CPU vs GPU

[jefeb]

HI
My computer guy is researching render farms and wants to know which is more important, the CPU or the GPU when building a render farm. He is suggesting the Blade render farms. My initial response was that the GPU increases functionality while working and the CPU power determines the speed of rendering. Am I off target or what?
Thanks
Jeff

[Hopper]

Rendering = CPU

(for now).

[JonW]

As above !

CPU
RAM
HD
GPU


As much CPU power as you can afford to wait for the rendering to be completed, & enough ram so everything is sitting in real ram, so you are not using virtual ram, or render times will go through the roof.

CPU, CPU, CPU..............

[papou]

Next generation software will use GPU for sure.
it's maybe a good thing to wait future lightwave announcement before buy several machines. We never know....;D

[JonW]

The problem with a render farm is getting it set up & getting your head around it. Once you have done that you are three quarters of the way there.

If you have two computers just set them up now & get the experience. Once you have done that, adding computers as funds or requirements are available or needed is a lot easier.

If you have a large job. Put together or have it done for you, the cheapest boxes & parts with a fast CPU & enough ram in each.

Keep the whole thing simple, there are enough problems without making life more difficult.

I am running 4 boxes, two are V8, 5450 & 5335 servers, & the other 2 are the cheapest boxes I could put together using 940 & 920 (overclocked). The 2 new boxes are spitting out more frames per minute than the expensive servers & cost less than one of them.

If possible try to get the power consumption down for each box.

It would be wise to have everything down steam of a UPS. Nothing worse than a blackout or brownout & a dead line.

My 4 boxes are running off a MGE S3000 (most UPSs are only 60% efficient, look at VA input & Watts output, A cheap 650 is only about 400 watts, the one I’m using is 3000 VA in & 2700 watts out, some expensive units are 95% efficient) with one extra battery module, mine will only give me 20 minutes at 1500 watts consumption without wrecking the batteries. (If on a tight budget at least have your server for the render farm on a UPS of some description & upgrade it later)

Any 2 old computer will do just to get going & get the experience. This experience can then be applied to the next set up & by then you have hopefully ironed out most of your problems before wasting money.