Project: Building a Render Farm *ADVICE NEEDED*

[moogle]

Ok - so that basically rules out an i7 X58 system, although I supposed some el-cheapo graphics cards could be bought, but it all adds to the cost for no real purpose.

Yeah they can

But I'm not sure if ATi's Linux drivers (if you're going to be using Linux) are at an okay standard.

Taking a look at the Cinebench scores of i7 against the Core 2 it's not beating it massively.

Just price an i7 setup (one to be used in the render farm) and another Core 2 one and see the % difference in price and % difference in scores and see which one gives best performance for price. Could do the same with PII one as well.

[staffsMike]

In there is an X2 5000+ black edition.

The whole thing was about £320 around a year ago now I suppose.

Yeah the case is a bit expensive but there are alternatives from Coolermaster (elite something or other) and Antec NSK3480 (which is £70 + a 380W earthwatts PSU).

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129891 £30 for the CM

[Pob255]

Heck some of the cheap Asus cases would be fine if you want to go for seperate cases.

What would be nice would be to build something like that one you linked to in the OP

Finding some mATX motherboard trays would be very handy to build such a system.

[moogle]

Heck some of the cheap Asus cases would be fine if you want to go for seperate cases.

What would be nice would be to build something like that one you linked to in the OP

Finding some mATX motherboard trays would be very handy to build such a system.

Booooo! Be a man and get your drill and saw and make it out of wood and some old cabinet like that guy did

You'd just need a 6-32 UNC tap and some mobo standoffs for the board tray

[cptwhite_uk]

£60 for a small, efficient case with decent build quality isn't too much to ask, cases are an important part of a system build and corners shouldn't be cut, in my opinion.

[staffsMike]

£60 for a small, efficient case with decent build quality isn't too much to ask, cases are an important part of a system build and corners shouldn't be cut, in my opinion.

I agree, and the TJ08 will certainly make building easy as it has a removable motherboard tray

That said I'd sure the CM alternative isn't too difficult to build inside, and the AM2 HSF fitting is so easy anyway.

The thing is you could buy a barebones or even the Antec combo which for myself I might very well have done but as the PC for someone else and had an important job to do I wanted to cherry pick the components.. I guess this is the same for you guys. A little extra expense won't go a miss if you are confident they wont fail

[Fraz]

But I'm not sure if ATi's Linux drivers (if you're going to be using Linux) are at an okay standard.

Another good point. I'm not sure exactly what the software/OS requirements are right now, but thanks for pointing this out.

[Pob255]

£60 for a small, efficient case with decent build quality isn't too much to ask, cases are an important part of a system build and corners shouldn't be cut, in my opinion.

This is a render farm, not 1 pc but lots, for a single pc the difference between a £20 case and a £60 is worth it, but if you have 10 of them that £40 suddenly becomes £400 and once it's all up and running you'll pritty much want to leave it alone you'd not be constantly opening it up and digging around inside.

Booooo! Be a man and get your drill and saw and make it out of wood and some old cabinet like that guy did

You'd just need a 6-32 UNC tap and some mobo standoffs for the board tray

Hey I sugested he does do that. I just sugested a motherboard tray to make life a little eaiser

You could try contacting Apevia and finding out if they sell there motherboard trays seperately
http://www.apevia.com/productsInfo.a...ACK2-NW-BK/500

[Fraz]

Booooo! Be a man and get your drill and saw and make it out of wood and some old cabinet like that guy did

You'd just need a 6-32 UNC tap and some mobo standoffs for the board tray

Hahah - yes, I would quite like to. But I don't really have the space or time for a project like that at the moment. If I had a room in my flat that wasn't already full of crap, and a week off work, then I'd build something custom. But since I doubt I'm going to get paid at all for this project, I don't think I'm going to bust my own balls too heavily, so to speak...

[moogle]

Hey I sugested he does do that.

Busted!

But it looks like our suggestions are no use

Hahah - yes, I would quite like to. But I don't really have the space or time for a project like that at the moment. If I had a room in my flat that wasn't already full of crap, and a week off work, then I'd build something custom. But since I doubt I'm going to get paid at all for this project, I don't think I'm going to bust my own balls to heavily, so to speak...

I suppose mike's TJ08 suggestions seem better then
He's always got to be right aint he

[Fraz]

This is a render farm, not 1 pc but lots, for a single pc the difference between a £20 case and a £60 is worth it, but if you have 10 of them that £40 suddenly becomes £400 and once it's all up and running you'll pritty much want to leave it alone you'd not be constantly opening it up and digging around inside.

Yes, i'm inclined to agree. I think if I go down the Core i7 route (which is looking unlikely), then maybe 3 nice Silverstone cases would be worth the expense. But if I'm going to be building 5+ systems, then I think it'll mount up to an unnecessary expense.

[Pob255]

I suppose mike's TJ08 suggestions seem better then
He's always got to be right aint he

No we are
It's called metal fabrication, you don't have the time and space to build one? pay someone else who does

[staffsMike]

If you trust CM to make the PSU as well..

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...60W-PSU-Fitted
(no fans fitted.. a blessing or a curse depending on whether you want to change them)

Very good price for that assuming it's a decent PSU you trust. Otherwise £30 for the case itself leaves room for reasonable price PSU. The corsair 450W VX like mine is £50.

The TJ08 comes with front and rear fans which are rediculously strong but noisey at 12v. At 7V they are much improved noise wise and still push a decent amount of air.

The Antec if you are interested comes with 1x 120mm fan at the rear and space for 2 x 92mm at the front.

[Fraz]

If you trust CM to make the PSU as well..

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...60W-PSU-Fitted
(no fans fitted.. a blessing or a curse depending on whether you want to change them)

Very good price for that assuming it's a decent PSU you trust. Otherwise £30 for the case itself leaves room for reasonable price PSU. The corsair 450W VX like mine is £50

Interesting - I wonder if I can find any reviews about that case coolermaster case+psu.

[staffsMike]

I dare say it's this one
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150596

and I added a bit more on fans above with a ninja edit

[Lanky123]

Bear in mind that fewer systems (with i7) will mean a much lower power draw than twice as many PIIs or whatever - much more significant than the efficiency of the PSUs I'd imagine anyway. If these are going to be on pretty much constantly that may be a factor to consider.

You'd probably need to know the likely usage, any power draw difference between i7 and PII (similar IIRC..? X58 mobos might suck a bit of juice though) and the lifetime of the systems to work out what's worthwhile...