Choosing parts for a $2500 Render server

[kayo7]

When it comes to computer parts I understand a few things, but when it comes to assembling a render server I don't have much experience what is the best hardware for the price.

I work with 3D rendering, and would need a system that meet those requirements:

 

- Budget $ 2.500 (without hard drives/SSDs)

- normal tower case with 6 or more HDD brackets  (I already have 6x 4TB drives and 2 SSDs)

- Preferably with low noise (I intend to use noctua fans/coolers)

- 32~64GB RAM

 

I'm going to use this system primarily as NAS, plex docker , and 1 VM with windows and the software I use for rendering. Some members of the forum suggested a dual xeon system, to have maximum performance while some cores are destined to plex/unraid. As it's my first time setting up a server, I would like your help to choose the best performance/price hardware and create a pc that won't give me much problem in the long run.

[TBSCamCity]

4 hours ago, kayo7 said:

When it comes to computer parts I understand a few things, but when it comes to assembling a render server I don't have much experience what is the best hardware for the price.

I work with 3D rendering, and would need a system that meet those requirements:

 

- Budget $ 2.500 (without hard drives/SSDs)

- normal tower case with 6 or more HDD brackets  (I already have 6x 4TB drives and 2 SSDs)

- Preferably with low noise (I intend to use noctua fans/coolers)

- 32~64GB RAM

 

I'm going to use this system primarily as NAS, plex docker , and 1 VM with windows and the software I use for rendering. Some members of the forum suggested a dual xeon system, to have maximum performance while some cores are destined to plex/unraid. As it's my first time setting up a server, I would like your help to choose the best performance/price hardware and create a pc that won't give me much problem in the long run.

To be honest $2500 is a huge budget considering you can find 8 core/16 thread Xeon E5-2670's for like $70 on eBay!

 

Here's a build I'd be looking into if you want even more performance than that. You can choose more or less RAM as that is totally dependent on what you think you need. Also the case can be swapped if you don't like it. Maybe like a Fractal Design XL R2 or something.

 

Case: Corsair 750D - $140 (Newegg) 

Motherboard: Supermicro X9DRI-LN4F+ - $250 (eBay)

CPU: Dual Xeon E5-2660V2 - $300 (eBay) These are 10 core/20 thread beasts

RAM: 96GB DDR3 ECC RAM - $300 (eBay)

Power Supply: EVGA Supernova P2 1000W or Seasonic - $195 (Newegg)

Fans: Replace stock fans with (3) Noctua 140mm Fans - $60 (Newegg)

CPU Cooler: 2x Noctua NH-U9DX I4 92mm - $130 (Newegg) Hands down the best cooler for dual xeon build

 

Total: $1375 (Almost half budget)

 

If you really wanted to spend more you could swap the CPU's for Dual Xeon E5-2695V2 ($1350) or E5-2697V2 ($1650)

 

Keep in mind that this type of motherboard isn't really a standard form factor. It's EEB I think so not all the screw holes line up with a normal tower case, although as long as you get a full tower you should be able to fit it in fine. You just may have to leave a couple screws out or drill out the holes yourself. I've done it before just leaving out 2-3 screws.

Edited April 29, 2017 by TBSCamCity

[kayo7]

1 hour ago, TBSCamCity said:

Case: Corsair 750D - $140 (Newegg) 

Motherboard: Supermicro X9DRI-LN4F+ - $250 (eBay)

CPU: Dual Xeon E5-2660V2 - $300 (eBay) These are 10 core/20 thread beasts

RAM: 96GB DDR3 ECC RAM - $300 (eBay)

Power Supply: EVGA Supernova P2 1000W or Seasonic - $195 (Newegg)

Fans: Replace stock fans with (3) Noctua 140mm Fans - $60 (Newegg)

CPU Cooler: 2x Noctua NH-U9DX I4 92mm - $130 (Newegg) Hands down the best cooler for dual xeon build

 

I see thanks for the help. It seems like it's common to use parts of old servers on home servers.

 

what is the pro/cons of using old vs new released hardware ( like a Asus Z10PA-D8 mobo with dual Intel Xeon E5-2620 V4 for example)? 

 

 

[TBSCamCity]

25 minutes ago, kayo7 said:

 

I see thanks for the help. It seems like it's common to use parts of old servers on home servers.

 

what is the pro/cons of using old vs new released hardware ( like a Asus Z10PA-D8 mobo with dual Intel Xeon E5-2620 V4 for example)? 

 

 

Pros: Less cost per performance, More options (newly released hardware prices scale hugely) for a given budget, Cheaper RAM (DDR3 ECC vs DDR4 ECC)

 

Cons: Less features (Motherboard related. Newer boards can have a lot of extras), less upgradability (newer v3/v4 goes up to like 24 core/48 thread CPU's), less power efficient, lower single threaded performance, used vs new parts? (this one is questionable since CPU's have a lifetime in the decades)

 

A lot of these cons are easily mitigated since the new board and CPU's you are looking at are low to mid range with fewer features and lower clockspeed/cores. For the money the older Supermicro board is better than that Asus and since the newer E5-2620 V4 is clocked so low the older V2 Xeons can perform equally if not better. As you can see below the older 2660 V2's outperform the newer 2620 V4's. 

 

Dual Xeon E5-2660 V2: 18,402 Passmark (1333 Single Threaded)

Dual Xeon E5-2620 V4: 16,900 Passmark (1543 Single Threaded)

[kayo7]

Thanks for the help, I'm learning a lot.

[TBSCamCity]

8 minutes ago, kayo7 said:

Thanks for the help, I'm learning a lot.

As you are piecing together your build make sure to ask more questions! I'm sure many more people here will chime in since collectively we have all the knowledge, we just have to piece it together 

[kayo7]

17 hours ago, TBSCamCity said:

As you are piecing together your build make sure to ask more questions! I'm sure many more people here will chime in since collectively we have all the knowledge, we just have to piece it together 

So, what do you think:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2660 V2 2.2GHz 10-Core Processor  ($240.00) 
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2660 V2 2.2GHz 10-Core Processor  ($240.00) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12DXi4 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12DXi4 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory 
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory 
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory 
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory 
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory 
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory 
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory 
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1 x 8GB) Registered DDR3-1600 Memory 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB SSC GAMING ACX 3.0 Video Card  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($183.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM  140mm Fan  ($20.95 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM  140mm Fan  ($20.95 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM  140mm Fan  ($20.95 @ Amazon) 
Other: 10Gtek for Intel 82599ES Chip Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X520-DA2  ($99.00) 
Other: Supermicro AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 Add-on Card, 8-Channel SAS/SATA Adapter with 600MB/s per Channel  ($102.74 @ Amazon) 
Other: Supermicro X9DRI-LN4F+-O Dual LGA2011 /Intel C602/ DDR3/ SATA3/ V&4GbE/ EATX Server Motherboard  ($459.05 @ Amazon) 
Other: Asunflower 3.3Ft Internal Mini-SAS 36P (SFF-8087)Male to 4x SATA Female Breakout Cable  ($10.99 @ Amazon) 
Other: Asunflower 3.3Ft Internal Mini-SAS 36P (SFF-8087)Male to 4x SATA Female Breakout Cable  ($10.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2960.39
 

 

[TBSCamCity]

All looks good except for a couple of things.

 

- The E5-2660 V2 is a lot cheaper than that on eBay. - $148/each

- The RAM looks fine but if you buy it in a kit on eBay it'll be a lot cheaper (i.e. 48/96 GB kits, Use Samsung or Hynix DDR3 ECC only)

- I'd swap the (6) 4TB Red's for (3) 8TB Red's instead for $280/each or less than $200/each if you buy external MyBook/MyBook Duo's

- Swap that Supermicro SAS Card for an LSI 9211-8i. That's the go to card for these type of builds (guaranteed compatible) - $89

[kayo7]

1 hour ago, TBSCamCity said:

- The E5-2660 V2 is a lot cheaper than that on eBay. - $148/each

- The RAM looks fine but if you buy it in a kit on eBay it'll be a lot cheaper (i.e. 48/96 GB kits, Use Samsung or Hynix DDR3 ECC only)

- I'd swap the (6) 4TB Red's for (3) 8TB Red's instead for $280/each or less than $200/each if you buy external MyBook/MyBook Duo's

- Swap that Supermicro SAS Card for an LSI 9211-8i. That's the go to card for these type of builds (guaranteed compatible) - $89

 

Thanks. I could not find the  E5-2660 V2 in that price, the lowest price that show on my ebay was $200 for each.

The problem with the 3x 8TB drives is that if two drives fail I will lose all my data. So I'd rather put more drives for redundancy.

 

Just remembering for future forum searches, I want to mount this system primarily as a render farm / NAS, with 1 VM and plex docker.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2660 V2 2.2GHz 10-Core Processor  ($200.00) 
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2660 V2 2.2GHz 10-Core Processor  ($200.00) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12DXi4 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12DXi4 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($136.84 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB SSC GAMING ACX 3.0 Video Card  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($183.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM  140mm Fan  ($20.95 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM  140mm Fan  ($20.95 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM  140mm Fan  ($20.95 @ Amazon) 
Other: 10Gtek for Intel 82599ES Chip Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X520-DA2  ($99.00) 
Other: SAS9211-8I 8PORT Int 6GB Sata+sas Pcie 2.0  ($98.80 @ Amazon) 
Other: Supermicro X9DRI-LN4F+-O Dual LGA2011 /Intel C602/ DDR3/ SATA3/ V&4GbE/ EATX Server Motherboard  ($459.05 @ Amazon) 
Other: Asunflower 3.3Ft Internal Mini-SAS 36P (SFF-8087)Male to 4x SATA Female Breakout Cable  ($10.99 @ Amazon) 
Other: Asunflower 3.3Ft Internal Mini-SAS 36P (SFF-8087)Male to 4x SATA Female Breakout Cable  ($10.99 @ Amazon) 
Other: 8x 8GB 64GB RDIMM ECC REG DDR3 1600MHz RAM HP Workstation Z420 Z620 Z820 A2Z51AA ($207.00)
Total: $3163.45
 

Edited April 30, 2017 by kayo7

[BRiT]

No, if you have 2 Parity Drives you will NOT lose any data if 2 drives die. You should revise your plans to go Dual Parity. I'd still go for larger drives over more numerous drives. The more drives you have the higher the odds of a drive failure are.

[kayo7]

7 hours ago, BRiT said:

No, if you have 2 Parity Drives you will NOT lose any data if 2 drives die. You should revise your plans to go Dual Parity. I'd still go for larger drives over more numerous drives. The more drives you have the higher the odds of a drive failure are.

 

I did not quite understand. Then there would be 2x 8TB drives as parity, and 1x 8TB as storage?

 

I could change for 4x 6TB drives, but then I wouldn't have less space putting two drivers as parity?(compared with 6x 4TB) 

 

What configuration do you suggest, in this price range?

[TBSCamCity]

2 hours ago, kayo7 said:

 

I did not quite understand. Then there would be 2x 8TB drives as parity, and 1x 8TB as storage?

 

I could change for 4x 6TB drives, but then I wouldn't have less space putting two drivers as parity?(compared with 6x 4TB) 

 

What configuration do you suggest, in this price range?

- I'd still go for the 8TB drives, or just go for the largest you are comfortable with. It leaves more room for future expansion and also is cheaper per TB than the smaller drives.

 

- Here is the E5-2660 V2 for $148 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/SR1AB-INTEL-XEON-E5-2660V2-10-CORE-2-20-GHz-25M-8-GT-s-95W-PROCESSOR-/351887313319?hash=item51ee1e49a7:g:6m0AAOSwvihY~kFN)

[jmoulder]

Did you ever build this out? If so how'd it go?

[cherritaker]

Does anyone know what motherboard i could use with this similar cpu setup that will fit my NORCO RPC-4224 4U? Don't think this motherboard would fit my case.