Custom Build for Rhino + VRay | Intell vs AMD?

Rhino Windows Hardware
1

Hi there!

I’m currently in the process of building a new Work- and Renderstation. I’m a self employed 3D Visual Artist, rendering mainly architecture stills. Also, some of the models I work on are of cityplaning sizes (2-3 GB), with lots of details, foliage etc. and I’d like to optimize my visual scene handling.

So. Here are my questions:

CPU | I tend to an Intell i9 processor (maybe a i9-7940X), but some people say, that a AMD Ryzen Threadrippe would be better. What do You think or know about that? Is Rhino maybe better optimized or works better with Intell?

GPU | I can’t decide between a PNY Quadro P4000 and a GeForce 1080Ti? What would be the better one for Rhino?

Big thanks in advance!

1 Like
2

Gtx1080ti.

Not sure about the CPU question.

1 Like
3

You can probably get a good read on the Video card GPU comparison by comparing the benchmarks in the Holomark thread: Holomark 2 Released!

Vray is a little harder to determine. I expect being a raytracer that the floating point speed of the cores times speed of the cores times the number of cores will give you a general benchmark. Raytracers tend to be very CPU intensive. You could take a look here are CPU scores. http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/ . That site is great for general machine speed. CPU benchmark should reflect Vray speeds, but the GPU scores on the benchmark site are not accurate to Rhino. Holomark is better for that.

You can ask if anyone actually has run Vray on both chipsets on the Vray thread: https://discourse.mcneel.com/c/rendering/v-ray

I hope this helps.

1 Like
4

I searched a lot on that topic. It seems, that every GPU has its advantages:

Quadro | more reliable, optimized for OpenGL (what Rhino needs), more Vram (better for handling of big models) - better for the working process
1080ti | more power with more CUDA cores, optimized for DirectX (gaming) - better for the render process

Or what are the reasons for Your recommendation?

5

Will do, thanks!

6

Hi Helldoor,

No problems; my reason for recommendation as follows: (vs. P4000 where appropriate)
-1080ti has more Vram (11gb vs 8gb - though the biggest best GTX does have less Vram than the biggest best Quadro… but it’s likely 10x more expensive. Also; 8gb is likely enough for anyone)
-186 octanebench (vs. 103 - relevant to CUDA based raytracer; May be relevant to cycles or VrayRT?)
-much more memory bandwidth (484 vs 243Gb/s)

Most of the above relates to performance, also I use a GPU raytracer.
The OpenGL point is beyond me… someone who knows more about the nuts & bolts of Rhino & Vray might be able to offer more regarding model handling or the ‘work process’ of a GTX card vs Quadro.
I think that you’re working on architectural models (and not engineering models) is relevant when comparing GTX to Quadro too… but I stand to be corrected.

1 Like
7

Hi there.
Perhaps you should install Rhino 6 and check new viewport speed improvements.
Then check this infos:

You can download WIP file and have a test for your self inside your machine.
Personally I think Quadro Cards are mostly smooth on work with many polygons, meshes and triangles. Also they handle better multiple external monitors and color accuracy.
And if your render engine is mostly Raytraced like Vray, you dont need as much CUDAS, Like GTX Ti or Titan X Pascal.

I think you need a fast and smooth transitions between working inside viewports, rotate objects in many viewports with multiple external displays and multiple softwares read multiple viewports in multiple monitors.

Here at my office I work with a Gigabyte GTX 1080 and honestly this gaming card is a complete shit. It work fresh but sucks… Nvidia only produce performance drivers for games. OpenGL and Point Precision in this segment gaming cards are real shit. (sorry this words).

My other computer in office have a old QUADRO K2200 and i can`t tell you the difference. But one thing i can say is this K2200 old card can handle much better a Rhino file with a Master Plan plus many trees and a lots of external linked files. Rotate is like butter. Antialiasing is smooth and so on…

But if you have a render engine that work with CUDAS, like OCTANE render, THEA Render, ARION render, which is a fast render preview and stable ones, than i have to say to choose the most powerful GTX in the market. Or buy 2 GTX less expensive in SLI (2x GTX 1070).

So, conclusion:
If your render engine is calculate final renders in CPU, go buy the best most thread CPU on the market if possible. Many Cores and threads helps a lot in final render. Check Ryzen 7 (1700x or 1800x or Threadripper 1920x)… or choose a Intel, like 8700K, 7900X, 7820X (6 cores up), but you dont need to spend to much money. Unless your work profit will pay you your machine like in 2 works or so.

If your render Engine loves CUDAS as i mentioned, go buy GTX as much your can. GTX ti, Titan etc… But if you use Vray just use CPU for final renders. GPU render in Vray is no stable yet. Not full working. Still need a lots of improvements.

So perhaps you should be fine with some specs like this:

Ryzen 1700x
Quadro P4000
64Gb Ram DDR4 2400Mhz
Good AMD Mobo
-…
Threadripper 1920x
Quadro P4000
64Gb or 128Gb Ram DDR4
Good Mobo (like AsRock Taichi)
…
Intel 7820X
Quadro P4000
64Gb Ram DDR4
Good Mobo
…
Intel 7900X
Quadro P4000 or GTX 1080 Ti or Titan X Pascal
128Gb Ram DDR4
Very good Mobo Asus Worksation class.

3 Likes
8

Thank You very much!

I wanted to install Rhino 6, but wasn’t sure how stable/final the version is, because I’m currently working on a big project and wouldn’t want to have issues while modelling. Is version 6 a stable one? And why is it free?

As for the cards - the german forum for custom build pc-s, where I am kindly being helped in making a new render config, also tends to the Quadro, although the 1080 Ti is more powerful. The workstation we’re building looks like that:

Intel Core i9-7980XE Extreme Edition, 18x 2.60GHz
PNY Quadro P4000, 8GB GDDR5
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT grau DIMM Kit 64GB, DDR4-2666, CL16-18-18
[ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9 XE

and it thinks it’s pretty good. The part, where people had different opinions was the GPU.
I also quoted your config suggestions in the forum there (hope it’s ok) and will discuss them further with them.

Once again, thank You and Prehabitat for the great input.
I’ll keep in otuch about the final decision and result.

1 Like
9

My opinion about that config. I think you should change some hardware parts:
Your Intel 7980XE is to expensive. Here in Portugal it cost 1 999,99 euros. Perhaps Intel 7900X 10 core 3.3-4.3Ghz. You should save some money on CPU to change other parts. Like Mobo, Ram, SSD, PSU.

RAM from G.Skills are better (they have samsung mem chips inside) and choose CAS Latency lower (they are more fast = CAS 14 or 15).

MOBO:

PSU:
Corsair, Seasonic.

GPU:
Good choice.

Regards

1 Like
10

Great thread, thanks all. I’m about to guy my PC desktop (was originally a Hackintosh) to create a powerful Rhino + Vray machine.

Any major updates since this thread began in february?

Thanks

11

Hi Alan,

if any major changes happened since February I cannot tell, but I can give you a feedback on my system:

Intel Core i9-7980XE Extreme Edition, 18x 2.60GHz
PNY Quadro P4000, 8GB GDDR5
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT grau DIMM Kit 64GB, DDR4-2666, CL16-18-18
[ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9 XE

The CPU was pretty expensive, but it really rocks. Beforhand I rendered with a good i7, but this one is noticeably more powerful and saves time while rendering. The 64 GB RAM are also very nice, as huge models tend to get loaded into the memory storage and if this happens to be insufficient, the system may collapse. As for the GPU - I’m not that sure - it’s pretty good, but somehow I expected more. Also, GPU RT rendering doesn’t really deliver the same image as the CPU RT live preview? That’s a topic I wanted to open a thread in the V-Ray forum about soon…

In conclusion, I’m very happy with my build - it eases my workflow and saves me render-time. 9/10

1 Like
12

Thanks so much Helldoor. If you wouldn’t mind sharing, what was the final cost of your system, and do you have suggestion as to where you bought ur parts?

Thanks again

13

I too have noticed different results from GPU RT renders and CPU RT.
Would be interested in finding out why?

i7-9700k
Quadro P4000

14

Hi again Alan,

most of the parts I pruchased online at Mindfactory. As for the price - the whole rig did cost about 4.400 €uro. That’s a lot, but it also ensures a better workflow for me and optimal rendering results for my customers, so in the end, it was worth it.
Around Christmas time you’d probably be able to get the same parts cheaper with some good deals. Wish You luck on that!

Best regards
Helldoor

PS_ If You had some quick questions, You’re very welcome to use the chat function on my homepage for them - even if I weren’t in the office, I’ll still recieve Your texts on my phone and will be able to answer You sooner.

15

Thanks so much. Very appreciated.

Alan

54BB52276E9F4DABA5D3E302A666D6ED.png708×1 83 Bytes

16

Please…
I need to know about your Quadro P4000 behaviour in Rhino as other softwares. Tell me everything please.
I am about to decide, for this christmas, if it`s worth choose a P4000 over GTX line. I want to hear from first person the real deal about it.
Cheers

17

Hi Architex,

I went through the same dilemma - I wanted a powerful and professional GPU, especially as the latest V-Ray for Rhino builds support GPU and GPU+CPU rendering. The contestants were a Quadro P4000 and a GTX 1080.
McNeel and ChaosGroup tend to recommend the Quadro cards for their applications. ChaosGroup even developed a P4000 WorkStation notebook together with PNY - check this video. So, on the technical side, you’ll run better with a Quadro.

As for my personal experience, I’m happy with the P4000. It is a really powerful card, designed to support CAD and big 3D models, but also strong enough for up-to-date graphically demanding games. I guess it’s the same with a 1080 gtx - the card is so powerful itself, that it can do both - support your work and still grant good comfort with your 3D software.
Maybe You’ve read in a previous comment, that I expected more from the card. I need to be a bit more precise on that: beforehand I was using a GTX 970 and somehow I thought, that a Quadro will make an enormous difference. It didn’t, but this GPU supports me great in my work and I’m really happy with it.

Hope, I could help You a bit. If You have any specific question, feel free to ask anytime. If you had a model or something you’d like me to test for you, let me know.

So long,
Helldoor

18

This is great. Any reason you’d go for the intel cpu over a threadripper?

19

In the moment - not. That’s why I’m using the Threadripper 2990WX in my latest build. Not only is it more powerful with its 32 cores, but also the temps are great - in a 31°C+ room the CPU didn’t get ‘warmer’ than 61°C while in 100% usage…

20

I am looking at QUADRO RTX 4000 and GE-FORCE RTX 2080 ti. Budget isn’t an issue. Trying to decide which card would be good for Rhino modeling / VRay Rhino Rendering / Adobe PS AI ID. I might potentially use other rendering plugins like Thea or Octane. But VRay for Rhino is the main! Thoughts? QUADRO or GeForce?