Animation Workstation With A Budget of $2k to $3k

[klhsx1]

I am looking to buy or build a workstation for animation and 3D modelling. I will be doing forensic animations which may use physics simulations. I am a physics major who has started over in the arts. 3D modelling, for forensic animation is going to be my full time income. I use Maya, Zbrush, 3d Studio Max, Matlab. Do you have any other suggestions?

I'm looking to spend $2000 CAD on computer and $1000 CAD on a graphics card. I have screens, projectors, and a Wacom Cintiq latest largest model, which cost 4k.

I have been looking at a used HP Z800 or HP Z420 and a deal has come up for a local machine:

HP z800 2x Quad core xeon E5620 CPU. 48gb ram, Nvidia Quadro FX1800 for $1075.

Or I can get the same model with a 2x X5690 6core per CPU for $600 more
I’m mainly interested in the two x5690 for $600.
The HP z800 is average price, but I believe that processor price is good (seems like a 2 for 1 price). I’m comparing this machine to a newer version like HP z 420, and it seems like there’s not much improvement. The new machines have:

- DDR4 (doesn't seem to add much from what I’ve read)
- PCI 3.0 (doesn't seem to add much)
- New chip socket compatibility allows E type chips

In comparing the E5-1620 to the x5690 it seems they have about the same performance. The Z420 has smaller power supply. It only fits one CPU, and may only support one graphics card, due to power supply restrictions. According to the seller the Z800 will allow two decent sized graphics cards since it has a power supply of 1150 watt. I have not looked at building computers for years, and for the last few weeks have been reading about it all day.

Any input is appreciated, including more obvious user considerations that I may have missed between PC and workstation.

 

[Mr Kagouris]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2620 V3 2.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($399.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2620 V3 2.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($399.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12DXi4 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($63.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12DXi4 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($63.99 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($6.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z10PE-D16 SSI EEB Dual-CPU LGA2011-3 Narrow Motherboard ($389.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston 64GB (4 x 16GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($359.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.92 @ Amazon)
Total: $2074.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-16 13:32 EDT-0400

Add a couple of GTX 980s to this. PCPartPicker didn't allow me to add two of them because the board seems to not be listed as SLI-capable (even though it should be as far as I know).

Should outperform either listed HP system. Main downside is you wouldn't have HP's warranty so no free repairs (this is not remotely as bad as it sounds). Other than that, high performing CPUs, more than decent cooler, good PSU, lots of RAM, great GPUs, and a good HDD. Couldn't fit an SSD for the OS in the budget but you can add one if you want fast loading and high responsiveness.

 

[klhsx1]

Thanks for that build, however I did not intend to select this as a solution and don't know how to undue that action.

There are price concerns.

I have checked the CPUS and the are about 30% more money in Canada before tax.

I suspect it will be a similar situation with all the parts.


Also the CPU seem about even with the older models I have chosen.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Xeon-X5690-vs-Intel-Xeon-E5-2620

With Canadian Funds this will turn out to be about $3900

The seller for the Z800 has reduced price to $1470
Z800
48gddr3
2 xeon X5690
1Tb sata
FX1800

At less than half the price, for what I would estimate to be %90 the performance I don't see your option as the solution.

 

[klhsx1]

Please explain if I am terribly off. But DDR4, PCI 3.0, don't seem to add much if any advantage based on what Ive read.

Is there something I am missing as to why this would be better? Faster mother board perhaps? How much better would it be?

At more than double the price, I think the Z800 is a good option.

Z800 will hold a single gtx 980, and probably two ?

Thanks

 

[turkey3_scratch]

The real question is about the software you use. Does any of it favor heavy single-core performance? By all means, having 12 cores of old chips is great for multi-threaded options, but there are options these days like the 8-core I7-5960X which runs on a new architecture and has better single-core performance.

The second is what type of GPU does the software you use work with best?

Also, I don't trust power supplies in prebuilt machines. They are always poor quality.

 

[klhsx1]

Maya, 3d Studio Max, mostly,

So I know Quadro is probably better.

But as for CPU the 5690 is 3.5 ghz and 6 core, the new chip proposed isn't better really, and two of them is $1200, and I have an opportunity to get two 5690 for $600

So it seems like the older setup is the way to go, and then get a top line graphics card.

The newer build isn't going to be twice as fast, but it will cost double. So I think the older system is better cost to performance.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

How much would you pay for the 2x Intel Xeon E5620? Because frankly, that would be 16 total threads and you can get a modern-day I7-5690X for $1000 and it'll crush it with 16 threads, higher frequency, and newer architecture. Is it $1075 for the whole machine? Who are you buying this machine from? What are the rest of its specs?

 

[klhsx1]

See the above post for the alternate proposed to the Z800 ( with updated processors)

interesting E5620 are like $30 on ebay They seem comparable to X5690... thats funny.....

Its so confusing pricing this out!

$1470 for the whole Z800 with the two 5690 xeon , but this is canadian funds!! it works out to half the US price. Think $700US

I want workstation, not gaming PC so I am under the impression that I7 is out in favour of Xeon.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Well for that price might as well get it. And I7 extreme CPUs are workstation oriented.

 

[bambiboom]

klhsx1,

Used workstations are excellent value, offer great performance for a reasonable, and are extremely reliable in my experience. I've had five used used workstations since 2008 and today have a used, upgraded HP z420 for 3D modeling, for rendering a dual CPU Dell Precision T5500 and a T3500 as a backup /business system

The LGA1366 platform has the best cost /performance ratio of any, but for your uses, a dual Xeon E5 seems more appropriate and us more forward-looking. The principal advantages are: the ability to use up to 14-core CPU's as compared to six core for LGA1366, the RAM is DDR2-1600 or 1866, and the disk system is 6GB/s instead of 3GB/s. The E5-2600 series v1 CPU's are highly depreciated and only recently have become very good value in anticpation of the Xeon E5- v4/s which are 14nm (Skylake).

For your system, consider:

Dell Precision T7600 Barebones No Heatsinks No CPU No RAM No RAID No HDD > sold for Approximately C $601.23 or offer

To this add a single:

INTEL XEON E5-2687W 8 CORE TURBO 3.8GHz 20M 8GT/s SOCKET LGA 2011 BX80621e52687W sold for C $400

This provides 8-cores @ 3.1 / 3.8GHz. The reasoning is that the 3.8 GHz is a good clock speed for 3D modeling and most multi-threaded rendering and Adobe applications have a peak thread efficiently at about 8-cores, for which 3.1 is a good speed. Some programs are not as efficient over two CPU's, but as software progresses, use of all available core will be optimized and a second processor can be fully utilized. Solidworks is already optimized in this way- the more cores the better.

The T7600 specification is impressive: up to 512GB of DDR3 1600 ECC registered- registered is recommended for dual CPU systems, two 150 W GPU/s, NVIDIA Maximus that congiures a Quadro /Tesla co-processor system, a 1300W power supply, and a very good disk system.

For this use, a minimum of 32GB of RAM in 6GB modules, and add another 32GB when adding the 2nd processor. If .however, you are processing quite large animation files, make it 64GB + 64GB later.

GPU 1: There is no better cost /performance GPU at the moment than the Quadro M4000 (8GB) C $1,180) with plentry of memory and bandwidth for animation /simulations.

GPU2 : In the second x16 PCIE slot, a Tesla M2090 (6GB) coprocessor, (sold for C $126.85) which adds a 1.4GHz GPU and CUDA cores is extremely useful for accelerating polygon positional calculations in simulations. The peak double precision: 665 Gigaflops and peak single precision: 1331 Gigaflops. If you are simulating fluids and particles this is very useful. There are other models with many more CUDA cores with Kepler GPU's plus more memory and one of those might be a consideration.

RAID controller: LSI MR9260-8i > sold for C $100

Disk1: For the C: drive- OS and Programs, a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB > C $210

Disk 2, 3: Seagate Constellation ES.3 ST2000NM0033 2TB > C $360 (C $170 each) these are enterprise-rated and have 128MB cache instead of 64MB

OS: The OS may be reloaded form a Dell reinstallation disk and activated by the COA on the case. When I’ve done this with the T5500 and T3500, it activated automatically without having to enter the number.

There are a lot of variables and infinite possibilities, but in this example:

(All in C $)

System: $600
CPU: _ $400
RAM: _ $140
GPU 1: $1,180
GPU 2: $126
RAID controller: $100
Drives:_ $530
____________________________

TOTAL = C $ 3,076

This is of course, a bit over the budget of $3,000 ($2,000 + $1,000) so the Tesla GPU could be added later.

Performance should be quite good. A single E5-2687W in a Precision T7600 has a Passmark CPU score of 15175 and with a PERC H310 controller, disk scores as high as 7203. A Quadro M4000 is a T7600 score 5603 in 3D.

And the second CPU plus another 33GB or 64GB of RAM, a PCIe SSD, higher rated Tesla coprocessor and RAID 5 for the storage disks can be added- plenty of reserve capability.

The other approach would be to use LGA1366 and for that I'd suggest Dell Precision 7500 and this would be quite a bit less expensive. The limit would be 12-cores @ 3.47 /3.73GHz (X5690) which is still very good. A T7500 with a pair of X5690's has a Passmark CPU score of 15972 which is about 5% higher than a single E5-2687W. Interestingly, a pair of X5690's is similar or a bit more expensive than a single E5-2687W. See the results below for a T5500 that was purchased for $171 US and upgrade costs were about $850, used as dedicated rendering system.

In my view, the T7500 or an HP 800 can't be improved in terms of cost /performance, and if the dual 6-core is not a limitation then that would be a very good approach. However, for professional use looking forward to expanded capabilities, the Xeon E5 has more potential- it can use E5 2600 v2 CPU's and might delay changing systems for up to two years and thereby justify the costs.


Cheers,

BambiBoom

1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) > 32GB DDR3 1866 ECC RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

Pending upgrade: HP /LSI 9212-4i PCIe SAS /SATA HBA RAID controller, 2X Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB (RAID 1)

2. Purchased for $171:

Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Original): Xeon E5620 quad core @ 2.4 / 2.6 GHz > 6GB DDR3 ECC Reg 1333 > Quadro FX 580 (512MB) > Dell PERC 6/i SAS /SATA controller > Seagate Cheetah 15K 146GB and 300GB > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
[ Passmark system rating = 1479 / CPU = 4067 / 2D= 520 / 3D= 311 / Mem= 1473 / Disk= 1208]

2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Revised) > 2X Xeon X5680 (6 -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz), 48GB DDR3 1333 ECC Reg. > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > PERC H310 / Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z313 > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (27", 1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3844 / CPU = 15047 / 2D= 662 / 3D= 3550 / Mem= 1785 / Disk= 2649] (12.30.15)

Purchased for $53:

3. Precision T3500 (2011) (Original) Xeon W3530 4-core @ 2.8 /3.06GHz > 4GB (2X 2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC > GeForce 9800 GT (1GB)> WD Black 500GB
[[Passmark system rating = 1963, CPU = 4482 / 2D= 609 / 3D=805 / Mem= 1409 / Disk=1048]

Upgrades, about $250:

3. Dell Precision T3500 (2011) (Rev 2) Xeon X5677 4-core @ 3.46 / 3.73GHz > 12GB (6X 2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC > Quadro 4000 (2GB) > PERC 6/i + Seagate 300GB 15K SAS ST3300657SS + WD Black 500GB > 525W PSU> Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > 2X Dell 19" LCD
[Passmark system rating = 2751, CPU = 7236 / 2D= 658 / 3D=2020 / Mem= 1875 / Disk=1221]

 

[klhsx1]

Very interesting, and thank you for all this detail.

I have read that les cores at a higher clock speed is more practically utilized . So wouldn't the x5690 at 3.5ghz and 6 cores, be more efficient than the E5-2687W.

i am getting lost in CPU specs, where I thought speed was the performance factor. Is there some speed product bandwidth concept that I am missing? Is it this which makes these lesser rated newer chips as good or better then the predecessors?

 

[bambiboom]

Very interesting, and thank you for all this detail.

I have read that les cores at a higher clock speed is more practically utilized . So wouldn't the x5690 at 3.5ghz and 6 cores, be more efficient than the E5-2687W.

i am getting lost in CPU specs, where I thought speed was the performance factor. Is there some speed product bandwidth concept that I am missing? Is it this which makes these lesser rated newer chips as good or better then the predecessors?

klhsx1,

The cores to speed equation is complicated by the variability of the programs' ability to use more cores. For modeling, certainly, it is the single-threaded performance that is primary. The factor under measurement is processing cycles per unit time under a standardized load condition that varies from test to test. For example, in Passmark, the single-threaded rating of the X5690 is 1520, and for an E5-2687w, it's 1877. As I have a separate modeling and rendering system, I use an HP z420 with an E5-1660 v2 and it's single threaded rating is 2112 as it runs the first two cores at 4.0GHz.

Rendering can be done primarily on the CPU cores, or GPU or a combination, and for video and animation, GPU processing is certainly much faster. I make large, fairly high resolution (3180 X 2140) single image renderings and prefer to run them on CPU cores. These only require about 7 or 8 minutes on the T5000 and actually the z420 about the same- or perhaps within 20 seconds ad that the result of the E5-1660 v2 base rate of 3.7GHz. Over time, I find the z420 is so fast that I'm considering consolidating the assets into a single system.

The idea is to use a Supermicro Superworkstation. these are made for LGA1366, single and dual LGA2011, and LGA2011-3. The nice feature is that one need only plug in the CPU's, RAM, GPU, plus drives and you're off and running. For example you can buy the dual LGA1366 and a couple of used X5690's.

This is option for your use and Supermicro makes these with server-like reliability and are supposed to be very quiet. But, quite a bit more costly than buying a "barebones" T7600 or z820

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[klhsx1]

considering single threaded rating

(1520/1877) x 100% = %81

So with hard drives
similar amounts of ram
So for $2630 machine with two e5 2687w (still needs fans for CPU ? other small build required parts) ( tax on some of these items, shipping on some)
VS $1470 z800 with two 5690 processors

for 20% performance increase

It still seems like the z800 is the best cost to performance ratio. I am a student now just starting, I probably won't get into anything complex enough to test the limits for a year or two?


You like the z420 so much? there is one for $1000 Canadian with e5-1620
64gig, 1tb drive

so many decisions!

 

[bambiboom]

considering single threaded rating

(1520/1877) x 100% = %81

So with hard drives
similar amounts of ram
So for $2630 machine with two e5 2687w (still needs fans for CPU ? other small build required parts) ( tax on some of these items, shipping on some)
VS $1470 z800 with two 5690 processors

for 20% performance increase

It still seems like the z800 is the best cost to performance ratio. I am a student now just starting, I probably won't get into anything complex enough to test the limits for a year or two?


You like the z420 so much? there is one for $1000 Canadian with e5-1620
64gig, 1tb drive

so many decisions!

klhsx1.

LGA1366 is by far the best value- a Xeon X5690 new was $1,650 US. E5 is more versatile given the range of of 4 to 18 cores- soon 22 cores in the v4- a higher performance potential. and longer use cycle- but more expensive.

I do like the HP z420 and have two of them, (2013 E5-1620 and 2015 E5-1660 v2) completely reliable, very good performance. The build quality of the Precision seems better, but the z420's are the quietest computers I've ever had.

The z800 with the pair of X5690's is the best choice and leaves a good amount for the GPU, drives, and etc.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[klhsx1]

What about this consideration. Maya recommends not using two processors to render :

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/Maya/files/Vari-Render-with-several-processors-htm.html

Why is this?

Im going to have to read about how software's use hardware !

 

[bambiboom]

What about this consideration. Maya recommends not using two processors to render :

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/Maya/files/Vari-Render-with-several-processors-htm.html

Why is this?

Im going to have to read about how software's use hardware !

khlsx1,

It is a complicated situation. Multithreading and dual processor utilization is all over the map. The best and quite recent articles an the subject I've seen are the ones on the subject.

The situation is improving generally, but Autodesk has lagged behind for example Dessault- Solidworks improves with every core added to the work, whereas Maya peaks at five-six cores and actually slows down using two processors. Autodesk has been very innovative at forcing more revenues from customers through subscriptions that can't lapse without starting over in the upgrades queue and have improved the interface, and raising costs but they're falling behind on optimization. Adobe too seems to have lost energy and won't do anything about Flash and has their own subscription.

With the variability of software it's difficult , read epensive- to have one system that can do everything well.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[klhsx1]

This seems like another reason to stay one or two generations behind CPUS maybe? OR avoid dual CPU machine and just get the best single chip!? Oh now im really confused ! lol

I am just starting out in 3D. I know that I want a career in forensic animation.Its the only thing I have come across that combines creative art and science. Medical illustration does as well, but the 3D modelling and animation is more appealing to me. I have been profiling companies that do this kind of work.

They are hiring the following skill set.

Advanced Maya and/or 3DsMax skills
(3D modeling, 3D animation, shading /
lighting / rendering).
Advanced experience in Adobe
Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere.
Advanced experience creating
photorealistic imagery and animations
using Mental Ray.
Excellent texturing and UV skills.

So I am out to learn these skills, and this is why Im purchasing the Workstation.

From there web site you can see the type of animations they do

http://highimpact.com

You can see they are reaching settlements in law suits and insurance claims for tens of millions, im not privy to how much the animators take home, but I think its probably decent, and obviously having a physics degree I can separate myself from the onslaught of kids trying to become the next pixar or disney recruit.

really enjoying this link https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Estimating-CPU-Performance-using-Amdahls-Law-619/
with amdhal's law, so thanks for that 😉

 

[Mr Kagouris]

You would indeed be better served by a used workstation, they're usually very reliable and pretty cheap for their performance. The problem is that most of them, from relatively high to low end, have more and more cores rather than a balance between core count and single-core performance, and you don't have warranty in the (very unlikely) event something goes wrong. For a better balance between core count, per-core processing power, and GPU power, (and warranty), you could go with this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-1650 V3 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($829.98 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver 2 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($50.75 @ Vuugo)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($12.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X99P-SLI ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($259.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($178.30 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($663.41 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($663.41 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.02 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($126.00 @ shopRBC)
Total: $3073.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-18 04:50 EDT-0400

 

[klhsx1]

Thanks for posting this new build. I will have a look through this.

I posted my problem in a Facebook group for digital artists and someone told me not to buy a graphics card until the new nvidia cards come out. They are coming out in about one month it seems. The new architecture seems to be far superior. So if anything the old cards will come down in price.

What are your thoughts on these new invidia pascal
cards.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/nvidia-pascal-to-be-unveiled-at-gpu-technology-conference-and-launched-in-june-at-computex-2016/037972

 

[klhsx1]

Also I took your generated list and tried to substitute a motherboard that would allow an extra CPU and I had compatibility issues. I selected the lga2011-3 dual cpu board and it said it was incompatible with the E5-1650.

Am I making some obvious mistake?

could you generate a solution with a dual motherboard that has 4 way SLI capability?

Thanks again for your help!

 

[Mr Kagouris]

Not all Xeons support dual CPU configurations, that's why it gave you a compatibility issue. And yeah if you can wait until Pascal that would be good, either to get a new Pascal GPU or because you'll be able to afford better GPU(s) due to the price drop.

For dual-CPU and 4-way SLI capabilities the price shoots up considerably to the point where the entire 3000$ budget is needed for everything aside from the GPUs (and by 4-way SLI capabilities I also mean not having to upgrade PSU to do it). Of course this also means you'd get considerably better CPU performance and be able to upgrade the rig a lot more.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2620 V3 2.4GHz 6-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($532.01 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2620 V3 2.4GHz 6-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($532.01 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver 2 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($50.75 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII S524 Ver 2 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($50.75 @ Vuugo)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($13.10 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Asus Z10PE-D8 WS SSI EEB Dual-CPU LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($709.70 @ shopRBC)
Memory: Crucial 32GB (2 x 16GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($260.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow KC300 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.64 @ shopRBC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($158.50 @ shopRBC)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($129.98 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: LEPA G Series 1600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($364.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($126.00 @ shopRBC)
Total: $2980.92

 

[bambiboom]

klhsx1,

On balance, a strong single CPU system seems preferable.

And, the suggestion by Mr. Kagouris using the Xeon E5-1650 v3 on an X99 motherboard would have very good performance. The single-threaded performance is critical for 3D modeling and the Xeon E5-1650 v3 is in the top tier- on Passmark it's rated as 2114 and the average Passmark CPU score is 13492.

However, with a view towards a different allocation of the budget and the idea of the fullest capability single CPU, it seems that a strong percentage of the Mr. K system might be achieved for somewhat less cost and also include some components as benefit of the redirection of funds:

1. HP Z420 WorkStation Xeon E5-1603 2.8GHz 8GB 500GB HDD nVIDIA NVS 310 No OS > sold for C $311
2. +24GB (6X4GB) RAM > about $150
3. Xeon E5-2690 > 8-core @ 2.9 / 3.8GHz > used about $500
4. Quadro K4200 > used about $800
5. NVIDIA Tesla M2090 6GB GDDR5 PCIe x16 GPU Computing Processor Card w/ Bracket > sold for $123
6. SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 500GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E500B/AM > $205
7. Seagate Constellation Es.3 St2000nm0023 2 Tb 3.5 Internal > $210

TOTAL > about C $2330

As there is something remaining in the budget:

2X ASUS VN289QR Black 28" 5ms (GTG) HDMI Ultra-Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor,300 cd/m2 ASCR 80,000,000:1 (3000:1) Built-in Speakers with Flicker Free Technology > $510 (255 each)

OR>

2X ViewSonic VA2746m-LED Black 27" 3.4ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 20,000,000:1 (1200:1) Built-in Speakers > $594 ($297 each)

You get the idea.
______________________________________

TOTAL: about $2,700- $2,800

For the C $2,800 the system has an 8-core @ 2.9 / 3.8GHz, 32GB of RAM, a fast 4GB Quadro with 1344 CUDA cores, a 6GB Telsa GPU coprocessor, a very fast 500GB SSD, enterprise level 2TB storage drive, and importantly, a pair of 27" or 28" monitors. Plus, it's not necessary to build from multiple sources of components. With the right choice of system, it may be usable on a basic level as is and one need only plug in the new components as they arrive.

CPU: As a number of visualization programs have peak performance at about 5-6 cores and some actually slow down when used on dual CPU's, an 8-core is going to strike a good balance. With 3.8GHz (Passmark average mark = 14308) and good single threaded performance (1880), the 3D modeling will be good and the number of threads at 2.9GHz will be useful in Matlab.

GPU: The choice of GPU is important as Maya, which has become such an standard for animation- performance using GTX is severely lacking. Have a look at this older test of workstation cards with some comparisons to GTX on this site. In the Maya (2013) results chart, notice that the $175 Firepro V3900 completed a test in 79 seconds as compared to 283 seconds for a GTX Titan. In that test, the GTX would not really run Solidworks usefully and there are no results. In the excellent Puget Systems articles, the conclusion in Solidworks is"

"One thing is obvious from our results: GeForce cards have absolutely terrible performance when you use the "Shaded w/ Edges" view mode. At 1080p, not even the highest end GeForce card was able to match the very affordable Quadro K620. A GeForce GTX 980 Ti or Titan X should be still be able to give you about 60 FPS for medium models (around .5 million triangles) and about 30 FPS for very complex models (around 1 million triangles), but you would see significantly higher performance with a Quadro card of roughly the same price. If you use a 4K display, however, many of the GeForce cards are able to out-perform the Quadro K620 although given that the K620 only has 2GB of VRAM we would never recommend using it with a 4K display in the first place. Really, the Quadro K2200 is the lowest end card we would recommend for 4K and that card should always outperform even the highest end GeForce card."

GPU 2: The Telsa series of GPU coprocessors, along with Xeon Phi have the basis- using thousands- for the World's fastest supercomputers and they are ideal for coprocessing in Matlab and in calculation-intensive simulation.

Monitors: In 3D modeling particularly, it seems essential to me to have two good-sized monitors to be able to swap images and read information between multiple programs without constant switching or moving windows.

So, an alternative, that intends to distribute the funds to include an 8-core, a 500GB SSD, a Tesla coprocessor, and large dual monitors. As I have my spare z420 (E5-1620 4-core), I'm considering this same approach and replacing the Precision T5500 (2X X5680 6-core / Quadro K2200). I was doing some 3180 X 2140 VRay renderings last evening and these were taking only about 6 minutes on the 6-core z420 (E5-1660 v2 / Quadro K4200) so I think a E5-2690 would make quick work of them.

Sorry for such long posts.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[Mr Kagouris]

I wholeheartedly agree with bambiboom's last suggestion. Great picks and awesome explanation on his part.

 

[klhsx1]

Making sense.

So I found a hp z420 for $1040 +tax $1175 and its local,

These ones you are finding on ebay that are in the states, will cost a lot more to get here. The shipping and duties really bring it up, as they charge about %25 -%30 in brokerage fees to bring any items over the border. Plus shipping.

with the E5-1660 version 1 (six core)
16gig ram
1Tb SATA

If I add Ram to this roughly $250
Im at about $1425


Is that going to perform better , and have as much upgrade potential as a z800 for $1470 with two 5690?

The Z800 power supply is going to allow two big cards I believe.

Will a z420 allow this?

If any future upgrade is considered its probably a second graphics card. So I want to make sure this is possible.

 

[bambiboom]

Making sense.

So I found a hp z420 for $1040 +tax $1175 and its local,

These ones you are finding on ebay that are in the states, will cost a lot more to get here. The shipping and duties really bring it up, as they charge about %25 -%30 in brokerage fees to bring any items over the border. Plus shipping.

with the E5-1660 version 1 (six core)
16gig ram
1Tb SATA

If I add Ram to this roughly $250
Im at about $1425


Is that going to perform better , and have as much upgrade potential as a z800 for $1470 with two 5690?

The Z800 power supply is going to allow two big cards I believe.

Will a z420 allow this?

If any future upgrade is considered its probably a second graphics card. So I want to make sure this is possible.

klhsx1,

The z800 with a pair of X5690's has higher CPU performance, the top Passmark CPU score being 14950 with 12 cores and the top z420 with an E5-1660 is rated at 12725 with six cores. The top system rating for a z800 / X5690 is 4524 and the z420 /E5- 1650 top rating is 4355. And given the extra RAM capacity- and cheaper- and PCIe lanes of a dual CPU plus the larger PSU, if the choices are only those two,, the z800 is the better. I would mention that the z420 has a 600W power supply and with a pair of x16 GPU slots is rated to use two 150W GPU's. The K4200 for example is 120W.

Be aware though that some Adobe software does not recognize dual GPU's- even the dual GPU's within the same GTX 680. Monitors can be run off of separate GPU's but they are not working in parallel to accelerate the processing. This is the reason I suggested looking into the Quadro / Telsa / Maximus configuration so the second GPU would contribute to the processing. You'll find Teslas in a lot of Matlabs systems for that reason, plus the high double precision.

Cheers,

BambiBoom