Render Machine

Gander0 · July 23rd, 2008

Hi all,

I have a spare Tyan Tempest i5400XT motherboard and instead of selling it I was wondering about the options for creating a dedicated render machine.

I am working from a fairly small home office and for this reason noise and space may be an issue.

The 1U rackmount cases seem to have a large footprint and im guessing they are fairly noisy? Im also concerned about cooling a case like this, I presume they are meant to be in a rack with external cooling so I cant just put it in a cabinet.

Also wanted to know about operating systems for a server. Can i send renders from a 64 bit machine to a server that was running windows xp for example. I am probably not going to go over four gigs of RAM for the server machine so would I need a 64bit OS otherwise?

Do I need much RAM in a render machine?

Any help is very much appreciated!!

Cheers!

AJLynn · July 23rd, 2008

Why a rack? It's only one computer. Just get some EATX case. You'll need the Xeon chips for it, at least 4GB or FBDIMM memory (more is an option with 64-bit Windows) and the rest of the computer, of course. If it's just a render node and you have another computer for the workstation, it doesn't need a good video card. It does need a good power supply.

shaneis · July 23rd, 2008

Go here http://www.tyan.com/product_board_detail.aspx?pid=562 and it'll give you all the info you need about compatible hardware and software

Gander0 · July 23rd, 2008

Many thanks for your replies! AJLynn, looks like I will just get another EATX case then.

What do you think about the operating system? I am using vista ultimate on my workstation but I have a copy of XP pro (not 64bit) from a previous machine and was wondering if i could use this on the render machine without any OS compatibilty issues?(obviously won't be able to go over 4GB Ram.)

Ky Lane · July 24th, 2008

Id keep the nodes specs same or higher than the workstation. Nothing more annoying than setting something to render overnight, to come in the next morning to see it crashed on the 3rd frame.

AJLynn · July 24th, 2008

You could run XP32 but you'll be annoyed if you try to farm renders between 64 and 32 bit Max versions.

Gander0 · July 25th, 2008

Ok, many thanks for your replies!

Just seemed a bit steep to have to buy another vista ultimate for a machine that isn't doing aught but rendering.

I guess im gonna have to deal with it if i take this course of action

Cheers

AJLynn · July 25th, 2008

There's also no reason you need Ultimate for this sort of thing. Why not a 64-bit install of Business?

SandmanNinja · July 25th, 2008

When I got my computer a few months ago, the shop knew Ihaw I hated Vista but sold me a copy of Vista CorpCorporate (or something like that) - which gives me XP64 as well as Vista so I have an 'easy' upgrade path. Might want to consider it. It was only a f ew dollars more and he absorbed the cost difference in the system price.

Gander0 · July 27th, 2008

Great stuff, thanks for those replies.

I was thinking that ultimate was the only package with a disk for 64bit for some reason

July 23rd, 2008	#1 (permalink)
Gander0 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London, UK Age: 31 Posts: 170 Name: Jan Gall	Render Machine Hi all, I have a spare Tyan Tempest i5400XT motherboard and instead of selling it I was wondering about the options for creating a dedicated render machine. I am working from a fairly small home office and for this reason noise and space may be an issue. The 1U rackmount cases seem to have a large footprint and im guessing they are fairly noisy? Im also concerned about cooling a case like this, I presume they are meant to be in a rack with external cooling so I cant just put it in a cabinet. Also wanted to know about operating systems for a server. Can i send renders from a 64 bit machine to a server that was running windows xp for example. I am probably not going to go over four gigs of RAM for the server machine so would I need a 64bit OS otherwise? Do I need much RAM in a render machine? Any help is very much appreciated!! Cheers! Last edited by Gander0; July 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 PM.

July 23rd, 2008	#2 (permalink)
AJLynn Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Beantown Age: 29 Posts: 4,426 Name: Andrew Lynn	Re: Render Machine Why a rack? It's only one computer. Just get some EATX case. You'll need the Xeon chips for it, at least 4GB or FBDIMM memory (more is an option with 64-bit Windows) and the rest of the computer, of course. If it's just a render node and you have another computer for the workstation, it doesn't need a good video card. It does need a good power supply.

July 23rd, 2008	#3 (permalink)
shaneis Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 690 Name: Shane Neal	Re: Render Machine Go here http://www.tyan.com/product_board_detail.aspx?pid=562 and it'll give you all the info you need about compatible hardware and software

July 23rd, 2008	#4 (permalink)
Gander0 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London, UK Age: 31 Posts: 170 Name: Jan Gall	Re: Render Machine Many thanks for your replies! AJLynn, looks like I will just get another EATX case then. What do you think about the operating system? I am using vista ultimate on my workstation but I have a copy of XP pro (not 64bit) from a previous machine and was wondering if i could use this on the render machine without any OS compatibilty issues?(obviously won't be able to go over 4GB Ram.)

July 24th, 2008	#5 (permalink)
Ky Lane Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Age: 31 Posts: 924 Name: Ky Lane	Re: Render Machine Id keep the nodes specs same or higher than the workstation. Nothing more annoying than setting something to render overnight, to come in the next morning to see it crashed on the 3rd frame.

July 24th, 2008	#6 (permalink)
AJLynn Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Beantown Age: 29 Posts: 4,426 Name: Andrew Lynn	Re: Render Machine You could run XP32 but you'll be annoyed if you try to farm renders between 64 and 32 bit Max versions.

July 25th, 2008	#7 (permalink)
Gander0 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London, UK Age: 31 Posts: 170 Name: Jan Gall	Re: Render Machine Ok, many thanks for your replies! Just seemed a bit steep to have to buy another vista ultimate for a machine that isn't doing aught but rendering. I guess im gonna have to deal with it if i take this course of action Cheers

July 25th, 2008	#8 (permalink)
AJLynn Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Beantown Age: 29 Posts: 4,426 Name: Andrew Lynn	Re: Render Machine There's also no reason you need Ultimate for this sort of thing. Why not a 64-bit install of Business?

July 25th, 2008	#9 (permalink)
SandmanNinja Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ballarat, Victoria, Australia Posts: 1,373 Name: Joel Callahan	Re: Render Machine When I got my computer a few months ago, the shop knew Ihaw I hated Vista but sold me a copy of Vista CorpCorporate (or something like that) - which gives me XP64 as well as Vista so I have an 'easy' upgrade path. Might want to consider it. It was only a f ew dollars more and he absorbed the cost difference in the system price. __________________ -SandmanNinja website

July 27th, 2008	#10 (permalink)
Gander0 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London, UK Age: 31 Posts: 170 Name: Jan Gall	Re: Render Machine Great stuff, thanks for those replies. I was thinking that ultimate was the only package with a disk for 64bit for some reason

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