Best CPU for 3d rendering? i7/i5???

[imported_the machinist]

I am about to build a new system for 3d rendering but the imminent introduction of Socket 1156 is confusing the hell out of me.

My PC will be used purely for my 3d work and rendering. Which means high clock speed, more cores and threads + tons of RAM = better performance.

Should I be going for current LGA1366 based system or these new Socket 1156 based system?

Also will the 6 core i9 due early next year be on LG1366? Would be a good upgrade option in later part of 2010 if I go LG1366 direction now. Any advice?

 

[biostud]

i7, 3D rendering benefits from HT, and the 6-core will only be for 1366

 

[faxon]

what biostud said. while you can get the i7 860s with HT for S1156, 3D renders will benefit immensely from the additional PCI-e and memory bandwidth provided to the GPU and main system memory, depending on the specific rendering you will be using. as stated already, currently there are no 6 core or 8 core CPUs listed on intel's roadmap for S1156, while 6 cores and later 8 cores with sandy bridge will be available with just a bios update assuming nothing else causes incompatibility.

 

[imported_the machinist]

Ok thanks will get a LGA 1366 MOBO.

 

[imported_the machinist]

Guys any views now that the new socket is out? Still LGA 1366 way?

 

[alyarb]

the new socket doesn't have any perks that apply to you, only compromises. stick with 1366.

 

[biostud]

if you want to be able to upgrade to the 6-core westmere in the future you still need socket 1366.

 

[themisfit610]

Get a dual socket workstation / server. If this is literally just going to be a renderbox, consider something like a Dell PowerEdge T410. Load it with 2 Xeon E5520 CPUs, each of which is basically a 2.26 GHz Core i7 with 8 threads each.

You can easily get away with a standard configuration for a hair under $2000, which blows MacPro pricing out of the water

~MiSfit

 

[imported_the machinist]

Originally posted by: themisfit610
Get a dual socket workstation / server. If this is literally just going to be a renderbox, consider something like a Dell PowerEdge T410. Load it with 2 Xeon E5520 CPUs, each of which is basically a 2.26 GHz Core i7 with 8 threads each.

You can easily get away with a standard configuration for a hair under $2000, which blows MacPro pricing out of the water

~MiSfit

An overclocked i7 920 almost matches 2x Xeon E5520 cpus. I build my own system so won't touch anything from Dell or Apple anyway ;-)

Some render benchmarks here-
http://randomcontrol.com/index...h&Itemid=140&benchid=1

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: the machinist
I am about to build a new system for 3d rendering but the imminent introduction of Socket 1156 is confusing the hell out of me.

My PC will be used purely for my 3d work and rendering. Which means high clock speed, more cores and threads + tons of RAM = better performance.

Should I be going for current LGA1366 based system or these new Socket 1156 based system?

Also will the 6 core i9 due early next year be on LG1366? Would be a good upgrade option in later part of 2010 if I go LG1366 direction now. Any advice?

Can you list the software that you use for your 3D work and rendering?
It would help to know.

 

[imported_the machinist]

Originally posted by: Keysplayr


Can you list the software that you use for your 3D work and rendering?
It would help to know.

Maya Mental ray. Most decent rendering software max out all the cores/threads available to them :beer:

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: alyarb
the new socket doesn't have any perks that apply to you, only compromises. stick with 1366.

This.

 

[Swivelguy2]

I'm also going to be building an i7 3D workstation soon. The main software used will be Maya/Rhino and AutoCAD.

The i7-860 has a bit more raw CPU power than the 920 (and much better single-thread performance, which will also help for some stuff I run). Is that less significant than the loss of triple channel DDR? Also, would x8/x8 not be enough PCI-e bandwidth for, say, a pair of HD 4890s?

Also, memory size varies between the two options. Would putting 8GB (4 DIMMs) in the i7-860 system make up for the higher memory bandwidth of i7-920?

 

[imported_the machinist]

Originally posted by: Swivelguy2
I'm also going to be building an i7 3D workstation soon. The main software used will be Maya/Rhino and AutoCAD.

The i7-860 has a bit more raw CPU power than the 920 (and much better single-thread performance, which will also help for some stuff I run). Is that less significant than the loss of triple channel DDR? Also, would x8/x8 not be enough PCI-e bandwidth for, say, a pair of HD 4890s?

Also, memory size varies between the two options. Would putting 8GB (4 DIMMs) in the i7-860 system make up for the higher memory bandwidth of i7-920?

Why would you put a pair of cards in a workstation? It won't help your listed 3d apps in any way.
i920 over clocked even moderately is a monster and better that i7 860 from what I understand.

 

[Yaye]

The only way how you can speed up things in 3d and I mean in any 3D, is to set up a small render farm. No single computer no matter how powerfull, will ever, and I repeat ever give you a significant performance increase (we are not talking 486 vs I7 here). I run an athlon based system (x2 4400 at 2.3 Ghz ). The smartest thing you could do (my humble experience with 3d is 5 years) is to build micro render farm.
I've did an cnebench 10 test today and my score is:
single thread :2098
dual thread: 4070
On all benchmarks I7 outperforms me by 120% in single thread and by a little bit over 4 times in multi threading, but the price of I7 and I mean cpu only, covers two machines like mine.

I am not AMD vs Intel type of guy but I did some heavy stuff in 3D and I know how applications behave since they all are basically the same thing. The dual cpu workstation with professional open gl card and lots of RAM will give you some performance increase, but only in the creation process but when the rendering comes, the farm is the only solution.

 

[mozartrules]

Originally posted by: themisfit610
Get a dual socket workstation / server.

I think that is a godo idea. I am not sure what the original poster means when he says "tons of RAM", but the server boards becomes very attractive once you need above 12Gb. There are decent 3x4Gb ECC kits for less than $400, but I believe that these are for servers only.

You can build these yourself too, a 5520 motherboards and two of whatever Xeon 55xx fits your cost/performance profile (I use X5570s at work for Monte-Carlo simulation, but that is probably too rich for most people. The E5520 seems like a good compromise). Just be careful with the coolers since they are different than the non-server i7s and check the PSU configuration too.

I also think that you will appreciate the lower cooling requirement, the E5520 is only 80W (and you can pay extra for the L5520 and get 60W). The Xeons are typically binned so they can stay at a lower TDP, even the 2.93GHz X5570 is only 95W.

The i9 is going to be 4-digits, not worth it for only 6 cores. The 5520 motherboards gives you 8 cores right now for less money. You can get two 5530 or 5540 for the price of one i9 and the dual socket MB isn't that expensive. You will probably be able to upgrade to Nehalem EX (8-core), but that will be another high cost option.

A 5520 MB, two Xeon E5520, 6x4Gb ECC RAM will give you a lot of horsepower for less than $2000 and thermals will be manageable. Slightly lower clockspeed, but lots of cores (real and virtual) and lots of RAM.

I have no opinion on the graphics side, it is outside my area of expertise.

But Yaye is probably correct that you need a farm if you want to be really serious about this.