Clock Speed vs Multiple Cores

[Andre Conlledo]

Hello Z, I'm going to build a new system and was looking into the new AMD Threadripper processors. 

 

Does formZ favor clock speeds over multiple cores?

[Andrew West]

The simple answer is that for modeling you need faster clock speed.  For rendering you need more cores.  Especially if you use something like Maxwell to render.  The best solution is to get a computer that is one or two tiers below the fastest with as many cores as you can afford.  Then don't skimp on the graphics card.

AW

[Justin Montoya]

I agree with Andrew.  Complex modeling is faster with a higher clock speed, but if you aren't doing very complex modeling, you might not notice very much difference until you render.

 

I am loving my new AMD 1950x Threadripper PC.  Clocked at 4.0GHZ on all 16 cores.  FormZ is awesomely fast!  Don't forget a good NVIDIA GPU.  It's important for viewport performance, wireframe, and especially Shaded viewing.  I'd recommend a GTX 1070 8gb, minimum.  This is great for GPU rendering on VRAY, but to be honest, the CPU rendering on VRAY with the Threadripper is also incredibly fast.  Depending on the scene, sometimes CPU will be faster vs GPU.

 

I'd also recommend an NVME SSD...

[Andre Conlledo]

Thank you! Please do keep those recommendations coming.

 

This is my current system:

• Intel Core i7 -6700K 4.5MHz
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
• 32G RAM
• 2xSamsung SSD 850 PRO

My work week usually goes like this:

• Monday-Friday design using formZ (architecture) -- for those interested here's my FB page
• Friday-Monday leave the computer rendering using Maxwell Render

 

I would like to have a system that allows me to render more images. My models are highly detailed but I stop myself from rendering on weekdays because usually a night is not enough and I don't like interrupting and then restarting the rendering process. But once I have the model I would like to get as many stills as possible to make the most of it. It's also one of the best ways I have to convey the design idea to my clients.

[Justin Montoya]

Andre-

 

Are you rendering with the CPU or GPU with Maxwell?

[Andre Conlledo]

Andre-

 

Are you rendering with the CPU or GPU with Maxwell?

 

CPU. I find it gives better results.

 

GPU can't render grass and it produces unrealistic reflections. I've used it a couple of times to test-render scenes since it's X10 faster. 

[Justin Montoya]

Gotcha.  Well, since Maxwell GPU is not currently an option for you, upgrading to a faster GPU doesn't make since, nor does adding more GPUs since Maxwell can still only render with 1.

 

CPU, you are rendering with a 4 core, which is pretty slow for pure CPU rendering.  For example, your renderings would be 4x faster with a new AMD Threadripper 1950x CPU, just based on core count at similar 4GHz.  

 

If you are looking at upgrading your computer, that may be the best bang for your buck if using only 1 computer.

 

The other option would be to build 2-3 render node computers for sending your renderings to while you continue to work on your main workstation.  These can be much cheaper builds since they are just going to be for CPU rendering.  I would suggest using the high core, high value AMD Ryzen 1700.  It's an 8 core, would render roughly twice as fast as your current machine, and you should be able to build these render nodes for less than $600 each.  This guide hasn't been updated in a while, but it should give you a good idea for what you could do for low cost render nodes - http://pcfoo.com/2016/08/the-500-render-node-q3-2016/