iBuyPower P500X And P900DX Workstations, Reviewed
Armed with updated workstation benchmarks, we have two systems from iBuyPower in the lab today: a $2,000 quad-core entry-level rig, and an $8,000 sixteen-core behemoth. With $6,000 separating the two, is the performance spread really what you'd expect?
Test Configuration And Benchmark Suite
Test Configuration
Header Cell - Column 0 | iBuyPower P500X | iBuyPower P900DX |
---|---|---|
Processors | Intel Xeon E3 1270v2, 3.5 GHz, LGA 1155, 8 MB Shared L3, Hyper-Threading enabled, Power-savings enabled | 2 x Intel Xeon E5 2687W, 3.1 GHz, LGA 2011, 20 MB Shared L3, Hyper-Threading enabled, Power-savings enabled |
Cooler | Asetek 550LC | 2x Corsair H60 |
Motherboard | Asus P8B WS, BIOS 2009 | Asus Z9PE-D8 WS, BIOS 0503 |
RAM | 2 x Kingston KVR1333D3E9S/4G, ECC DDR3-1333 CAS9 | 8 x Kingston KVR1333D3E9S/4G, ECC DDR3-1333 CAS9 |
Graphics | PNY Quadro 2000 1 GB625/1300 GPU/Memory clock128-bit GDDR5, 42 GB/s Bandwidth192 CUDA cores | PNY Quadro 4000 2 GB475/700 MHz GPU/Memory clock256-bit GDDR5, 90 GB/s Bandwidth256 CUDA cores |
Solid State Drive | Kingston HyperX SH100S3/120G120 GB MLC NAND SSD | Intel SSD 520 Series SSDSC2CW240A3240 GB MLC NAND SSD |
Hard Drive | HGST HDS732020BLA642 2 TB7K3000 7200 RPM | HGST HDS732020BLA642 2 TB7K3000 7200 RPM |
Optical | Lite-On iHAS124-04(C) 24x Dual LayerDVD±RW Writer | Lite-On iHAS124-04(C) 24x Dual LayerDVD±RW Writer |
Sound | Echo Digital Audio AudioFire 2(not included in price) | Echo Digital Audio AudioFire 2(not included in price) |
Network | Integrated Intel 82754L | Integrated Intel 82754L |
FireWire | Integrated VIA 6308S | Integrated VIA |
Power Supply | Corsair TX650 V280 PLUS Bronze 650 W | Thermaltake Toughpower Grand TPG-850M80 PLUS Gold 850 W |
Case | Cooler Master Silencio 550 | iBuyPower Erebus GT |
Software | ||
OS | Windows 7 Professional x64 | Windows 7 Professional x64 |
Graphics Driver | Quadro Driver 296.88 | Quadro Driver 296.88 |
Audio Driver | 5.7.6 | 5.7.6 |
Warranty and Price | ||
Warranty | Three Year Labor, One Year Parts | Three Year Labor, One Year Parts |
Price As Configured | $1,999 | $7,816 |
Benchmark Suite
We’ve made some revisions to the workstation benchmarks, namely adding the often-requested Autodesk tests: 3ds Max and Maya. Both benchmarks include rendering and OpenGL/DirectX real-time tests, and the 3ds Max tests also includes renders in Chaos Group’s V-Ray 2.3. CPU-based rendering (mental ray and V-Ray) as well as GPU-accelerated rendering (iray and V-RayRT) are represented in these new tests.
Note: Testing was conducted before the new SPECapc for Maya 2013 became available, and SPECviewperf 11 is still the current version.
Application Benchmarks and Settings | |
---|---|
7-Zip | Version 9.28, LZMA2, Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5", Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload |
WinRAR | Version: 4.2 RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3", Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload |
WinZip | Version 16.5 Pro, Best Method, ZIPX, Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload |
NewTek LightWave 3D 11 | Custom workload: High-polygon-count Tom’s Hardware logoModeler test: Scripted cloning of surface details across a segment of the logoRender test: 1920x1080 render of logo with photoreal motion blur, ray-traced shadows, global illuminationOpenGL Test: Generate OpenGL preview of animation for real-time playback on screen |
Blender | Version: 2.62 Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, Resolution: 1920x1080, Anti-Aliasing: 8x, Render: THG.blend frame 1, Cycles renderer and internal tile renderer (9x9) |
e-on software Vue 10.5 PLE | Custom workload: Landscape (generated in Vue 8 full version and imported into PLE) |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 | Space Flyby Mentalray, Frame 248, 1440x1080Tom’s Hardware Logo render in V-Ray, 1920x1080, global illumination, photorealistic motion blur, ray-traced shadowsCreate Nitrous preview of logo scene, to Y: RAM driveAutodesk chair scene in iray, 1920x1080, 250 passes, GPU (CUDA) only renderingCar render in V-RayRT, 1920x1080, 256 passes, CUDA only |
Autodesk Maya 2013 | Tom’s Hardware Logo render in mental ray, 1920x1080, global illumination, photorealistic motion blur, ray-traced shadowsCreate Playblast of logo scene, to Y: ram drive |
SolidWorks 2010 | PhotoView 360 Render 01-Lighter Explode.SLDASM (SolidMuse.com) Image Output Resolution: 1920x1080, Render: Preview Quality “Good”, Final Render Quality “Best” |
Maxon Cinebench r11.5 | 3D Rendering and OpenGL Benchmarks, built-in benchmarks with default settings |
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 | Custom Workload: Edit of 59.94 FPS 720p DVCProHD footage, with transitions and some color correction, Render To Work Area.Paladin Workload |
Adobe Media Encoder CS6 | Custom Workload: Take Premiere Pro edit and render to H.264 720p @59.94 FPS for Blu-ray |
Adobe Photoshop CS6 | Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates filters |
Adobe After Effects CS6 | Custom Workload: SD motion graphics sequence with three picture-in-picture frames sourced from 720p HD |
Cockos Reaper v 4.25 | DAWBench Universal 2012: Test number of simultaneous copies of Wave Arts MultiDynamics 5 that the system can effectively runCustom Workload: Render and mix down to .wav custom score project, multiple tracks of audio, VST synthesizers and effects |
Visual Studio 2010 | Compile Chrome project (1/31/2012) with devenv.com /build Release |
Encoding Benchmarks and Settings | |
HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.9.5Video: Big Buck Bunny (720x480, 23.972 frames) 5 Minutes, Audio: Dolby Digital, 48 000 Hz, Six-Channel, English, to Video: AVC Audio: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile) |
LAME MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
SPECviewperf 11 | Default GUI options; Workloads: CATIA, EnSight, LightWave, Maya, Pro/E, SolidWorks, Teamcenter Visualization Mockup, Siemens NX |
LuxMark 2.0 | OpenCL-based rendering benchmark, default settings |
CASE Euler3d | CFD simulation over NACA 445.6 aeroelastic test wing at Mach 0.5 |
Thesycon DPC Latency Checker | DPC Latency Checker, run with default settings |
SiSoftware Sandra | CPU Test=CPU Arithmetic/Multimedia, Memory Test=Bandwidth Benchmark, Cryptography |
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sprucegroose The P900DX would be about $6500 for the parts alone. It also comes with warranty, and if you are the type of person using it, the time building it and repairing it might offset the price difference. On the other hand, you could put in better components for the same price.Reply -
manitoublack We've got the Quadro 4000's at work and they're junk. GTX280 is faster and they were released in 2008. I pulled mine and installed my old GTX295, made a huge difference using the mine modelling software.Reply
Quadrao 4000 was all stutters, GTX 295 is buttery smooth. -
csf60 manitoublackWe've got the Quadro 4000's at work and they're junk. GTX280 is faster and they were released in 2008. I pulled mine and installed my old GTX295, made a huge difference using the mine modelling software.Quadrao 4000 was all stutters, GTX 295 is buttery smooth. that's because workstation cards are not meant to be fast at rendering frames. They are fast at doing many simple batch calculations like ray tracing, fluid movement or video editing.Reply -
j2j663 manitoublackWe've got the Quadro 4000's at work and they're junk. GTX280 is faster and they were released in 2008. I pulled mine and installed my old GTX295, made a huge difference using the mine modelling software.Quadrao 4000 was all stutters, GTX 295 is buttery smooth.Reply
This is like someone complaining that a screwdriver is really bad at pounding in nails. Learn to use the right tools for the job at hand. -
I'm curious about the After Effects performance. What were your memory settings when rendering multiple frames simultaneously?Reply
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Draven35 they varied, I had to set them between 3gb and the minimum in order to the the maximum number of cores. I have a working theory on the AE problem that i will test next opportunity.Reply -
Wow, odd. Anywhere I could get an update on your progress once you test your hypothesis? I'd love to figure out what is causing that result. It should be destroying that benchmark.Reply