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Hi,

This is going to be a headless render node:

Asus P5B deluxe
OCZ PLATINUM 2GB DDRII 800 Dual channel
Conroe E6400
Asus 6200 256MB (cheap just to get it running - I administer by VNC)

Any problems with this stuff????

TIA

Kandor

I've read that the P5B Deluxe doesn't like too much the upcoming Kentsfield processors. So if you want to later upgrade the cpu, you might have problems. This might be a better choice:

http://www.maxwellrender.com/forum/view ... 148#181148

Yes, I tried for that - the 'professional' asus boards don't come to canada, I could get a P5W DH Deluxe but they are 1 month backordered. Supposedly the P5B deluxe has a more sophisticated power rail system than the normal P5B and it's been wildley improved by bios updates as recently as 1 week ago.

But even better - it's in stock!!!!

Also, 6600's are completely gone - 1 month out of stock as well.



I just priced out a similiar am2 x2 3800 rig versus the 6400 rig and the price is 834$ for the x2 box and $1080 for the 6400 - so here I go....

I'd get the E6300 instead and push the fsb a little to compensate. If you plan to overlock or run a divider that's good ram, otherwise safe the extra money and get DDR2 533 which is conroe's default counterpart.

Thanks for the advice. The cheapest ram they have (buffalo 1gb ddr2 533) is about 100$ per stick. I had thought I read I needed 800 for the conroe (or maybe I thought it was more futureproof for the kentsfield?)

I plan on overclocking to 2.88 which from what I've read is an easy oc on teh e6400.

2.88 with a 8x multiplier and fsb of 360.5.

I am worried about the motherboard though since most oc information is based on asus P5W DH deluxe which is 100% unavailable where I live.

Kandor

better to choose good memorie, it makes a difference. CORSAIR, KINGSTOM, prefer low lattency one (lower is the CAS, faster they are)

BTW... 2GB is a bit weak

thxraph

2gb is weak for sure, but by this afternoon I'll have 4 machines with 2 gbs each. I figure I'll wait for quadcores, then I'll start to put 4 or 8 in them. At the moment I'm trying to get maximum processing for minimal investment. And that ram is expensive (and the prices are going up today)

what speaks against the amd 5000 systems at the moment?

i think i'm getting one of these...

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deadalvs

Read this review and it should convince you to not buy an amd 5000.

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2802

Excerpt:

"If you're not opposed to overclocking, then the E6400 can offer you more than you can get from any currently shipping AMD CPU - our chip managed an effortless 2.88GHz overclock which gave us $1000 CPU performance for $224. "

b-kandor wrote:Read this review and it should convince you to not buy an amd 5000.

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2802

Excerpt:

"If you're not opposed to overclocking, then the E6400 can offer you more than you can get from any currently shipping AMD CPU - our chip managed an effortless 2.88GHz overclock which gave us $1000 CPU performance for $224. "

... which then would lead to Your config. clear.

but when i count everything together it seems a lot more expensive than a simple amd config (with possible overclocking).
well, maybe You search for a box to work on an i search only for network-slaves...

think also about the mega-expensive ram and the bottle-neck of the mainboard concerning an ultra-fast cpu !

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deadalvs

deadalvs wrote:
think also about the mega-expensive ram and the bottle-neck of the mainboard concerning an ultra-fast cpu !

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deadalvs

What do you mean? I may well have missed some key information, I don't have as much time as I used to for researching this stuff (it seems to change monthly now). The RAM is about 55$ more than the value stuff and my whole system was 230$ more than a similiar x2 3800 for about the equivalent percentage increase in performance.

But I don't know about the bottle neck?? Please fill me in!

It's only the new Xeons 51xx series that need the expensive fully buffered ram. The E6xxx don't need it.

Bottom line is the new Conroes will render your images faster They overclock better so you get real value for your money.

it could be a problem to use a low-end motherboard in conjunction with a speedy processor. bad board architecture can slow down the fastest cpu...

i am not sure, but Your Asus P5B deluxe should actually be ok.

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deadalvs

how / where do You overclock these chips? only in the bios? would standard cooling be enough to cool down the cpu in Your config?

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deadalvs

Yes over the BIOS, if it doesn't support adjustments there's no other way to, so it's always an essential part to have a proper BIOS. The stock cooling can get you quite far due to Conroe's comparably low heat emission, the 2.9GHz he's aiming for is definitely doable for the chip.