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Houdini First Computer Build


logix1390

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Hello,

 i'm in the process of researching my first computer build that works nicely with Houdini. I do a lot of Houdini work professionally and personally as well as freelance. I mostly work with pyro, destruction and water sims as well as rendering in Houdini.

I don't mind investing in a killer machine since I'll need something that will let me get through large scale sims.. I also won't be switching jobs any time soon so I mind as well invest in something now and not have to worry about this.

That being said, this is the CPU I was thinking:

 Xeon E5-1660 V3 (8 Core/16 threads /3.0 Ghz )   -I'll be adding in one more of these guys down the road

- I already have a Geforce 980 

- 64 gbs of DDR4 RAM

I will figure out the water cooling, motherboard etc. after I know which CPU I want to get.

At first I was going for the i7 5960 (8 Core/16 Threads/3.0-3.5 Ghz) but if I am already investing all this money already, why not go for a similar Xeon and eventually down the road i'll add in another one and have a monster machine.
 

some of the threads i've been reading:

https://archive.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&p=186431

https://archive.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&p=187656

https://archive.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&p=169540

https://archive.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&p=160815

 

I know i'm stepping into the classic argument of 'fewer powerful cores vs more cores but less powerful' but I wanted to get some fresh opinions about this subject matter, and choosing the right CPU. Seems as if the  Xeon E5-1660 V3 (8 Core/16 threads /3.0 Ghz ) is best of both worlds especially if I get two...

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

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Thanks for the reply marty.

That looks promising. Xeon Only  good for Ram? I was planning on upgrading to dual Xeon eventually and get twice as many threads. Thats why I thought the  Xeon E5-1660 V3 (8 Core/16 threads /3.0 Ghz ) would be an excellent choice since it runs at 3.0ghz. What are your thoughts ?

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You're right - the dual cpu is very good, everything else looks exactly the same on the Intel Ark site. i.e. instruction sets, pci lanes IIRC

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