Build it or Buy it?

[EpiPlayer]

So i am looking for information from people who have done both, or either, and their experiences and impressions.

Here is the question. I've got the greenlight from the "boss" (my wife) to go ahead and spend 4000 or less on a 3d workstation. (of course "or less" is what i'm hoping for)

So, I've done some shopping, and I've Built the same machine 3 ways- through The UK's "Workstation Specialists", "Boxx" and newegg/online build for parts.

the setup is this- 2 quad-core intel xeon 5620 processors running at 2.4ghz.
::disclaimer:: Im normally an AMD fan, but these are cheaper than the opteron counterparts, plus with hyperthreading, im looking at double the rendering buckets::disclaimer::

12 GB ddr3 1333mhz ECC RAM

NVidia QuadroFX 1800 GPU (except the Boxx, it's using a quadro fx 580)<-cheeseball GPU

250 GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0 GB/S



Without a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and only Windows 7 ultimate/64 bit the following are the prices for the hardware-

Boxx- $3843.00

WS- $3615.00

Built myself- $2700-$3000 depending on brands/deals.

Boxx and WS both have a 3 year limited warranty, and of course, i dont have a warranty if i build it. using a local shop to build it isn't an option, as i'm in Okinawa, Japan, and that's just not going to work out well for anyone.

Also, Please let me know if Building it will result in decreased perfomance in comparison to Boxx or WS, and if this build is going to be very good for an all-around workstation for 3d modelling, Photoshop CS4, etc.

if anyone has something akin, please let me know how the performance is with high-res textures and advanced lighting and raytracing when it comes to rendering.

Thank everyone who helps me out with this dilemma, as it's a HUGE decision, when buying such an expensive piece of hardware.




One last bit- Is it worth it to get this setup? Should i go ahead and just get an upgrade tower computer (right now im on a macbook pro running bootcamp, it takes all night to render half of a 640x480 image with one light source and no GI.)

Should i just stick to a single processor running 4-6 cores and 4 gb ram with a consumer gaming GPU? any information on rendering-time differences will be hugely helpful.

the problem is that i cannot use this rig to make money back, as I don't have a commercial license for any of the big 3 software. I'd have to use blender, which i hear is notoriously difficult to learn once you've learned another program.

[poopipe]

a medium to high end gaming GPU will be better than either of those quadros

4 gb isn't enough memory


I like Xeons and I believe they're worth paying for if you can afford them because they can do a lot more work than the consumer level chips. be aware that memory upgrades are very expensive so you won't want to be doing that if you can avoid it.

can you get Dell machines out there? - their precision systems are pretty damn good value.

[Nukie]

I always prefer to create my own machines because I like to have control over every aspect of my pc. Only exception would be I think if I had to buy several identical pc's to use as a render farm.

I don't get it tho. You build that rig, than why do you put in a 250gb hard disk instead of 1tb or up? Those aren't that expensive at all.

[poopipe]

I'd much rather have a single low capacity fast disk and a decent network storage device than fill my machine up with big noisy, heat producing hard disks.

Building yourself is good but works out very expensive indeed when you're talking workstation class hardware.

For what I paid for my precision system I could've only bought the CPU and motherboard separately ( i did get it cheap though)

[Perversonality]

With that kind of money I'd be tempted to look at a RAID array with multiple hard drives too. Alternatively you could get an external disk for backups but RAID would be better if you suffer a disk failure.

I used to build my own but recently I've bought pre-built systems instead as the next-day onsite warranty is a nice safety net in case of problems. If you are self building and haven't done it before, make sure you get everything you need, including things like paste to go between the CPU and the cooling fans

[NitroLiq]

I'm in the "build it" camp but I like to tinker and build things in general (I build guitar amps as well). There's a sense of satisfaction from sourcing the exact parts you want to completing the build and firing it up. It's also nice installing just the OS and the software you need and not having a package pre-installed with a lot of misc crap. Not sure if Dell does this with their precision boxes (or consumer boxes) but they used to. I like having a clean slate, so to speak. That being said, there's really nothing wrong with a pre-canned box...no hassles...warranty...load up your software and go. If going this route, I would research how upgradeable the system is since you're not picking out your own mobo. Definitely stick with 12GB RAM or more...typical higher-end mobos can handle 12-24 and you'll need it if planning to work with any hi-def video or doing any work in Premiere CS4-CS5. That particular app eats up RAM like it's candy.

[EpiPlayer]

Wow, Some great replies here.

To answer why i'm planning on going with the low HDD, i have a 2 tb wireless network drive where i store all of my non-program files. If i could find one, i'd like to go with a 78 GB solid state drive instead.

I Built every non-laptop computer I've ever had, but i've never owned a multi-processor rig before. is there any special considerations i need to know about building them? for instance, do the Processors have to be prepared in some way, or will 2 identical processors be fine?


I looked at the Dells, and it looks like they only uild single processor machines, and pricing out an identical system (minus 1 processor) comes out to $3400.00. HP's Z series built with similar specs is $4600.00

I've never had a computer I've built break down, but how often do these things happen when building such a complex machine?

[masume]

I'd build it yourself, I generally dislike pre-built machines :P
you get a better sense of ownership and its ussually easier to upgrade and swap out parts.

[NitroLiq]

Originally Posted by EpiPlayer

I Built every non-laptop computer I've ever had, but i've never owned a multi-processor rig before. is there any special considerations i need to know about building them? for instance, do the Processors have to be prepared in some way, or will 2 identical processors be fine?

I can't really answer your question but I would just get into research mode and scout places like tomshardware and their forums. There's always tons of threads from people looking to build render boxes, 3D, hi def video editing systems, etc. Get some ideas of what the popular combinations are or post your own (what you originally posted) and narrow things down. I usually narrow it down to the processor/mobo then check out the manufacturer's forums if they have one for anything to be aware of when building. Figure out the PSU needs. The case (lots of airflow), etc. Read the reviews, gather all your notes and then finalize your parts list, order, and build.

[Rhythem02]

I feel envious, my machine only runs at 2GB of Memory DDR2, although my processor is quadcore 2.4 GHz.

I would'nt go all-out with the video card since it doesn't do much with the rendering.

[Perversonality]

Originally Posted by Rhythem02

I would'nt go all-out with the video card since it doesn't do much with the rendering.

If you want to enable hardware textures in the viewports (very useful for normal maps when low poly modelling) then a better GPU is a must

[Rhythem02]

Originally Posted by Perversonality

If you want to enable hardware textures in the viewports (very useful for normal maps when low poly modelling) then a better GPU is a must

Good point on that

[poopipe]

Originally Posted by EpiPlayer

Wow, Some great replies here.


I looked at the Dells, and it looks like they only uild single processor machines, and pricing out an identical system (minus 1 processor) comes out to $3400.00. HP's Z series built with similar specs is $4600.00

I'd start here

http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/busi...bsd&cs=ukbsdt1

and see what you can do.

a single quadcore Xeon is quite powerful and there's a hole for a second one one in those boards if you need one in the future

in terms of preinstalled rubbish you don't get much on the corporate dells and it's hardly a chore to remove it anyway.

[BiG ToE-3DT]

I had a boxx made for me, 3200 dollars american, it's great, the way they do things, awesome. About a year later, I built a new pc, has more of everything the boxx has, only cost 1600 american. It renders faster, loads quicker, all that. I use the boxx as a back up for files and when ever I'm in a cruch, I render of it too.

[inveni0]

If money is an issue, build it. Just remember that warranty service is tougher when you build one. I've had some people use ibuypower.com, and they had good experiences with that. Cheaper than the big guys, still comes with warranty.