2 cpu render 3d

magrao777,

Rendering is CPU-based and in most rendering programs, you may select the number of cores / threads assigned to the rendering task. So, as you indicate, a 2-CPU Xeon with as many cores as possible will be the best. Xeons do not only present more cores, the dual CPU also allows more memory controllers and double the PCIe lanes,

With regards to the best dual Xeons for rendering, the best will have the most cores and highest clock speed and today that is >

(2) Intel Xeon E5-2687W Sandy Bridge-EP 3.1GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 20MB L3 Cache LGA 2011 150W 8-Core Server Processor > $3,868. ($1,934 each) On the Passmark CPU benchmark chart, this processor is the No.2 rated, score = 21491. In the top 100 systems on Passmark Performance test, this CPU is used in the 6th highest performing system.

For the motherboard, I suggest >

ASUS Z9PE-D16 SSI EEB Server Motherboard Dual LGA 2011 DDR3 1600 > $480

http://www.asus.com/Commercial_Servers_Workstations/Z9P...

memory > http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/Socket2011/Z9PE-D16...

Intel C602-A PCH, 16 DIMM, supporting 512GB ECC 1600, Total Slots : 6 > PCI-E x16 3.0 with Slot 5 running at x8 if Slot 6 is occupied, and Slot 6 is MIO

and you may select the memory from the ASUS compatibility list > http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/Socket2011/Z9PE-D16/Manual/Z9PE-D16_Series_Memory_AVL_20130610.pdf

> and I would recommend a minimum of 32GB (4 X 8GB) and these must be arranged to relate symmetrically to each CPU- that is, 16 GB (2XGB) in the proper slots for CPU 1 and CPU 2.

Such a system with 64Gb RAM, an appropriate graphics card- Quadro K4000 (3GB) will be in the range of US $ 7,500.

On the subject of GPU, I would strongly advise against using a gaming card for this use as in 3ds Max, viewports may not work, there may be artifacting, problems with shadows and color gradients, and limited anti-aliasing.

This solution is probably the highest performance for your use, but very expensive. An alternative that could possibly a very high level of rendering power but for much less cost is to use a dual Xeon X5680. In place of the Xeon E5-3576W with 16 cores / 32 Threads @ 3.1 / 3.8 GHz, there would be 12 cores / 24 threads running at 3.33 GHz. A new X5680 is $1,660 but they have been sold since 2010 and you can buy a used system at a great savings. For $1,400-$1,700 you can buy a used Dell Precision T7500 with one Xeon X5680, perhaps a one generation obsolete Quadro and most often, at least 16GB of RAM. To this system, add a second used X5680 for about $1,000 ($800 CPU, $200 CPU/ memory / fan riser), add more memory (DDR-3 1333 ECC RAM) to have 32GB, a suitable graphics card- possibly a used Quadro 4000 (2GB) for $350-400 and new drives. Drives> SSD loads the operating system and applications quickly, but in use a good SATA 6GB/s, 64MB cache mechanical HD will be just fine and much, much less expensive per GB. The total investment could be about $2,500. With a dual CPU, a Precision T7500 can accommodate 192GB DDR-3 1333 ECC RAM.

Comparatively, the E5-2687w is ranked No. 2 , scoring 21521, and the 2X Xeon X5680 rated 14, scored 14151, i.e. the dual X5680 systems would present a capability of 67% of the single dual E5-2687W. This would be still very fast, fantastically accurate, reliable, and only about 1/3 the cost. In 2010, I arranged a similar system- bought a used single CPU Precision, upgraded to dual, added a good Quadro- when I began to do renderings (Sketchup Pro > Maxwell, Kerkythea / Vray) spending a total of about $1,100, including Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - perhaps $900 today>

Dell Precision T5400 > 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @ 3.16GHz, 16 GB DDR2-667 ECC , Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB), WD RE4 / Segt Barcd 500GB > Windows 7 Ult > AutoCad, Revit, Solidworks, Sketchup, Adobe CS MC, Corel Technical Designer, WP Office, MS Office (The above system has a Passmark baseline rating of 1859, with a CPU score of 8458 (compare to 14151 for the dual X5680), 2D of 517, 3D of 1097. This system is very good- high performance in 3D CAD modeling and rendering, ultra-reliable, but I recommend a T7500 because it can use a faster, 6 core CPU, the DDR3 1333 RAM is much faster, less expensive (about 1/2!) and much cooler running than the DDR2-667. The T7500 will perform much better as well > on Passmark,a Dell Precision T7500 with 2X Xeon X5680, Quadro 4000, and 48GB RAM had a rating of 3953, CPU of 14312, 2D=672, 3D=1988. For comparison, a Dell Precision T7600 with 2X E5-2687W, Quadro 4000, 32GB RAM, mech'l HD rated 4249 with CPU=21939, 2D=675, 3D=1884, so a carefully set up dual X5680 system can produce very similar 2D and 3D scores.


Cheers,

BambiBoom