Render node build

[radad02]

Hey guys

I build my pc a month ago and it's really good and stable for my 3d design work . But it's not enough when I render animation frames taking long time in heavy scenes . So I'm thinking to begin to build many render nodes for my studio . I search alot and I read about boxxx technology they have nice systems but it's expensive for me my budget around 6000$
I'm thinking to build :

Motherboard  :    P8Z68-V/GEN3
Processor      : I 7 2600k 3.4Ghz
Ram:      Kingston Technology HyperX 8 GB
SSD   Crucial 128 GB
Case : I don't now if I will go with something like
silverstone LC10B-E.
http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-LC10B--Aluminum-Steel-Center/dp/B001NPEB88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329393780&sr=8-1

Or RPC-250 Black 2U Rackmount so I can save space in my office

http://www.amazon.com/RPC-250-Black-2U-Rackmount-Chassis/dp/B0037BMGAQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I264HSV37IM845&colid=369ISI1O32H6Y


I think with this budget that I have I can build 4 or 5 nodes .
Another thing do I need to add VGA to each node?

I will be very thankful for advice from expert guys since I don't have much knowledge of hard wear specially renderfarms .

Thank you

 

[amuffin]

What program?

 

[sewalk]

Rendering nodes shouldn't need any video output. It's been almost 20 years since I serviced a render farm but back then we used telnet/shell access to control the nodes.

On the other hand, if your rendering software can leverage CUDA, that could make for some interesting performance. This is just the kind of application CUDA is perfect for.

 

[radad02]

What program?

3D max with vray and adobe applications (aftereffect - premier )

 

[radad02]

Rendering nodes shouldn't need any video output. It's been almost 20 years since I serviced a render farm but back then we used telnet/shell access to control the nodes.

On the other hand, if your rendering software can leverage CUDA, that could make for some interesting performance. This is just the kind of application CUDA is perfect for.

Actually that's what I'm thinking about vray now use GPU rendering but it's still not perfect for rendering I have quadro 6000 I tried GPU render very fast but not perfect for all the kind of the materials that's y I'm using CPU rendering. I'm afraid that I will spend my budget for the render nodes then they release vray version for Complete GPU render

Really this confusing

 

[sewalk]

It looks like there is a plugin for 3dsmax to use CUDA to accelerate rendering. You could use very inexpensive CPUs and render on nVidia graphics cards at many times the speed of the Core-i7. Based on some very cursory Googling, I'd guess that a GTX580 ($500) will render between 5 and 20 times as fast as a $330 i7-2600K. It's well worth some research and consultation with someone more familiar with the technology.

 

[sewalk]

I did see some posts about GPU rendering not having certain capabilities that the traditional package has but that's nothing but software. Like you say, it would certainly suck to drop a couple thousand dollars on some hardware only to have it made ridiculously obsolete like that.

I've been thinking back to what it felt like when I set up four Amiga 2500's using thinnet and REXX scripts to distribute rendering for Lightwave then sitting around for hours while the animation was recorded one frame at a time on a single-frame video tape recorder.

 

[radad02]

I did see some posts about GPU rendering not having certain capabilities that the traditional package has but that's nothing but software. Like you say, it would certainly suck to drop a couple thousand dollars on some hardware only to have it made ridiculously obsolete like that.

I've been thinking back to what it felt like when I set up four Amiga 2500's using thinnet and REXX scripts to distribute rendering for Lightwave then sitting around for hours while the animation was recorded one frame at a time on a single-frame video tape recorder.

Yeah that's why I want to search more and ask opinions before I do anything .