Originally posted: March 15, 2012.

I am having problems with the formatting on these threads, so I have also posted this on SWtuts.com here:

Ultra High Performance Rendering, March 2012

This system is basically the best money can buy today for rendering, and will destory your simulation analysis. I would love to see a benchmark on this thing, expecially to test just how many cores simulation tools will use. I have not tested any of these components, so this specification list is based entirely on information provided by the manufacturers.

I will be adding new options for both regular SolidWorks users, and a more reasonable rendering and simulation machine soon. If you only want the best, though, here it is:

Total Price: \$5,308.83

Features:
Intel’s new 520 series SSDs are probably the most reliable SSDs available right now, and very fast. I picked a 180GB size, but pick any 520 series that meets your budget and requirements. There is a second mechanical hard disk for data storage, but keep all your working files and operating system and programs on the SSD. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-review-benchmark,3139.html

The motherboard is from SuperMicro, who is known for designing motherboards with reliability in mind. This has an Intel C602 chipset, with the LGA 2011 CPU socket. 3 PCI-E 3.0 x8 slots, and 2 SATA 6.0GB/s and 4 SATA 3.0Gb/s.

The CPU is the fastest you can buy today for rendering. it is a 2-processor system, running the brand new Xeon E5-2687W, running 3.1GHz with 8 cores, two processors, with hyperthreading. This will show a total of 32 hyperthreaded cores. Wow. They are also very expensive at \$1,900 each. There is a cost/benefit payoff for speed, so purchase the CPU that meets your price/value point:

This graph assumes that if it is a dual CPU processor, that there are two in the computer (anything in the 2000 series is dual processor, the 1000 series are singles).

Here's what your PV360 view will look like:

Memory was the big stinker. ECC DDR3-1600 memory is new enough that it is tough to find from the regular parts stores. I was able to find the right stuff direct from Kingston, shipping 3/19: http://shop.kingston.com/partsinfo.aspx?ktcpartno=KVR1600D3D8R11SK4/16G \$154 for 4×4 GB. If you purchase two of these, that will give 32GB total (8 memory slots). This is Dual Rank, Quad Channel, ECC memory. Anna thinks this system needs at least 48GB, so I will try and find that and bump it up early next week.

There rest of the components are here, as priced out on newegg.com. Make sure to purchase two each of the CPUs and cooling fans:

Subtotal: \$5,000.83