Render Farm 2013 (Help)

[kasper92]

Render Farm help. I am looking to build a complete solution for rendering on a tight budget. However this is going to be for professional use no games played. Im going between i7 (4770k), AMD FX 8350, if anyone has any input on moderately priced efficient Xeons or Optrons that would be good to . However my main concern is the GPU I keep going between a few cards Nvidia 660ti, Nvidia Quadros (lower priced $100-300) ATI R9 280x and Firepro cards (V3900-V4900). Now Im looking for quantity with good quality as opposed to just higher cost quality. The software i use is Unity, Max, Maya, and Zbrush. I would like to rule out team green if at all possible because CUDA cores have more of a impact on Adobe based products than 3D software, at least according to my research. Im looking for 5 nodes carrying 3-4 cards each. Whats your take people let me know what you think.

 

[k1114]

This doesn't really make sense. What exactly are you doing in the software? It would determine if workstation cards are needed and also because it doesn't sound like you know which functions are gpu accelerated and what is cpu based. Also what renderer because none of these software, except premiere cc, natively uses multiple cards. So I would also need to know what adobe version you are using and the exact programs would help too.

 

[kasper92]

currently Im using the native renders in maya (metal ray) and luxmax for 3ds max most of my work involves these two autodesk products. i use premiere ps and after effects as well on the adobe side. I use Zrender aswell in zbrush it is native to that software. I'm just looking for a solution that will increase my turnaround times for my clients. Come to think of it i don't think that firepro cards or quadros unless they are high end will do any good when just being used as nodes. I currently have one node using gtx 570's however its just not cutting it since my client base is starting to increase. Most of my work involves simulation in unity and alot of architectural modeling reflections and transparency's. I also plan on working on a few indie game title's also. I really just plainly want to know what the best cards for the money are in the 1-300 $ range are. Pardon my spelling and sentence structure i just worked for the past 12 hours. Oh forgot to mention im thinking about using furryball renderer or indigo when the nodes are completed I do want to go with ati if at all possible if you have any suggestions please don't hesitate Im all ears.

 

[k1114]

You seem to have done your research. If you aren't going to oc, the xeon 1230v3 costs less than an i7. The 8350 is still a bit lower price although a bit lower performance as well. Depending on the usage, the cost may just be saved from the power consumption difference. I'd typically suggest workstation cards for job related work but you seem to be fine with consumer cards already. If you want to go amd, the 280x is not going to be beat at that price and performance.

 

[kasper92]

Thanks for the input k1114 you honestly helped a lot. I will look into that xeon and see what it looks like. And with the 280x i know right lol I seen a HIS card on newegg that also sparked my attention 1500+ stream processors for $150 I could go that route with amd and just add a node. Just dont know about HIS quality. Again thanks for your help.

 

[k1114]

More stream processors does not mean more performance. Looking at newegg, the only card with 1500+ at $150 is a 6970. A 7870 is around the same price and is over 50% better performance. The 6970 would be a bad choice.