These new Macs are legit

I was at the mall yesterday, so of course I went in the Apple Store and ran Cinebench on the new Macbook Pros. Here are some results.

First, the 15". The has a new quad core 17 and renders about as fast as an AMD 1055T 6-core, and does the OpenGL test about as fast as a Radeon 4870. This CPU is about twice as fast as last year's model. The new 17" model has the same hardware.


The 13" is also twice as fast as the previous model. What's not impressive is the OpenGL score - this isn't really going to cut it for 3D app use, though it's fantastic for, say, a photographer. Still, remember that this is using only the new Intel integrated graphics, so at least it's low power.



These CPUs are tough to find in Windows laptops, but should be showing up sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, it's a great time to buy a Macbook Pro - I like the Apple web site for ordering these, since you can customize, but if you want one of the off-the-shelf models you might save some tax money by buying this or this or this.

February Workstations

Now, I know this is going to come back to bite me like signing Adrian Beltre to a long-term contract, but I'm not waiting any more for the fixed Socket 1155 motherboards. These configs are due for an update, so they're getting one, with the parts currently available, and they'll get updated again once the new boards become available.

If you are in the market for a Photo, Budget or Midrange system, understand that the fixed motherboards for the new Sandy Bridge CPUs are in the pipeline right now, so if you wait you'll be able to get better value. I can't tell you exactly how long you'll be waiting, all I know is that Intel said they were starting to ship new parts on the 14th, and I can guess it takes two to four weeks to get them installed on boards and get the boards tested and distributed. The rest of the configs will not be affected.

(If you have no idea what this is about, you can read about it here.)

More New Hardware!

It should come as no surprise to regular readers that I'm not a fan of expensive video cards and the CUDA renderers that help sell them, since I still haven't seen them do anything more useful in arch vis production than what we can already do on the more sophisticated CPU renderers. Nevertheless, there are a few people out there who have successfully integrated GPU rendering into their work. For any of you who have been considering unreasonably overpriced Quadro or Tesla hardware for this purpose, instead take a close look at this 3GB Geforce 580 card. It's hard to find in stock, but its GPU runs CUDA faster than any Quadro or Tesla card on the market. If you want CUDA power, just put in a backorder now and get it as soon as it's available, because nothing better is coming in the near future.

The Quadro 6000 and Tesla C2070 will still be necessary for those needing 6GB onboard, but there is now no reason for a CUDA user to buy a Quadro 4000 or 5000 or a Tesla C2050, which are all based on technology that has been made obsolete by the Geforce 500 series. (I'm recommending the Quadro 6000 over the Tesla because they're the same price now and the Quadro has more features, and the rest of those cards I just listed are such bad values in the current market I'm not even linking them.)

nVidia has been at work filling out its Geforce 500 line with GPUs that (finally) compete with ATI on power consumption, but ATI hasn't been resting either. In the Radeon 6900 series they've introduced direct competitors to the Geforce 560 and 570. The fastest thing out there in consumer cards in still the Radeon 5970 4GB, but with a $900 price tag it's only slightly more practical than a high end Quadro.

The 64 Crucial C300 series SSD is down to $125. I'm rating this "strong buy". The capacity isn't huge by today's standards, but if you install your OS and commonly used programs on it and keep only your active projects on it, the space should be plenty and load times will drop precipitously. This and other SSD options are included in many of the workstations below, but if you want to upgrade an existing PC consider this package, which is a bit more expensive but includes hardware and software to make moving hard drives simpler.

Now that we've had a sampling of Sandy Bridge CPUs, prices on other models are falling. The AMD 1090T, which used to be a great value at $300, is now $200, and the 1100T is down to $240.

Now, on to:

The Workstations

If you're not familiar with this section, please read the explanation of methodology. If you want to better understand what goes into the parts lists, see the explanation of workstation parts.

Non-3D Workstations

The Intern
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

With a three-core AMD CPU, 4GB of RAM, an improved Radeon card with DirectX 11, and 64-bit Windows 7, this build will fit the needs of both your intern, your bookkeeper and your senior partner who doesn't use CAD. You can build something cheaper, but I don't recommend it.

This month's system is upgraded again, but it's still $600. Price drops on computer parts are right up there with death and taxes.

The Photoshopper
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

This is a quiet, power efficient box that meets the needs of photographers, graphic designers and marketing staff. At under $300, the quad-core i7-870 is still the best option for these tasks. The 800-series has a fantastic turbo boost in one- and two-threaded operation, which will help in Creative Suite and other apps that do not fully utilize all of the cores.

Install Windows and your most commonly used software on the SSD, along with your projects that are in daily use. The two RE4 (Raid Edition) hard drives have improved life expectancy over normal hard drives, necessary for reliable use in a RAID 0, which is the goal here. Put the rest of your files on the RAID to improve read/write speed on those large PSD files. Even with the RE4 drives, I would be remiss not to say that you really do need an external backup system. In an office environment, this can be as simple as a nightly backup of project files to the server.

Whatever else you do, an X-Rite Eye-One Display 2 is indispensable, and a Wacom Intuos4 Tablet is a very good idea. Consider an IPS display from the Displays section below.


3D Workstations

The Budget
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

This box is a very capable renderer, and is all the power you need for working on Revit models, Max (or Cinema4D, Rhino, etc.) stills and Photoshop work. The price is up this month, for three reasons: the motherboard from last month is out of stock and the replacement is a bit more expensive, the video card is upgraded and I've added an SSD drive.

At $125, it doesn't make sense to me to leave out the SSD, though if you save the money and skip it you'll be sacrificing load speed but not render speed. The Radeon 6870 is a great value, especially if you mail in the rebate.


The Midrange (Regular Edition)
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

The Midrange had a minor refresh this week, and another one this week. Looking at it side by side with this month's Budget build, the two systems are more similar than ever. Price drops have been bringing up the specs of an $1100-1200 system to the point where it's difficult to distinguish from a $1600-1700 system. Where the Midrange stands out is in the better case and the FirePro video card. More on that later.

The Midrange features AMD's best consumer line six-core CPU, the 1100T. (If you're an overclocker, this CPU has its multiplier unlocked, and you'll want fast RAM to take advantage of it. But you already knew that.) The motherboard is a solid Asus choice, using AMD's best chipset, that can take two video cards at full speed as well as the latest peripherals (USB 3.0 and SATA3 6.0GB/s). The 128GB SSD and WD Caviar Black can take advantage of that SATA3 adapter.

Since the regular edition of the Midrange doesn't need CUDA, the video card is a no brainer. For this money, for a video card to drive your 3D viewports and AutoCAD or Revit without doubling as a space heater for your office, the v5800 is the best thing. By not caring about CUDA, you get a lot of advantages in the viewport department. Serious Cinema4D users should also opt for this configuration, as the only way to make Cinebench run significantly faster is to step up to the much more expensive FirePro v8800.

If this is for a home office and you want to game on it in the off hours, for the same money I'd go with a Geforce 570 or Radeon 6970.


The High-End (Regular Edition)
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

Well, Intel has finally got around to replacing the 980X as the top of the line desktop CPU. With the 990X, which is an extra $50 for an extra 0.13GHz. These guys are nuts. Fortunately, the price has finally fallen on the i7-970, probably because of pressure from AMD and from Intel's own 980X, so I'm taking the rare step of lowering the spec on a workstation. Even at this level I can't say that the difference between 3.2GHz and 3.33GHz is worth $400. What would make it worth that? If you're an overclocker. The 980X and 990X have unlocked multipliers and the 970 does not, so if you want to go extreme on it the 990X is going to be worth the cost.

Since this site does not actually recommend extreme overclocking, the 970 is the clear value winner.

The FirePro V7800 is the best thing in this price class for powering your viewports. We're still waiting for nVidia to come out with a Quadro based on a newer core than the inefficient GF100, and until they do I remain reluctant to recommend a Quadro.

Install your OS and software on the SSD and use the 1TB drive for your working files. For a bit more speed, order two of the 1TB drives and put them in a RAID 0. (Remember, RE drives are "RAID Edition" for a reason.) Or, as one CGArchitect reader suggested, you can even RAID two of the SSD's. By saving $400 off last month's CPU price, some budget has been freed up here - some of which is going into a pretty sick high efficiency power supply, but if you're targeting $3000 you've got a bit of room to work.


The Maxer
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

The Maxer holds the line on Maxness. You won't find a more powerful workstation without overclocking. Not that you can't overclock this one - but considering what you're spending on it, please do be careful.

As for video cards, this was a tough one. I'm sticking with the FirePro v8800 mainly because I don't see a compelling reason to switch and it's a better value than the Quadro 5000, but a FirePro v7800 2GB, Quadro 4000 2GB or Quadro 5000 2.5GB would be valid choices, depending on needs. But please, don't buy one of those Quadros for CUDA. If you want CUDA get the FirePro v7800 2GB and a 3GB Geforce 580.

Oh, one more thing. These Xeons use triple-channel memory and each CPU has its own memory controller. When using two of these CPUs, there are six memory channels, so the RAM used must be matched DIMMs in multiples of six. This configuration uses six DIMMs. Space them out in alternating DIMM slots and if you add more later, buy the same type.

If this box can't handle your scene, you're doing something wrong. Estimated Cinebench rendering score: 17.


3D Workstations for CUDA Users

You guys know how I feel about CUDA renderers, and how they're a great way for nVidia to sell more of their most expensive hardware and not a cost effective way to get any work done. But you're not going to listen to me, because nVidia mesmerized you with their demonstration of how iray is so much faster than the slowest possible mental ray settings and looks just like Maxwell did 5 years ago, so if you must buy CUDA hardware, here are a couple of options.

The Midrange (CUDA Rendering Edition)
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

In many respects this machine is similar to the regular Midrange. In fact, if you're not using Vray RT-GPU, iray or another CUDA rendering package, this build is worse than the one above because the FirePro video card is better for driving viewports in 3D apps. But with this version, what you get is:

-A motherboard that supports up to three video cards
-Dual Geforce GTX 560 cards with 2GB RAM onboard. (These are better for CUDA than the Quadro 4000 cards that people who aren't smart enough to read this site buy.)
-More power!

The 2GB GTX 560 is a great option for running software like this. It's the most memory you can put on a card that's not a Quadro, at only $260 each. A single Quadro 4000 card would cost $780 and while it would likely outperform this configuration in viewport performance, it would not run a CUDA renderer nearly as well.

If you want even more power, two 3GB Geforce 580 cards can be used with this configuration; however, a 1000 watt power supply would be highly recommended. Three 3GB Geforce 580 cards, which would be an upgrade to the configuration Chaosgroup used in their demo? The cost/benefit is against you, but you can do it; a 1200 watt power supply is needed.

The High-End (CUDA Rendering Edition)
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

Back in December I wrote up a high end CUDA workstation with two Quadro 6000's and a FirePro v7800, and it cost $11,000. For some reason, none of you guys bought it. Maybe it was because of my rant on how CUDA hardware was far too expensive and then told you all not to buy it. Fortunately that 3GB Geforce 580 is out now and offers a more reasonable alternative, so at about $5,300 this system is actually a good buy for those who rely on CUDA. I'm leaving in the FirePro, because you'll get more CUDA performance if you have the monitor hooked up to a separate, non-CUDA card.

Now, why do I keep writing 3GB Geforce 580 like that with the Amazon link? Because Newegg doesn't have it listed yet. So the configuration in the Newegg link is incomplete; you must also add two of the 3GB Geforce 580 from Amazon.


Render Power

The Render Node
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

12-core Opteron hardware is actually advancing, but marginally, and 6-core Xeons are still the way to cram render power into a box. This system you the render power of the Maxer, without the amenities such as SSD and high end video that are important in a workstation. Put this under your desk, put it on the same high speed network as your workstation (or make a dedicated subnet just for these) and you can use Backburner or distributed buckets to add its rendering power to your workstation

The Render Farm
click here to view/purchase the parts list on Newegg

I've had questions on how to use previous render node configs as the basis for a rackmount render farm, so I'm providing that configuration here. With a 25U rack you have space for six 4U nodes and a KVM switch that fits in the last 1U of rack space. This parts list is everything you need for a six-node farm, except for an old monitor pulled out of your supply closet.

But don't buy this without first exploring your options with a company like Boxx. They have custom setups that fit more power into less space, and software that helps you manage the farm better.


Displays

A while back, one of my friends sent me a link to this article debunking pretty much every metric and slogan used in HDTV marketing. The market for LCD monitors is no less confusing, so concentrate on three things:

-Screen size.

-Resolution. This is not the problem it is in laptops, but what would you rather have - a 22" screen that's 1680x1050, or a 21.5" screen that's 1920x1080?

-IPS/PVA or TN. What you want here is an IPS or PVA panel, not a TN panel. Inexpensive monitors are TN panels, which have much worse color gamuts and viewing angles than better screens. A consumer LCD monitor likely isn't even processing and displaying color in 8 bits per channel, and if you move your desk chair 6 inches to the side the levels change.

So, here are a few options, all good quality IPS displays usable for professional graphics work:

-Eizo 24" CG243W. Let's get this out of the way first. This is a very expensive monitor with freakin' fantastic color quality. This monitor is appropriate for use in high end video, photography and publishing production environments. It is not necessary for most visualization are graphics work, but if you want the best that's available to you without costing more than your car, this is it. Pairs well with The Maxer.

-HP 22" ZR22W. This takes the spot that the Dell 2209WA used to occupy in my recommendations: a budget friendly model that beats a TN display and pairs well with the Intern and Budget systems. However, the newer HP model is a better panel, has a higher resolution and costs less. It's a winner at the lower end.

-HP 24" ZR24W and HP 30" ZR30W. As the names suggest, these are larger models from the same line as the ZR22W. All are great value options and significant steps up from consumer grade displays. You can size you ZR to your budget.

-27" gets you a whole lot of pixels at a more reasonable price point than a 30". The Dell U2711 is a solid option. Another one to consider is the Apple 27" Cinema Display. This gives excellent color, but since it was originally intended to be plugged into a Apple laptop you can really only use it if your video card has a DisplayPort plug, and you add this adapter. (All of the video cards in this month's systems have at last one DisplayPort, but only the Radeon 6870 in the Budget already has Mini DisplayPort and does not require any adapter.)

-NEC 30" 3090WQXi. NEC's answer to the 30" Apple monitor. H-IPS panel for high end color and good viewing angles. A step up from the 30" HP, and a step up in price.

As usual, whatever you choose, calibrate it! We're not talking about one of those software functions where you look at the gray square and try to make it the same value as the lines, we're talking about a dedicated hardware calibration device. I use the Eye-One Display 2, but some users prefer the Color Munki, which can also be used with printers and projectors. I can't stress the importance of this enough - without calibration, you'll never be able to match your prints to your screen, whether you're using your system for 3D rendering, graphic design or photography.