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    Cheapest way to build an OpenCL render farm?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by masterchef341, May 4, 2011.

  1. masterchef341

    masterchef341 The guy from The Notebook

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    I'm thinking about getting something on the order 20-40 high end AMD parts for an OpenCL render farm.

    If I could have it my way, I would buy just one CPU and maybe 4 GB of memory total. My application literally doesn't need anything more than that. The program is going to execute entirely on the GPU(s).

    I want to know what I am looking at here. I'm not interested in crossfire. What is the best solution? Is there a way for me to avoid buying 10 cases?

    What GPU should I target to maximize OpenCL performance per dollar? Another consideration is that if I have to buy 10 cases, 10 motherboards, etc etc. to support a certain amount of total compute power, that the overhead costs will shift the optimal GPU to something more powerful, so I can have less total graphics cards and less redundant CPU's, mobo's, etc.


    So - I am guessing at the moment that I want something like an AMD 5830. Also- memory bandwidth isn't important to me, I just care about cores and the core clock speed and dollars. I don't think the 6800 cores are significantly better than the 5800 cores, but I'm interested if you think they are IF you have a source.
     
  2. FredFlint_

    FredFlint_ Notebook Consultant

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