A few questions on Computer specs (Mainly CPUs)

Hi everyone, this is my first post up here.
I have some questions on specs, mainly CPUs, and also would like to know everyone else setup spec, if they don’t mind sharing.
Ok, well I started using blender a about 5 years ago, but stopped because my computer has always limited in almost every way. I use to be decent at modeling in blender about 4 years ago, when I was using my friends computer, but now I’m not so good any more.
I have recently got back into blender 6 months ago, and now I’m looking at picking up a older dell poweredge with a dual socket lga 771, it comes with one single core xeon, but the things only $20, so I think it is a good start.
I plan on switching buying two qaudcore xeons to run in it, and run linux and eventually make my own beowolf setup.

But the real cpu problem I’m having is, I’m planning on buying two 12 core amd opterons, and a dual socket motherboard later, but I’ve been reading, and most people say to just go with 2 6 core xeons, because they have higher clock speeds. Both of these CPUs can be found for $75-$120 each, so I’m not sure what to do.

In case any one is wondering what all this will be used for, I plan on making a film series, like the series by Rooster Teeth entertainment RWBY.

Thanks in advance.
And if this is in the wrong place, I’m sorry:(

First of all, have a plan to get ahold of some LGA 771 Xeons? They may not be easy to find. A google search comes up with a few things, but selection and price may be pretty spotty.

Second of all, remember these chips are essentially core 2 quads. Their combined performance is going to be a little better than a single first-gen i7, while sucking much more power. A new i7-4770 will smoke anything you can put in a dual-771 motherboard. If you want Opterons or newer Xeons, you’ll need to replace the motherboard, assuming you can even find one that fits. (OEM machines don’t always have standard wiring and mounts).

Oh also, those old Xeons most likely require FB-DIMM DDR2 memory, which can also be pricey. Around $25/GB on Newegg, which is over double what regular DDR3 sticks go for.

Computers aren’t cars, trying to restore old ones to be useful is pretty much a lost cause. You could build a faster and more efficient machine with mid-range parts for $700 or so. Maybe less.

i agree…
save up for newer hardware.
its kind of a waste of $ fixing up an old machine.

Actually I’ve found a few on Ebay, and a local guy on craigslist. But, from your second point, I might not use it for this kind of project.
I plan on rack mounting ever thing, just because it fits with my setup better already, so it will not be going in a normal case.

I guess my problem is now is deciding to go with opterons, or xeons. I’ve found 12 core 2.1Ghz opterons for under $120 each used, and the 6 core xeons for the same price. I don’t need heatsinks, as I plan to liquid cool it. And both motherboard are under $120 used, for a dual socket motherboard.

Just so everyone knows, I’m not a noob when it comes to building computers. Just when it comes to workstations and servers hahaha, I don’t know much about what parts are best for building a machine to work CAD, and film production.

I thank you for your help and Input so far J The Ninja, you have helped me a lot.

cores dont really matter neither does clock speed but opterons are really slow and a 6 core xeon for 120 dollars? that sounds iffy

most cpus are on here i have spent hours finding what would be the cheapest and it would be this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116906 (pretty much a i7 3770 for 100 dollars less which is a great price)

it would be cheaper to get 2 machines with 1 cpu each than going dual socket all the new cpus that support dual socket cost way to much and they are slow so you have to get 2 to even get a decent speed but in the end a i7 4930 (600 usd) would be cheaper and more powerful

My rig has: i5 4670K OCed @ 4.4GhZ 8GB 2133 DDR3 GTX560 (planing to upgrade to the new GTX 8xx series, when it comes out) and Blender runs great. The thing about CPUs is that currently the i7 4770K performs better than for example an i7 4930K which is a six core CPU. Mainly because it’s based on previous core architecture. Best thing to do here is to look at some benchmarks and find the best price/performance ration for yourself. You could also go with an 8 core CPU from AMD. I would suggest to invest heftily in a GPU for shorter render times. Also fast RAM comes into play in applications such as Blender, not so much in games for example. I found myself using a lot of it. I would not suggest Xeons mainly because they are primarily for servers.

most work stations use xeons and the 4770k is very close to the 4930 in cycles but 4930 is slightly faster and the xeon e3-1230 v3 is right between 3770 - 4770 render times for 100 dollars less

Ah alright, so what exactly should I be looking for, when choosing a CPU for this kind of thing?
Because I want to try and get the most power for my money, so I would like to know what to look for when looking at benchmarks.
Until now, the only computers I’ve built have been a few gaming computers, some other ones for just surfing the internet and paper work.

And LordOdin, when you say running two computers, do you mean in a like a Beowolf cluster? or what?
I’m sorry for asking so many questions, I’m new to these kinds of setups, andd know little about them

And I found out the 6 core xeons I found are listed wrong, they are quads.

BlackBart, thank you for you input, every little bit of info is helping me make decisions.

another question, would SLI be beneficial at all in this case? or would it cause problems? becuase I know running SLI or Crossfire cards can cause problems when gaming, so I thought I might ask.

Again, I thank you all for your help. You guys are helping me a lot.

Moved from “General Forums > Blender and CG Discussions” to “Support > Technical Support”

Hi, SLI definitely does not help for render engines, you have even to switch it off for some engines, Octane for example.
Here is another benchmark sheet, a bit more tidy:

http://www.blenderartists.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=269786&d=1384016565

To make the things more clear the GTX 750 (new Maxwell core) is as fast as a GTX 760 with the older Kepler core.
It is also cheaper.

Cheers, mib.

That is why I’m waiting for the new Maxwells. The new architecture promises twice as many CUDA cores with almost 90% performance of Kepler GPU. But it’s up to nVidia how many core will they unlock.

as others have said yes dont use sli… but putting 2 cards in your machine doesnt mean they are in sli… that physical bridge you put between them is what makes them sli

if i was going to buy a new cpu this would be it its amazing for the price http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116906

faster than an 8 core fx 8350 4.4 ghz
faster than a bunch of i7s

and yes a "beowulf cluster"this is only good for rendering but that xeon is all the cpu you need for modeling and everything else

and if you are going to go with gpu rendering i would wait for 8xx like @BlackBart said they are going to be amazing and use so little power

Thank you vary much you guys. I think you have solved all my questions.
I guess now the rest is up to me to look up some benchmarks, and decide what I can afford.

Once again, thank you all.
I’m really excited to start this, and you have helped me a lot.