So im @ the library right now

[Cabbs]

Taking the GPU choice out of the picture, Apple towers are very well-built.

 

[rohan23]

It's a workstation, not a gaming computer. It's like bitching about how crappy the GPU is on a home server.

 

[foothead]

It's a workstation, not a gaming computer. It's like bitching about how crappy the GPU is on a home server.

I imagine that most people buying the high end ones are using them for rendering.

 

[Äߧý∩†H♠H䎀]

I imagine that most people buying the high end ones are using them for rendering.

And I'd imagine that they are all connected to a rendering server that performs those tasks. Why do all the calculations on one PC when they can have a server cluster with 40+ processors computing the calculations?

For example:

Here is a 5:45 clip of an animation using 3ds Max 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHD8Xf5Rnvo

Total Render Time - 110 days!

If they had access to a server cluster doing the calculations and rendering it wouldn't have took anywhere near that time.

 

[root]

perhaps you're missing the point a little...

for a start, practically nobody in any college will be rendering a very long scene like that. and there is a chance that if they are, then they'll be able to reserve a computer in a lab.

Yes, the college could spend all it's money making a single task rendering farm, but, they'll have spent more than they spent on the work stations putting a large server farm in, (and it'd cost more in hosting). -even when a college hosts it's own servers it's still billed internally, because colleges rent out their server room space and connection to other businesses too, (at least the university that I used to work at did).

anyway, if they'd have spent all the money and more that they spent on the work stations on a single purpose rendering farm, then they'd have a beast of a farm, that saw very little use, took up hosting space, incurred yearly costs, and they'd still have no workstations.

so they've gone down the most practical route of buying decent workstations so that all students at the college can benefit.

remember it's not just the rendering programs that will be being used, there are probably other students doing design work, desktop publishing etc. and the students that just need word are still going to be happy too!

 

[J03]

I know that Cardiff have developed a system whereby you can use the CPU time of all of the idle computers on the campus - so you basically have a 1000+ CPU Render Farm for very little cost.

 

[Calibound88]

perhaps you're missing the point a little...

for a start, practically nobody in any college will be rendering a very long scene like that. and there is a chance that if they are, then they'll be able to reserve a computer in a lab.

Yes, the college could spend all it's money making a single task rendering farm, but, they'll have spent more than they spent on the work stations putting a large server farm in, (and it'd cost more in hosting). -even when a college hosts it's own servers it's still billed internally, because colleges rent out their server room space and connection to other businesses too, (at least the university that I used to work at did).

anyway, if they'd have spent all the money and more that they spent on the work stations on a single purpose rendering farm, then they'd have a beast of a farm, that saw very little use, took up hosting space, incurred yearly costs, and they'd still have no workstations.

so they've gone down the most practical route of buying decent workstations so that all students at the college can benefit.

remember it's not just the rendering programs that will be being used, there are probably other students doing design work, desktop publishing etc. and the students that just need word are still going to be happy too!

he's right. anybody can use these computers. Since the library is 24 hours from monday to friday, its almost unlimited use.

Most people use autodesk

 

[superman22x]

GT is an engineering school. Those computers are made for solid modeling, stress testing, and things of that sort. All processor for the most part.

 

[root]

I know that Cardiff have developed a system whereby you can use the CPU time of all of the idle computers on the campus - so you basically have a 1000+ CPU Render Farm for very little cost.

industrial light and magic do that too...

the also laser etch death stars on their servers apparently.