[David King]

I need input from Maxwell users! I need to put together a super computer for rendering.....do I use one machine or do I use two or more computers to do the rendering work? and what hardware would you buy if money wasn't a problem I have a lot of work to do in the next year. Please help!

[ivox3]

One 8 core Nehalem based machine will be a true MONSTER of a machine. Your so close to the release( expected 4th qtr of this year) ..., .. you should just sit tight. Building/buying anything major right now wouldn't be prudent, ..but when is it ever ? LOL ..

[sjyie]

Nehalem is 4 core.
Although Nehalem can manage 8 threads, there is little gain for the program that uses 100% of the core like Maxwell.

Maybe you can expect 8 core Nehalem in the near future.
Since Tylersburg chip can manage two CPUs, 2 CPU-8core Nehalem system with 24 or 48G of RAM will be fantastic.

[ivox3]

Design and performance scalability for server, workstation, PC, and mobile demands with support for 2-8+ cores and up to 16+ threads with simultaneous multi-threading (SMT), and scalable cache sizes, system interconnects, and integrated memory controllers.

http://www.intel.com/technology/archite ... nm_nehalem

[macray]

september could be interesting:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10032313-64.html

[pwrdesign]

Just get as much CPU and memory as you can.
We bought pretty cheap Supermicro servers with dual quad core's, and 4-8 GB of ram. It works like a charm and each machine was about 1500 USD

Though you'll need a server room for them, because they are noicy..

[deflix]

agree with pwrdesign. Purchasing new computer equipment is identical to buying insurance - simply you get the most power for the minimum price. What this means is a price/performance ratio. The best way to work this out is to compare the price of say 8 different XEON derivatives - and find out how much each MHz costs in real terms. At my company whenever we invest in render nodes we generally buy somewhere in the middle of the range, something like the 2.66ghz processors are the best value at present I think. As for the bleeding edge..............theres a reason why its called that. because you will bleed cash if you attempt to stay there!