# Need advice on building a system for rendering



## kysg (Dec 29, 2012)

1. Need to build a renderbox.
Why? well I got a laptop and renders are pretty slow on it.

2. I can't use macs at school to render and I can't render overnight at the junior college and cloud based rendering I've decided to pass on that.

3. The main purpose is so I can do lighting.  I want to be able to render at full 1080P.  I also do effects work in houdini and it runs like crap on my laptop.

my workflow is something like this.  Gimp/photoshop > matchmover > maya > Composite/NUke > lightworks for video editing > houdini for effects.

I thought about GPU rendering but I think I want to go just straight CPU rendering due to the fact that I'm working in houdini and concentrating on fluids.

I plan on buying this mid January

OS is gonna be Linux - ubuntu I believe.

The budget I'm looking at is $1000 yep that is a lowball.
I can go up to $1400 to top it off.

FAQ's: 
1. You budget is too unrealistic - So is everything that is in U.S. but on a serious note I'm not trying to render an FX movie and I know simulations will take a while to render even the stuff at studios take a long time to render on way better hardware than what I would get.

2. Buy an i7 or face the consequences - Well I did look at an i7 build and it may be a possibility but I'd like to see if I can scale down the price.

So hopefully that covers all that.

So this is what I've noticed from research I've done.

on the intel side best thing you can get is i7 6 core dual cpu'd - that is just not gonna happen
then there is the i7 ivy bridge this is out of reach
then there is the i7 sandy bridge this is a possibility

there is the i5 ivy/sandy bridge and these I can definitely see happening

i3 and below is just not gonna happen.

on the AMD end I mostly get the recommendation of 8 core piledriver.  I'm not sure where this stacks vs the i7's and i5's...

I think it beats the i3's and I think is on par with i7 2nd gen sandy bridge....I could be wrong I may have read the benches incorrectly.

so that would leave the 6 core procs and the new trinity procs and I'm not sure where trinity procs stack up.

On the video card end.

There is Nvidia - I mostly see recommendations for GTX 640 Ti or something along that line
and for radeon I think its the 7790

Should I grab 1gb or 2gb card for the memory?
Also is possible to step down from a Ti on the nvidia end?
I probably need to research cuda cores and fermi because I have no idea what the heck that is.

I priced up 2 builds
1 AMD 8 core setup - This is about 800$ shipped to CA and that includes sales tax
AMD renderbox

Note for this wish list(Add)	Qty.	Image	Product Description	Unit Price	Savings 	Total Price

Update		Rosewill FBM-02 Dual Fans MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case
Model #:FBM-02
Item #:N82E16811147167
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$39.99 	-$5.00 Instant	$34.99

Update		GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 AM3+ AMD 760G USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:GA-78LMT-USB3
Item #:N82E16813128565
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card
Note (Add)	$69.99 	-$5.00 Instant	$64.99

Update		PNY VCGGTX550TXPB GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Model #:VCGGTX550TXPB
Item #:N82E16814133383
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate
Note (Add)	$109.99 	 	$109.99

Update		CORSAIR CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Model #:CP-9020060-NA
Item #:N82E16817139048
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$79.99 	 	$79.99

Update		AMD FX-8320 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8320FRHKBOX
Model #:FD8320FRHKBOX
Item #:N82E16819113285
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$179.99 	 	$179.99

Update		CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV16GX3M2A1333C9
Model #:CMV16GX3M2A1333C9
Item #:N82E16820233270
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$67.99 	 	$67.99

Update		Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:WD10EZEX
Item #:N82E16822236339
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$109.99 	-$30.00 Instant	$79.99

Update		ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Model #:VS248H-P
Item #:N82E16824236153
Return Policy:Monitor Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card
Note (Add)	$229.99 	-$30.00 Instant	$199.99

Update		Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound AS5-3.5G - OEM
Model #:AS5-3.5G
Item #:N82E16835100007
Return Policy:Consumable Item Refund Only Return Policy
In Stock

Subtotal:	$827.91

1 Intel i7 sandy bridge setup - this is about 1100$ shipped to CA that includes sales tax

Intel renderbox

Note for this wish list(Add)	Qty.	Image	Product Description	Unit Price	Savings 	Total Price

Update		Rosewill LINE-M Micro-ATX Mini Tower Computer Case, Dual USB 3.0, come with Dual Fans, Support up to 4 Fans, 12.5" card
Model #:LINE-M
Item #:N82E16811147166
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$49.99 	-$10.00 Instant	$39.99

Update		Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:WD10EZEX
Item #:N82E16822236339
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$109.99 	-$30.00 Instant	$79.99

Update		EVGA 01G-P4-3650-KR GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
Model #:01G-P4-3650-KR
Item #:N82E16814130838
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$149.99 	-$10.00 Instant	$139.99

Update		CORSAIR CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Model #:CP-9020060-NA
Item #:N82E16817139048
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$79.99 	 	$79.99

Update		Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound AS5-3.5G - OEM
Model #:AS5-3.5G
Item #:N82E16835100007
Return Policy:Consumable Item Refund Only Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$11.99 	-$2.00 Instant	$9.99

Update		Patriot Gamer 2 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGD316G1333ELK
Model #GD316G1333ELK
Item #:N82E16820220619
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$63.99 	-$4.00 Instant	$59.99

Update		MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Model #:Z77MA-G45
Item #:N82E16813130647
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card
Note (Add)	$119.99 	-$10.00 Instant	$109.99

Update		Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
Model #:BX80623I72600K
Item #:N82E16819115070
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)	$309.99 	-$30.00 Instant	$279.99

Update		ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Model #:VS248H-P
Item #:N82E16824236153
Return Policy:Monitor Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card
Note (Add)	$229.99 	-$30.00 Instant	$199.99
Subtotal:	$999.91

both on microatx board.  If a case and board combo come out cheaper than what I got then by all means suggest.

Further thoughts: A - got a lot of research to do.  B - A lot of people say this thing is pretty unrealistic and yea but I got get something done I think its possible to get an i7 setup done, if not then i5 may be an option the price on i5 and 8core are similar pricing so it becomes tough to make that decision.

I just need to get something together obviously on the intel end if I take the sandybridge route I can upgrade to ivybridge later.
on the AMD end I'm topped out unfortunately...

So any further thoughts and advice would be helpful.
Sorry this post got so long


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## Novulux (Dec 30, 2012)

Is it possible for you to get to Microcenter in Tustin? The i7-3770k is $230 there. 

Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Tu...
Xeon version of an i7 without IGP is a good alternative if you don't plan to overclock. Much cheaper.

I also recommend DDR3-1600 RAM as it has become much more standard, and it is not much greater in price.


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## NdMk2o1o (Dec 30, 2012)

if you're not doing GPU rendering you don't need an dedicated GPU, integrated/IGP will be more than enough. 

You can probably build a i7 4c/8t or i7/6c/12t machine with your budget quite easily as all you would need is a budget motherboard (unless you plan to OC) and 16GB DDR3 ram, the rest really isn't important for your requirements from what you have mentioned. 
An i7 4c/8t or 6c/12t is defo a better option than AMD Bulldozer imo


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## ilikemacandpc (Dec 30, 2012)

*need more info*

do you need a high quality monitor, or will a general 1080p monitor work? 
do you have any preferred stores in ca? 
are you going to build this yourself?


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## ilikemacandpc (Dec 30, 2012)

*ncix build*

Xeon 1230v2: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=74987
Gigabyte B75M-D3H: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=70273&promoid=1033
16Gb ram: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=76335&promoid=1033
xfx radeon 7850 2gb: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=77602&promoid=1033
FD core 1000: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=58341&promoid=1360
Corsair CX430: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=76034&promoid=1033
1TB Hdd: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=65701&promoid=1033
dvd burner: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=78975&promoid=1033
21.5 in monitor: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=68269&promoid=1224
120gb ssd: http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=71318

total is $973.70 CA


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## ilikemacandpc (Dec 30, 2012)

*ncix build*

all of these parts are on ncix.com

Xeon 1230 V2
Gigabyte B75M-D3H
Seagate Barracuda 1TB
Intel SSD 330 120GB
Corsair 16 GB (2x8GB) XMS3 DDR3-1600
XFX Core Edition Radeon HD 7850
Corsair CX430 (non modular)
Fractal Design Core 1000
LG 24x DVD Burner

Total approx $1000 CA


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## kysg (Dec 30, 2012)

@ ilikemacandpc
- I originally was gonna go that route but hey if I can shave the price down but just taking a 1080P monitor I don't think it is that big of a deal...

Though I did want to consider LED backlit and the response at 5ms.

-I'll be building it, I've built 3 pc's all from newegg.
-Well I guess newegg as an online vendor.  I don't have any other preferred stores usually when I go to places like best buy or fry's the prices are typically higher but I know why.  I'd guess I'd be open to other online vendors.

I think I mentioned this but I'm picking up the parts in the middle of january around the 20th


@NdMk2o1o
-Well wouldn't that slow me down in the viewport of the program?  I'm just saying if it was just drop it in and click render then yea I could see your point.

I don't plan to OC

I'd like to hear some further thoughts on a 8 core / 12 core machine or for that matter 6 core because I felt like these were out of range.
Unless you are suggestion I go with a Xeon / opteron which I would have to research that because I have no idea where those stack up.


and lastly I will double check the price on ddr3 1600


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## ilikemacandpc (Dec 30, 2012)

do you live in california or canada?
if canada, have you heard of ncix?


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## kysg (Dec 30, 2012)

I know about ncix but I don't live in Canada, I live in california.


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## eidairaman1 (Dec 30, 2012)

APU setup id say


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## kysg (Dec 30, 2012)

APU setup you might have my attention on that one...
hmm I just wonder what the performance in the viewport would be like....


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## ilikemacandpc (Dec 30, 2012)

*usa build*

an APU build has nowhere near the power of this setup: 

Intel Xeon 1230 v2
Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm
Intel SSD 330 120GB
Corsair 16GB DDR3-1600
HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB
Corsair CX-430W
Fractal Design Core 1000
Lite-ON 24x DVD Burner
ASUS 21.5" LED IPS Monitor 5ms response, 1920x1080
Xigmatek Loki

Total under $1050.


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## eidairaman1 (Dec 30, 2012)

kysg said:


> APU setup you might have my attention on that one...
> hmm I just wonder what the performance in the viewport would be like....



i mean APU is the cheapest you can get but performance is pretty good considering certain model APUs you can augment with Dual Graphics (Discrete Video plus APU).


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## ilikemacandpc (Dec 30, 2012)

it is not good for  $1000 to $1400 build. maybe for a $600 budget rendering pc, because these apus are as strong as i3s. This build will have a xeon which is twice as powerful. a radeon 7850 is several times more powerful than a 7660d.


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## kysg (Dec 30, 2012)

So it's looking like a xeon huh, hmm guess I get to research how these things stack against opterons

so if that is the case


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## Novulux (Dec 30, 2012)

kysg said:


> So it's looking like a xeon huh, hmm guess I get to research how these things stack against opterons
> 
> so if that is the case



The Xeon E3 series is the exact same as the i5s or i7's... except with some added features, some models without IGP, no overclocking, but cheaper price generally.
The E5 series is filled with the real heavy performers followed by much greater prices.


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## kysg (Dec 30, 2012)

Well just finished up pricing and this is where it stands


 i7 sandy bridge
 $955 shipped

 xeon renderbox
 $975 shipped

 amd 8core renderbox
 $899 shipped

 So yea right under 1000 bucks. I get a little bit of leway on the amd and the i7 because I can run IGP till I decide to invest in a card. The xeon I have to pay for a card.

 Prices can obvious fluctuate from here till middle of january.

 Some other questions
 for the mobo on the xeon
 I have B75 picked out - I have an alternative board with H67 and Z77.

 any advantages here??
 I know I can upgrade with the z77 to something better if I'm correct.

 and had a question about video cards

 for the amd8core I have a GTX 550 TI
 I couldn't find a comparable radeon chip so I think this the go to.

 for the Xeon I have a radeon 7750 picked out.
 Alternatives are the 7850 and a GTX 650 Ti which I was told if I don't get i7 3770k then you shouldn't be touching that GTX 650 ti but I'm not sure.

 Lastly there is Gt series but I think those but wanted some extra advice.

 So final thoughts
 On the AMD can only upgrade ram and hard drive

 the xeon depending on the board I can probably opt for some upgrades down the line depending on the board.

 with the i7 sandy bridge I can also opt for upgrades

 I'm leaning towards either the xeon or the Amd.

 Thanks


oh yea and about the xeon that one I picked doesn't have IGP but it has HT so you win some you lose some.


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## OneMoar (Dec 30, 2012)

if you are gonna be crunching video go intel 
AMD are great for gaming but intel beat the snott out of them


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## ilikemacandpc (Dec 30, 2012)

the radeon 7850 is 80% faster than the 7750. The xeon is more than well matched to the 7850. if you do not ever plan to overclock, then get the b75 board and the xeon. Even on the b75 board, you could upgrade to a higher end xeon e3 or i7 down the road, but the performance gains will be minimal. 
what are all of the parts in the xeon renderbox that you chose?


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## Aquinus (Dec 30, 2012)

I'm a little curious why no one has recommended an FX processor. A lot of these tools can utilize multiple threads and something like an FX-8350 could be a powerful option for not a whole lot of money. Just something worth considering.

Also keep in mind that if you do want to upgrade down the road, skt1155 isn't going to enable you to do a whole lot long term. Xeon or not.


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## ilikemacandpc (Dec 30, 2012)

too much power consumption and no good m-atx boards- no 970, 990x, or 990fx chipsets
xeons are faster anyway.


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## kysg (Dec 30, 2012)

Yea I see what you mean.

on the Xeon right now.

Have an H77 board picked out its gonna either be this or the b75 board as an alternate.  The price diff aint that much.

ASRock H77 Pro4-M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb...

since I'm going linux though I've heard support has been better for the nvidia's than it has been for the radeons.

I'm probably not gonna bother upgrading the CPU.  (Came to this realization last night after reading a few other threads)

Also I don't plan to game so I keep wondering why a recommendation for a 7850 would come up.
I could only see a need directly for this if I needed to do work in the viewport in maya.

Which led me to think I could scale back to a 7750, GT 640, or even GT620 but I do realize GT620 and 640 will probably only be good for 1080P playback.


Right now looking at 940$ shipped but I figure compare prices between newegg and ncix.  Might be able to close the gap between the amd 8 core and the xeon on the price end.

I have it down to just the xeon and amd8core
I have the lowest grade 8 core chosen but obviously I can throw down a few more dollars for the faster 8 cores.

monitor wise I could scale down to a 23 or 23.6.  Diff is about 20-30 bucks.

xeon
case: Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case w...
mobo: ASRock H77 Pro4-M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb...
card: MSI N640GT-MD1GD3 GeForce GT 640 1GB DDR3 PCI Expr...
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 P...
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Tu...
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR...
HDD: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB...
monitor: ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Wid...

went with the GT640 on the xeon
about $940 shipped or a little more or less

Amd8core
case: Rosewill FBM-02 Dual Fans MicroATX Mini Tower Comp...
mobo: GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 AM3+ AMD 760G HDMI USB 3.0 ...
card: PNY VCGGTX550TXPB GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 1...
PSU: CORSAIR CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFir...
CPU: AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-...
RAM: CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 133...
HDD: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB...
monitor: ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Wid...

about $900 shipped
and the PSU is 600W but I think I can drop to 500W


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## Norton (Dec 30, 2012)

Hi just a few comments on going with AMD FX-8:

Go with the Vishera chip and at least an 970 chipset.... 760G is not that great
I use an FX-8350 in one of my rigs and it's a multi-tasking Beast 

FX-8320 w Gigabyte 970A UD3 motherboard
Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...
Corsair XMS3 memory
CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR...
NZXT Source 210 case
NZXT Source 210 S210-002 White w/Black Front Trim ...
Corsair CX500 
CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 P...
WD Black 1TB HDD
Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 6...
MSI GTX 650 video card
MSI N650-1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 650 1GB 128-bit GDDR5...
ASUS 24" Monitor (same as you chose)
ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Wid...

$851.00 Before shipping


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## kysg (Dec 30, 2012)

yea no good mAtx boards for the 8core amd... there are some m-atx for the 8xx series but it looks like they only can handle 16gb of RAM.

the 9xx series doesn't carry any HDMI but I figured that doesn't matter.

why recommend the gtx 650 when I would take a bandwidth hit?  Just curious.

Right now both builds are sitting under 1000 bucks.  A lot is a give an take between the video card/mobo/vid card.

seems with 8core build I'll hit $9xx shipped

the xeon somewhere inbetween $950's  So as far as price, about 50-100 less

I'm heavily considering taking the xeon with a cheapo card and upgrading it down the line, besides I was originally hoping to spend 1000 with 1400 to top it off but since I'm under $1000 with a possibility of going lower then it is better than what I expected because I originally thought I was gonna have to pay 1300 for an intel build.

also even if I switch to ATX the price point is still about 50-100 dollar difference between both builds.  If it becomes like $125 to $200 gap then yea 8core would sound like an option.

I'll check some specs on the xeon and compare to the FX chip.


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## kysg (Jan 16, 2013)

Updating this - 

Started buying some parts,

ASUS VS Series VS247H-P Black 23.6" 2ms LED Backli...

this is the monitor I bought but saw this monitor
this came out to 180$ cuz its on promo

ASUS VS239H-P Black 23" 5ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen ...
I saw this and thought uh-oh might have made a mistake

it is sitting in my cart and its 213$

I'm kinda unsure it sounds like to me IPS is the clear cut winner here, any thoughts?


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## Cotton_Cup (Jan 16, 2013)

well  I do pretty much the same work as you as my job is about those stuff anyway specially photoshop and maya and other stuff of my interest. currently using 3 monitors of this and works wonder for what I do.

ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Wid...
ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight 

I have 2 systems which I use for my work. one has a 8350 and the other is the 3930k, both are good actually and gets me my job done and all. I also have the 8150 but put it on another rig with lesser parts and put the 8350 on where the 8150 was, but it all comes down to what you choose, I can say that the 8350 is a good contender but I do not own any xeon so the choice is still yours


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## kysg (Jan 28, 2013)

Update:

 Almost finished up. I'm waiting for another case. I have a case already but had ordered this guy.

XION Gaming Series XON-560_BK Black Steel / Plasti...

 I ordered it from amazon but still waiting on it.

 It has PSU mount on bottom which I guess is an okay deal. There is also a spot for top fan, and there are vent holes on both sides. I know what cooling options I would go with between both cases

 For that one I would do

 Front: intake
 Rear: exhaust
 Side: exhaust
 Top: exhaust

 This is the case I got now. I haven't opened the box yet
Rosewill LINE-M Micro-ATX Mini Tower Computer Case...

 after looking at the pictures I figured the cooling setup would be

 front: intake
 Rear: exhaust
 Side: exhaust

 I do have a question though I'm unsure about which CPU cooler to get. I did some research and I'm stuck on two right now.

 This one
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Contin...

 and this one
COOLER MASTER GeminII M4 RR-GMM4-16PK-R2 120mm Sli...

 I don't if there is any huge difference between the latter and this one.
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatp...

 So yea that is probably the last issue I have to deal with.

 only problem I would see is if I could manage to fit it in the case.


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## Norton (Jan 28, 2013)

@kysg- those newegg links aren't working


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## kysg (Jan 28, 2013)

Norton said:


> @kysg- those newegg links aren't working



fixed.

Also this is the current status of the build

USB stick: Kingston DataTraveler 111 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive... - this is so I can boot and install ubuntu.
Current case: Rosewill LINE-M Micro-ATX Mini Tower Computer Case...
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DD...
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Tu...
monitor: ViewSonic VX2370Smh-LED Black 23" 7ms (GTG) IPS-Pa...
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB C...
mobo: MSI H77MA-G43 LGA 1155 Intel H77 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3....
PSU: CORSAIR CX430M 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Cer...
vidcard: EVGA 02G-P4-2651-KR GeForce GTX 650 2GB 128-bit GD... - this I'm gonna change later.  I just don't like what I see from the quadro's right now.

Alternate case: XION Gaming Series XON-560_BK Black Steel / Plasti...
haven't made any decisions on

CPU cooler
additional fans for cases
and thermal paste.


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## Norton (Jan 28, 2013)

Most 120mm tower coolers won't fit in those mATX cases you selected

*Note- the NZXT source 210 case will barely clear those coolers (7.68" width and clears by < 0.25"- my estimate) so your case width should be at least that wide.


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## kysg (Jan 28, 2013)

Norton said:


> Most 120mm tower coolers won't fit in those mATX cases you selected
> 
> *Note- the NZXT source 210 case will barely clear those coolers (7.68" width and clears by < 0.25"- my estimate) so your case width should be at least that wide.



ah okay, so should opt for a 92mm fan instead.  

Yea I couldn't figure out the measurements in my head so that is why I had to ask.  Another concern was making sure fan didn't cover up the RAM slots


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## Norton (Jan 28, 2013)

kysg said:


> ah okay, so should opt for a 92mm fan instead.
> 
> Yea I couldn't figure out the measurements in my head so that is why I had to ask.  Another concern was making sure fan didn't cover up the RAM slots



You would need to check cooler reviews to get an idea on ram clearance or just get low profile ram- DDR3 runs cools so the fancy heatsinks on them are for looks.... mostly


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## kysg (Jan 28, 2013)

Your right...Well ram cooler height isn't that high only about .5inch higher than normal RAM.  Not even that.  Worst case I'm taking the stock cooler.

yep I think these two should clear it.
ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

COOLER MASTER Hyper TX3 RR-910-HTX3-G1 "Heatpipe D...


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## Morgoth (Jan 28, 2013)

you sould be enabled to get 2 E5520 xeons for a low price 16 threads power 

why would you pick a xeon if you are not going for multi socket or ecc/buffered ram ?


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## Aquinus (Jan 28, 2013)

Morgoth said:


> you sould be enabled to get 2 E5520 xeons for a low price 16 threads power
> 
> why would you pick a xeon if you are not going for multi socket or ecc/buffered ram ?



...and my 3820 does the 7-zip benchmark just as fast as your 2 E5520s. 

I agree with that statement though. Unless you absolutely need the features that a Xeon offers, I wouldn't go with a 1P Xeon rig.


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## Morgoth (Jan 28, 2013)

Aquinus said:


> ...and my 3820 does the 7-zip benchmark just as fast as your 2 E5520s.
> 
> I agree with that statement though. Unless you absolutely need the features that a Xeon offers, I wouldn't go with a 1P Xeon rig.



mine are running stock yours over 4 ghz :shadedshu


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## Aquinus (Jan 28, 2013)

Morgoth said:


> mine are running stock yours over 4 ghz :shadedshu



Then overclock them, oh wait. 
I also have a significant lead at 4.94Ghz, dropping to 4.5 - 4.3 would probably put me at about the same numbers if I were to guess, maybe I should try it out. The point is newer Xeons don't give you the flexibility to overclock.
I also still see the E5520 going for ~250 USD new (less used, but that's the same for any CPU), which is only 50 USD less than the 3820 brand new.

Although I still think that a 8350 is the best cost effective platform for what the rig will be doing and I suspect that a 16c Interlagos CPU could do pretty well too if you really wanted to take that route.
You have 16c BD opterons going for ~550 USD on NewEgg and 16c PD opterons starting ~730 USD. I suspect that the new Abu Dhabi chips tear through multi-threaded tasks. That would really be stretching the budget though.


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## kysg (Jan 28, 2013)

Aquinus said:


> Then overclock them, oh wait.
> I also have a significant lead at 4.94Ghz, dropping to 4.5 - 4.3 would probably put me at about the same numbers if I were to guess, maybe I should try it out. The point is newer Xeons don't give you the flexibility to overclock.
> I also still see the E5520 going for ~250 USD new (less used, but that's the same for any CPU), which is only 50 USD less than the 3820 brand new.
> 
> ...




Why not two e5520's because that setup just isn't gonna happen, a two core setup just isn't cheap.

Opteron isn't a go because a starting 8 core is almost if not the same price as an i7-3770k/2600k

the 6 core valencia is at the same price point.
I could check amazon but not gonna go that route.

I could send the CPU and mobo and Ram back but then I'd have restocking fees, and shipping costs to deal with.  I ordered some parts off amazon so I don't get much leeway here.

when re evaluating it was either take the 8core amd or i7 setup or intel xeon.  I did check opterons but they were just out of range.  Hypothetically the best build setup is a 2 core rig, but that is a couple hundo's out the gate.

on the amd8core - just not many good matx boards there except for that lone gigabyte.
Also when comparing the two when I was doing hypothetical builds.  Amd 8core vs xeon the price point is only about 50-100 dollar difference.  Not a huge deal breaker for me.  Even then big variables there are the video card and PSU.  

Which if I had opted for an amd 8 core I would have had to spend extra dough on the PSU and vid card, and a cpu cooler so pretty much would be about the same price as a xeon with stock cooler.  If I was Oc'ing I'd see your point.  Also another problem I face is sales tax.

At the end of the day the xeon made sense, because

A. I didn't need to overclock
B. had similar performance to the i7

As far as not taking ECC RAM, I've arguments for and against, I'm just not on board with it.
this thing isn't shoving huge chunks of data to other machines so I'm not justified in getting it.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 28, 2013)

Do what you want dude, good luck on the build, You might want ECC for the rendering honestly (trade off being slightly slower)



kysg said:


> Why not two e5520's because that setup just isn't gonna happen, a two core setup just isn't cheap.
> 
> Opteron isn't a go because a starting 8 core is almost if not the same price as an i7-3770k/2600k
> 
> ...


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## kysg (May 15, 2013)

This is what it ended up being

CPU: Intel xeon v1230 v2
RAM: GSkill 16gb 2 x 8 gb
Vid card: nvidia GTX 650 2gb (will change in future)
Mobo: MSI B75 micro atx, H77 board failed, haven't tried the replacement, will probably sell at a loss.
PSU: PC power and cooling 400W psu, Corsair PSU failed, will sell that at a loss.
HD: seagate 1TB hdd
OS: Suse linux 12.2
monitor: Viewsonic 23" e-IPS
case: xion gamer series (or some crap like that)


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