Help me choose.... price / performance ... cheap MP

[patrickmacdonald]

I am building a workstation for 3d rendering and compositing.....
Can anyone suggest which of the two set-ups below I should get? I can't work out myself which one will offer the best performance / value / future-development -

Any advice or suggestions appreciated!

I already have a Radeon 9700pro

Multi-Processor System - effectively 4Ghz for rendering ? ::--
£79 - 1x Asus A7M266 DDR (Socket A) Motherboard **B-GRADE**
£60 - 2x Zalman ZM80-HP 'flower'
£233 - 2 x AMD MP2000
£78 - 1 x Corsair 512Mb DDR XMS2700 Platinum CAS2
Total = £528 (incl VAT)

Single Processor System - effectively 2.5Ghz for rendering ? ::--
£108 - (...edit...) 1 x Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200 Platinum CAS2
£139 - 1 x AMD Athlon "Barton" XP2500+ 333FSB (Socket A) CPU
£99 - 1 x Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 (Socket A)
£30 - 1 x Zalman ZM80-HP 'flower'
Total = £441 (incl VAT)

 

[dullard]

I'd personally get the bottom system. Some graphics programs benefit from the 2nd processor, but usually not anywhere near a full 100% speed boost (you didn't mention the exact programs you'd use). The extra memory, faster fsb, and higher clockspeed should all make the bottom system better performing - plus you have money left over for future upgrading.

However, I don't think a Barton (the 2500+) is right for you. In my limited experience, rendering often relies more on pure frequency than cache. Thus a 2600+ T-bred may perform a lot better for not much extra cost. But then of course I don't know the foreign chip prices.

 

[anthrax]

where could you get 2 X Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200 DIMMs for 108 quid?

 

[patrickmacdonald]

oops! looks like I made a slight miscalc! £108 is the cost of 1 - 512Mb corsair.....