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loyal_intelligence0D44
loyal_intelligence0D44
Participant
May 28, 2019
Answered

Dual xeon or single i9

  • May 28, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 2635 views

I have to buy a new workstation for after effects compositing and post-production, 3d simulations and rendering in various software.

I need a lot of ram for simulations and many gpus so i was thinking about dual xeon (pcie lanes and max ram supported), but xeons have low clock speed what is, if i understood well, bad for after effects, so effectively I would be better off if i go with single i9-9980XE and 18 core (3.0GHz, 4.5GHz) but maximum supported ram is 128GB and only 44 pcie lanes what is not really enough for 4 gpus. On the other side i have option to chose dual xeon silver 4216 16 core (2.1GHz, 3.2GHz turbo) what is enough good for all the other software i need.

If i take 2 xeon processors, does the clock speed for rendering in after effects multiplies ( having 2 xeons is equal to 2 x 2.1GHz should be 4.2ghz, right?) or it takes the speed of only one processor?

Thanks,

U.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Martin_Ritter

If you want to work with AE instead of only rendering final comps, working on Xeons won't be a joy at all. With only 3.2 GHz in turbo they are still way to slow for a sold AE workstation. Unfortunately the math is a bit more complex then just summing up the core speeds. Therefore 2 Xeons with 2.1 GHz are WAY slower then my good old i7 4 core with 4,8GHz.

If you only want to do final renders, you can throw in as many RAM as fits and use 3rd party rendermanager like RenderGarden or RenderBoss. In this scenario you will benefit from a lot of RAM and a lot of cores. Sadly, you can't use those managers for preview-rendering.

If you want a super optimized system, i recommend building one computer for post-production, 3d sim and rendering with all the special needs, you need like RAM, cores and 4 gpus - AND another computer just for AE with a lot RAM, mediocre gpu and low core, high clock CPU, like i7 8086, for example.

Have a read here about the best hardware for AE:

https://www.schoolofmotion.com/tutorials/after-effects-computer

*Martin

2 replies

Mylenium
Mylenium
Legend
May 29, 2019

I have to buy a new workstation for after effects compositing and post-production, 3d simulations and rendering in various software.

Without knowing what "other software" you are referring to, this is pretty pointless. You're really not making much sense. Even for your 3D software the eternal question would be whether it even fully maxes out 128 GB of RAM which you complain might not be enough. Likewise, there is no guarantee that any 3D program will ever even use full 16 cores other than for final rendering and with the advent of GPU-based rendering even that has become less and less of a thing. Are you even sure your simulations and whatever else are even able to use multithreading to the fullest? I feel you are not considering a lot of things here. Just throwing hardware at a problem is not the smartest solution even for 3D programs. where AE is concerned, the old rules stick - yes, it's not that well optimized for multithreading/ parallel/ asynchronous/ out-of-order processing, so any CPU with more than 4 cores will sit on its hands - like a lot - and then the rest doesn't really matter.

Mylenium

loyal_intelligence0D44
loyal_intelligence0D44Author
Participant
May 29, 2019

For 3d i am using c4d and 3ds loading heavy meshes, bunch of particles and vdbs working on complex environments. For simulations i am using houdini, sometimes realflow and phoenix fd. For instance, current simulations that i am doing (oceans and vdb clouds) fit in 128gb but i have to split in couple domains, render separately and comp in after effects. In after effects post producing 32bit linear passes with 128gb is at the at the limit on 4k for now, but i'll need to do some 8k content soon what means more ram. You have any suggestions for a specific cpu configuration, what do you think about threadripper 2990wx (3GHz up to 4.2) for after effects seems like it reads eec and 256gb of ram, or i should really go with two separated machines?

thanks

R
Community Expert
Rick GerardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 29, 2019

Build your system based on recommendations from C4D and 3DS. They should be pretty similar. Let AE do what it can. Invest in Render Garden for your AE rendering. You'll save a bunch of time. Trying to optimize for both AE and your 3D applications is not practical and pretty much a waste of time.

    Martin_Ritter
    Martin_RitterCorrect answer
    Legend
    May 28, 2019

    If you want to work with AE instead of only rendering final comps, working on Xeons won't be a joy at all. With only 3.2 GHz in turbo they are still way to slow for a sold AE workstation. Unfortunately the math is a bit more complex then just summing up the core speeds. Therefore 2 Xeons with 2.1 GHz are WAY slower then my good old i7 4 core with 4,8GHz.

    If you only want to do final renders, you can throw in as many RAM as fits and use 3rd party rendermanager like RenderGarden or RenderBoss. In this scenario you will benefit from a lot of RAM and a lot of cores. Sadly, you can't use those managers for preview-rendering.

    If you want a super optimized system, i recommend building one computer for post-production, 3d sim and rendering with all the special needs, you need like RAM, cores and 4 gpus - AND another computer just for AE with a lot RAM, mediocre gpu and low core, high clock CPU, like i7 8086, for example.

    Have a read here about the best hardware for AE:

    https://www.schoolofmotion.com/tutorials/after-effects-computer

    *Martin

    R
    Community Expert
    Rick GerardCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    May 29, 2019

    If you are doing a bunch of 3D as well as AE then you have both workflows to consider. Make sure the system you put together is the best compromise between the optimal system for both tasks. There is probably not one system that will be best for both workflows. You're going to be putting some of the money in the wrong place unless you consider your entire workflow and the cost of ownership and maintenance.

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