Just my 2 cents.
They are, but also I wouldn’t write off i9’s, Threadrippers as simply consumer products.
You will get wonderful speed increases over your current machine, depends how much you’re prepared to pay.
Which was why I guessed earlier you’d most likely be best suited for another, much faster, Xeon machine. I’ve been there too Bobby, being a full time IT guy in your own home isn’t my idea of fun either (so I stopped !).
I would def build a second system. Don’t get boxx, they are overpriced. I would get a system similar to what you have now, and use it as DR then you don’t need a second vray license. You can also use the system for DR but exclude your main workstation from it so you can continue working. Installing a few gpu would be interesting but I doubt its prod ready still.
Is there a (compatible) faster processor available for your motherboard? If so, your best bang for the buck might be to stick with your current system and buy a faster pair of matching Xeon CPUs. Are you running SSD drives? If not, that’s another great upgrade. You could also look into an external GPU enclosure. Not sure if it’s possible to add multiple external enclosures to a system, but that might be another option?
Isn’t an additional node license cheap compared to the cost of a new computer? I’d buy a fast single processor computer with a modest OC and a node license for your old computer. That would give you a nice boost and you can continue to use the node license in the future.