Render Node Specifications

Jesse Davie

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So I have a beast workstation, however, as with all, it can't handle rendering animations. So I've decided to build myself a farm. And I wondered what you guys think of these specs. I've designed them to keep in mind CPU and GPU rendering, and plan on building around 3 to start with and going to 6 eventually. My software is Blender and AE.
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Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 $80.70

MOBO: Asus H61M-E Intel H61 mATX Socket 1155 2x DDR3-2200 Onboard VGA $68.28

CPU: Intel Pentium G2030 3.0GHz LGA1155 3M Cache Processor $80.99

GPU: Gigabyte GV-N630-2GI Geforce GT 630 2GB / ASUS GT630-SL-2GD3-L GeForce GT 630 2GB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Low Profile Ready Video Card. $119 / $109. It seems the

PSU: FSP AS550 AURUM S 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified Power Supply $109.58 (They had lower wattage, but the PSU was butt ugly and it looked like one of the ones which would die on you)

RAM: G.SKILL Ares 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz (PC3 12800) Low Profile 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB $108.61

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB $63.27 (They have nothing smaller haha)

OS: This is what I'm stuck on. I don't know if I just need a single OS disc or would I need a disc for each computer? I'm thinking Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit DVD-Rom OEM $159
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Each node is roughly $789.50nzd. Does this look like a good render node? Also I have a question on price performance increase. I can replace my CPU, MOBO and RAM with
Intel Core i3-4130 Haswell 3.4GHz Dual-Core Desktop Processor, Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2PH Motherboard, G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory for $375. Would it be worth replacing the previous ones with this? Original is 789.50nzd, while the new one is 897.60nzd.


I'm also stuck on the connection of the nodes. I have no idea which one I should get: http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139234/CATID=86/Wired-Networking-Devices.html Not looking for 24 ports.
 

mikerockett

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No problem, sorry i can't help much more.

Looking around on the internet, it seems most pre made render farms are using xeon processors. Is it worth upping the budget and getting top components like the xeon and having less nodes? I'm not sure on the way the software operates, is it better for the application to be running more nodes in parallel?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to understand the needs better so i can help out.

Edit: Looking further into it, seems a paralleled process is preferred. In this case would it be worth looking into an AMD solution. Although clock for clock intel is quicker, if the rendering application can make use of multi cores it might be worth consideration.
 

Jesse Davie

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Just looked them up, they are designed for continuous 24/7 heavy load aren't they? Seems like they are more heavy duty versions of i3/i5/i7. Their only upside compared to them is the design for heavy duty right? From my understanding, the more nodes, the more frames can be given out by the master server from the cilent, although it may take longer with 2 cores on the nodes compared with 4-8.

Edit: My workstation is an Intel i7 4770k, and according to the How To guide, using AMD slaves with it could cause hiccups in the final product.
 

mikerockett

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Yes you're right, Xeon's are generally used in server builds due to their reliability. Hence my thought's on their use here. The other benefit is they have hyper threading, so you'd get 8 threads rather than 4 with an i5 for example.

Thats a shame about the master/slave issue. Having the additional cores with the cheapness of AMD seems like it would suit this set up.



 

Jesse Davie

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The Pentium should be fine if it has sufficient cooling (May go closed loop or get a beefy heat sink for it it while under 100% long term loads.)

The reason I went Intel is because I have a better understanding on the measurement of speed and have no idea how to compare them to AMD, and the fact that I have never have problems with an intel CPU other than a laptop one, that I may or may not of broken by slamming my fist down on the laptop lol.
 

Jesse Davie

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Still a bit iffy on the OS situation and connection of the nodes sadly.
 

mikerockett

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I believe you'd need an OS for each machine and probably Pro at that. As far as i can understand it you just need the nodes connected to the master so a simple network switch would be what you're after.

Does the documentation with your software refer to any specs that are required?
 

Jesse Davie

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Guess I should reword my OS question. Could I use the same disc on all the machines? Or would I need a different disc/key for each one?

A network switch as in this? http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=86/ID=18052/SID=690444152/productdetails.html Any idea the difference between managed and unmanaged ones are?
 

mikerockett

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You would need a disc/key for each machine i believe. Yea a switch like that. No need to worry about managed switches, un managed is fine for your use.

A managed switch allows to you control to a certain extent what each port or group of ports is doing. You can turn ports on or off and do
things like separate groups of ports into vlans so that you can have 3 or 4 separate networks on a single switch (e.g. 3x 8 ports for a 24 port switch).

An un managed switch just passes data between the appropriate ports without a second thought - which in 99% of cases is what you want.
 

Jesse Davie

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"You'll build your first machine, install the operating system plus software with updates, and then use Sysprep to blank the registration number. Next, use Norton Ghost 14 or similar drive-imaging software to clone the disk for subsequent machines. Each new system will require a fresh network name, and you will have to enter the Windows license key for each of the cloned machines. This keeps you from having to install the operating system, the applications, and the updates on each of the machines separately" Then I'm guessing this from the How To isn't exactly legal lol? I'm guessing I'd need professional for the nodes? Or just for the master?

Also just figured out why the GT 630 is listed as 384 CUDA cores. Its the kepler version. But it still looks odd how its just using a heatsink.
GT630-SL-2GD3-L.jpg
I have a feeling I wont be able to use this card for rendering do to no close range fan, and I'm afraid it will light up like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTO44xV1jKE
 

mikerockett

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If it came from that article i doubt Toms would post anything illegal. If it works, it works, go for it. In terms of the OS, as i lack the knowledge of how the program functions i'm afraid i can't give a clear answer. Generally for networking if you're connecting to a host domain the computers that are connecting require Pro. With the way this software acts though i couldn't say for sure. You'll have to do some further research into that.

And yes, it would be wise if you are to be running this intensively to have a GPU without a passive cooling solution.
 

Jesse Davie

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I'm wondering if I should just grab the EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5. Was looking at the EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST SuperClocked 2GB 192-bit GDDR5, but for an extra $34 bucks I can grab the 660 for $309 which has an extra 200+ cores, and they have decent cooling. But wouldn't the Pentium bottle neck it, doubt it would matter though with rendering. Also seems beyond over kill using 3-6 660s.


http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139234/CATID=872/GeForce-640-Series.html Do you mind checking out this link and seeing which has the best cooling? Honestly I can't tell. I'm use to my GPUs being completely covered in a heat sink.
 

mikerockett

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Without a way of testing the cards i couldn't say which has the best cooling. I will say, probably not the EVGA one though judging by the size of the fan on it.

Once again, without knowing how the software operates it's hard to say if the CPU will bottleneck that GPU. I would hope not, my understanding is that the master assigns the workload and manages the info sent and received, so on the slaves, the processor has to accept the work load coming in, instruct the GPU which will complete the render, then send that info back to the master. If that assumption is correct then i dont think it will bottleneck on the CPU side.

As mentioned before though, i am no expert in these matters and i'm probably learning as much as you trying to help you through this.
 

Jesse Davie

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Well if I do grab the 660, I'll end up spending $820.50 on each node if I do the Sysprep on the OS. Using a GTX 660 also unlocks the capability of water cooling it (So does the 650, but its only like 29 bucks less) . $1039.50 if I grab an OS on each node, which I doubt, since it seems Sysprep copys an image of one HDD to another. Goody! Hm guess I may have to get one copy due to the fact it would have to be a copy with all the same updates as the other slave nodes.

6 Nodes would be $4923 + 219 = $5142. Around an extra $1100 than my workstation, with better speeds. That's kinda depressing.

Haha, sorry if I was getting annoying with the questions.
 

Jesse Davie

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May replace the Pentium with an Intel Xeon E3-1230V2 3.30GHz 8MB LGA1155 since its got double the cores, meaning I'd need half the nodes in turn of CPU rendering. $820.50 - $81 = $739.5 + $315.90 = $1055.40 x 3 = $3166.20. Around 3/5 of the price for the 6 Pentium setup. Could then put the spare cash towards more beefy GPUs or bettering cooling solutions.

But isn't the 1155 socket becoming outdated and reduces future update capability?