Render nodes opinions

[fkoehler]

Hi Jurah,

I'm from Portugal and also had a HX650 that "died" shortly after 2 years old. The PSU has 5 years warranty but after the 2nd year I have to support the costs of shipping the in-warranty PSU (at least its what my hardware supplier told me) and they sent me a brand new HX750i free of charge.

Edit: I'm not sure but I think the only PSU's made by Seasonic are the ones from the AX line. Coincidentally I only bought CWT made Corsair PSU's (HX650, HX750i and RM650).

[Juraj]

Reason why I often suggest going for top level gold/platinum PSUs for 4k+ workstations (dual-xeon builds range from 4 easily up to 8k euros when self-built) is that's is actually rather cheap insurance. Yes, you pay additional 100 +/- euros, but what is that compared to the whole budget ?
The benefits aren't just the improved energy efficiency (which may or may not pay for itself in years), but better voltage levels, quieter fans (or semi-passive mode), have a slower capacitor degradation (and usually the best ones from Japan available), and generally last you longer, something to think of for machine that can run 24/7 for 6 years.

The benefits aren't palpable as buying better GPU, but in long-run, it is much better and smarter investment. It's the single most important non-performance part in workstation. But everyone skimps on it to save few beers :- )

[Nejc Kilar]

I think there are quite a few companies that use Seasonics components in their PSUs - I am unsure whether they get top grade components or are they binned in a way? It might also be that Seasonic charges a premium price due to their history and quality :)

I do agree that PSUs are super important in every build and most people just tend to overlook them. A good PSU can also potentially save you from a an unstable electric current or other network "malfunctions".

[SaY]

Few machines like this would make a good render nodes - dual 8-core xeons under $1000
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/111936707918?

[Nejc Kilar]

Few machines like this would make a good render nodes - dual 8-core xeons under $1000
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/111936707918?

Seems like a good deal to me :) It would perform better than that i7 build listed in the OP but it has seen 3 years of extensive use probably...

edit: I am intrigued. How does everyone feel about comparing that used 8-core Xeon x2 build with a new i7 5960x?

[Jann]

edit: I am intrigued. How does everyone feel about comparing that used 8-core Xeon x2 build with a new i7 5960x?

A i7-5960x OC'd to around 4.4-4.6GHz gives the same result as those two 8 core Xeons.

[SaY]

A i7-5960x OC'd to around 4.4-4.6GHz gives the same result as those two 8 core Xeons.

Not really, i7 will still be 5-10% slower. Plus with i7 you won't get ecc ram, and ability to upgrade to dual 12-core V2 series.

[Nejc Kilar]

Fair enough, thanks for the help everyone, it is much appreciated! :)

[Ondra]

We added filtering by CPU type here... just saying ;)
https://corona-renderer.com/benchmark/

[Nejc Kilar]

We added filtering by CPU type here... just saying ;)
https://corona-renderer.com/benchmark/

Of course, checked that out on numerous occasion :) Thank for pointing it out though!

[Nejc Kilar]

Has anyone tried fitting two of Noctua NH-D15 SSO2 D-Type on a LGA 2011 motherboard? Does it fit ok in a dual cpu setup?

[Juraj]

It does not. It's also pointless, there is no such need for two 145W cpus that can't overclock.

[Nejc Kilar]

Alright, I even got the image to go with the answer! Thanks Juraj, it's back to the drawing board :)

[Nejc Kilar]

Alright so, I am looking at Noctua again but I guess a suggestion from someone with actual experience would be cool. What would be a fitting cooler for a dual Xeon 2670 v1 build?

Every suggestion is super welcome! :)

[Juraj]

Alright so, I am looking at Noctua again but I guess a suggestion from someone with actual experience would be cool. What would be a fitting cooler for a dual Xeon 2670 v1 build?

Every suggestion is super welcome! :)

Pretty much everything. These are 2x115W cpus, that's not a lot of heat.

For cheapest solution, stuff like 212EVO (30 euro each), seems very popular.

I personally get accused of overkill, but I love silence, and reliability for years. Noctua's bearing last 5+ years with almost no acoustics deteroriation.
So my personal suggestion is always to go with Noctua's or similar high quality brand. U12S and U14S cost almost the same, but since this board will go into Mid/Big tower, I see zero reason not to go for u14s, which has 150mm fan (Noctua has 150mm in 140mm fitting), so they can spin slower, and have literally zero noise (sub <10dB)