Question: Single Xeon CPU or Dual Xeon CPU's

[puddyman]

I am upgrading my 3D and video editing machine and I have to choose between either:

• A single Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 2.70Ghz 30MB 1866 12C
• Or two Intel Xeon E5-2687W 3.10Ghz 20MB 1600 8C

I will be using the machine for creating 3D environments in 3D Studio Max and rendering them with Vray but also for editing videos using after effects.
The dual CPU option is more expensive but i'm not sure whether that means it would be better or not?

The dual CPUs have a faster clock speed and i'd end up with 16 cores for rendering rather than 12 which seems like the best option to me but i'm just making sure because i know VERY LITTLE about computer hardware so i'd welcome any help on making a decision.
The rest of the machine spec is below:

HP Z820 Workstation

HP Z820 1125W 90 Efficient Chassis
32GB DDR3-1600 (8x4GB) 2CPU Registered RAM
NVIDIA Quadro K4000 3GB DL-DVI(I)+DP+DP 1st No cables included Graphics
256GB SATA 1st Solid State Drive
2TB 7200 RPM SATA 2nd Hard Drive
HP USB Keyboard
HP USB Optical Mouse
16X SuperMulti DVDRW SATA 1st ODD
Broadcom 5761 Gigabit PCIe NIC
HP 3/3/3 Warranty EURO
HP Liquid Cooling Solution
HP Z820 Country Kit

 

[Cazalan]

Vray supports GPU rendering so you'd likely want to bump the graphics card to a higher end model before worrying about a second CPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1684999/gpu-solution-3ds-max-vray-vray.html

 

[puddyman]

Vray supports GPU rendering so you'd likely want to bump the graphics card to a higher end model before worrying about a second CPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1684999/gpu-solution-3ds-max-vray-vray.html

unfortunately i don't have an option to get a better graphics card, i simply need to choose between these CPU's, which should i go for?

 

[CTurbo]

The two 8-cores would be better, but it's also 50% more expensive... I don't think it would be worth the extra $1000.

 

[CTurbo]

You could save about $600 over the two E5-2687Ws and go with two E5-2670 v2s. That's 20 cores and 40 threads for just $400 more than the single 12-core Xeon E5-2697 v2.

Here - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116929

 

[blade of grass]

To be quite honest, I think it is up to you on whether or not you want to spend the extra money for the extra performance. The dual xeon system will perform better, but it will also cost you more money. So you have to decide whether you can stand abit less performance, maybe abit longer render time, to save the money, or if saving that time is worth the upfront cost.

 

[puddyman]

Thanks for your concerns about the extra money, but its my compnay that's paying for the upgrade so its the performance that matters over cost.
Thanks foy your help everyone!

 

[CTurbo]

Well then it looks like an easy decision! Dual Xeon E5-2687Ws it is!