GPU Rendering Build Recommendations

I’m looking for a more expert opinion on which configuration would actually fit my needs—so please, if you know your stuff, help me put together a killer rendering rig 🙂 (this is strictly for work; I don't touch games on this machine).

My workflow involves Photoshop, After Effects, 3D modeling, and animating in Cinema 4D. When it comes to rendering, I really want to make the jump to Octane, so I need a new build that can handle 24-hour render sessions without breaking a sweat—my current laptop just can't keep up with the workload anymore.

Since I’m not exactly an expert here, could someone explain the actual difference between a standard PC and a workstation? I'm trying to figure out if I truly need a workstation or if a high-end consumer build will do the trick.🙂

From browsing some US forums, I heard that the GTX 980 Ti supposedly offers the best bang-for-your-buck for rendering, so I was thinking about basing the whole build around 4x GTX 980 Ti cards. That said, I am wide open to any comments, suggestions, or critiques you might have.😁 As for RAM, I don't think I'll need more than 16GB unless the other parts demand it—maybe a 6-core i7 with a decent cooler, a 64GB or 128GB SSD for Windows 8 and my software, and then just a single 2TB HDD should suffice (I can always add more later). For cooling, let me know if liquid cooling is necessary; I figured water cooling for multiple GPUs might be too pricey, so maybe just stick to fans on the cards and a HAF X Motherboard case. I have no clue what motherboard to pick.😁 Would a 1500W power supply cover all that? These are just my initial thoughts, so your recommendations don't have to follow this plan exactly—but if they differ, please tell me why or where I went wrong so I can actually learn something.🙂

Budget: I realize a beast like this isn't cheap, but I'm trying to cap it at around $3,000.$11667 I'm hoping we can squeeze everything into that range. Alternatively, feel free to suggest a more expensive single-GPU setup that fits the budget if there's a good reason for it (maybe I can just grab an extra card later), but my primary goal is to try and fit four GPUs within the budget.😁

Thanks in advance, and cheers everyone!

1 x Intel Core i7-5820K 3.30GHz,1.5MB,15MB,140 W,2011-3 without cooler
1 x Gigabyte GA-X99-Gaming 7 WiFi, LGA2011-3, Intel X99 Express
2 x DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) Crucial, 2400MHz, Ballistix Sport DDR4 (32GB)
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 x Fractal Design Define R5
1 x Fractal Design Define R5 Titan Window
1 x XFX 1250W, PSU ProSeries 1250W PSU, 80+Gold Modular
1 x Samsung 250 GB 850 Series Basic, Capacity 250 GB, 2.5"
1 x SCYTHE Ashura SCASR-1000, s. 2011/775/1155/1156/1366/AM2/AM2+/AM
3 x Gigabyte GTX 980 Ti G1 Gaming, 6GB GDDR5 384-bit, PCI-E 3.0
1 x LG GH24NS DVD writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R

$11033 ADM

I guess I've checked about six different shops and none of them seem to have everything you're looking for. 😁 For instance, with this setup, the power supply would be running at over 90% capacity if you were to throw in four GPUs.

With that kind of budget, I’d honestly look into getting a few different machines and splitting up the workload...

You really need to figure out how much GPU power those specific rendering programs actually demand... For the lighter tasks, I'd definitely just go with one or two builds without dedicated graphics cards... maybe just for Photoshop... You could easily run a setup like that with a decent 400W power supply, which wouldn't even cost a quarter of what those 1500W units do.

Just to reiterate, the Nvidia 960, 970 and 980 series running After Effects 👎

http://www.dell.com/precision/...466,g-379.aspx
In my opinion, this is the best solution.

Bryan Taylor6 is spot on; the smartest move here is running two separate machines.

Your first rig should have 32GB of RAM (you’re dead wrong if you think 16GB is enough—you can never have too much RAM), a beefy processor, and one high-end Nvidia card. This is your workstation for modeling and active work. You need serious GPU power here because the software you'll be using relies heavily on CUDA hardware acceleration.

Then you build a second machine dedicated solely to rendering. Octane doesn't touch the CPU for rendering; it's all about the GPUs. They need to be Nvidia cards, and don't bother with SLI—they should run independently so Octane can utilize them most efficiently. Basically, grab a decent CPU, 8-16GB of RAM, and a motherboard with 3 or 4 PCIe x16 slots (the more PCIe lanes for the graphics, the better).

The GPUs can vary (as long as they're all Nvidia), and performance scales geometrically. That means two identical cards will work twice as fast, three will be three times faster, and so on.

If Octane isn't actually using the CPU for rendering, just the GPU, then you could probably get away with a much cheaper processor... especially if you're planning on running a dual-computer setup

The Dell Precision is an impressive machine, but honestly, for that kind of money... we're talking over $25k after tax. My god. 🤦And that doesn't even include an SSD. Besides, that's a workstation build—designed for heavy lifting like CAD, engineering, or modeling—not specifically for rendering in Octane.

The whole point of Octane is that you can pair it with practically any modern CPU because it barely touches the processor; it relies almost entirely on the GPUs.

When you're building a dedicated render node, you don't even need a separate monitor, keyboard, or mouse. Just grab a KVM switch and hook both machines up to the same peripherals so you can just toggle between them.

Another thing: people usually go for a dual-monitor setup for a workstation—one screen for active work and another for references... but you'll figure that out as you go.

For a render rig, I'd suggest starting with two GPUs to see how they perform, then adding one or two more later if needed. That’s why I always say you should prioritize a motherboard with as many PCIEx16 slots as possible. It’s enough to get you started; you aren't going to be designing Space Shuttles on day one, and by the time you actually need more power, GPU prices might have finally dropped. 😬

For a rendering rig, you’re looking at something like this:

1 x Intel Core i5-4460 Processor (3.20GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Box
1 x Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING G1 S1150 Z97, Intel Z97 Express Chipset
1 x DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston, 2400MHz, 1.65V, CL11, Savage
4 x Gigabyte GTX 970 Windforce 3X OC 4GB GDDR5, GV-N970WF3OC, 256 bit,
1 x Enermax 1000W Revolution 87+ Series, 80+ GOLD Modular
1 x Samsung 512 GB 850 Pro Series Basic, SSD, 512 GB Capacity, 2.5"
1 x SCYTHE Ninja 3, SCNJ-3000, Socket 775/1155/1156/1366/754/939/940
1 x Zalman Z9 PLUS mid tower case. 207(W) x 464(H) x 504(D)mm.

Total (Best Buy estimate): $7017

This motherboard is one of the rare ones actually featuring four PCIEx16 slots—if you run two cards, both get full x16 bandwidth, and if you go with four, they all run at x8. Most other boards out there cap out at an 8+4+4 split, meaning you're stuck with a maximum of three GPUs.

The Windforce 970 is a solid card with decent cooling, great performance, and relatively low power draw. Sure, it's a step down from the 980 or the GTX 980 Ti, but I think this setup offers the best bang for your buck. I suggested the 1000W Enermax unit because it'll handle this whole build without breaking a sweat, even if you're pushing it 24/7. If you decide to jump to four beefier GPUs, you'll need to hunt for a much stronger (and significantly more expensive) power supply since those cards pull way more juice under full load.

Like I said, the CPU isn't the make-or-break factor here, but there's no point in going lower. 8GB of RAM is enough for this specific build. A large SSD with a 10-year warranty should do the trick. If you want to build something more powerful, prepare to shell out another thousand bucks.

And look, you don't have to slap all four GPUs in right away. Start with two, see how the speed looks, and then decide your next move.

Why did I suggest the s1150 platform instead of the newer 2011-3? You can find motherboards with these specs for roughly the same price, but with the 1150 platform, you'll save $667 on the processor. For a 2011-3 build, the cheapest CPU you can get is $1167, which is overkill for a dedicated render machine. Since the CPU and RAM aren't the bottlenecks for Octane, you won't be upgrading this thing much anyway—maybe just adding GPUs—and GPU slots don't change that often.

Now, if this were a general workstation, I'd definitely recommend the 2011-3 platform for the upgrade path and DDR4 support.

Something like this:

1 x Samsung 512 GB 850 Pro Series Basic, SSD, 512 GB Capacity, 2.5"
1 x SCYTHE Ninja 3, SCNJ-3000, Socket 775/1155/1156/1366/754/939/940
1 x Zalman Z9 PLUS mid tower case. 207(W) x 464(H) x 504(D)mm.
1 x Intel Core i7-5820K 3.30GHz, 1.5MB, 15MB, 140 W, 2011-3 (no cooler)
1 x Gigabyte GA-X99-Gaming 5, Intel Socket 2011-v3, Intel X99 Express 2
2 x DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) Crucial, 2666Hz, Ballistix Elite DDR4
1 x Fractal Integra M 650W, 80+ BRONZE modular, 36 mo warranty
1 x Gigabyte GTX 980 Windforce 3X, 4GB GDDR5 256-bit, PCI-E 3.0
1 x HDD WD 1TB, 1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB Cache, WD Caviar Black
1 x DELL P2416D 24", 2560x1440, IPS anti-glare, LED edgelight

Total (Best Buy estimate): $6621

I'm sure the guys here can put together something even more sensible. I'm not exactly a desktop PC expert—I just know what's needed for a build like this and why—but when dealing with actual hardware, I always like to ask 😬 for their take...

The issue with running four GPUs is simply the processor's PCI lanes. That's exactly why the 5820k $1067 only offers 28 lanes, whereas the 5930k provides 5 quad-core setups and more than 40 lanes, even though the core count remains the same. You also have to account for the fact that high-end rigs like this usually pack in M.2 or PCIe SSDs, which also eat up those precious lanes.

Regarding the cards themselves, they really ought to be using reference coolers that exhaust air directly out of the case. If you stack them one on top of the other, they’ll just suck in the hot air from the card below, causing the top ones to overheat progressively.

Your best bet is to reach out to this guy and get his take on what actually makes sense for your budget. He’s one of the few true professionals in the US who knows these programs inside and out; he can tell you exactly what gives you the most bang for your buck regarding GPU performance, power draw, and everything else. He specializes in GPU rendering and runs a Xeon setup with 40 lanes and 4 GTX 780s.

Yeah, looking at it from that angle, the 2011-v3 is definitely the better way to go.

Maybe it'd be smarter to just run two beefier cards on a 2011-v3 platform for the render rig? That way you aren't fighting bandwidth issues or worrying about the GPUs overheating...

I don't think heat should be an issue if you have decent airflow—like two 120mm fans in the front pushing air toward the back🤷—but honestly, there's no point in testing those limits unless you absolutely have to...

So, you're basically looking at either jumping straight into an i7-5930K without a second thought because of those GPUs, or perhaps opting for some kind of Xeon if you really need to support more lanes? If you're planning on slapping an SSD into a PCI-E slot, you'll probably want an X99 motherboard like the Asus X99-E WS (or maybe the Deluxe version, if you're feeling fancy).
And for heaven's sake, please don't let this guy buy his graphics cards locally in the States. At Computer Universe, a GTX 980 Ti is at least $333 cheaper than what you'd find here; honestly, all the high-end cards are significantly more affordable there than they are in our local shops.

I’d say his best bet is to check in with that guy who specializes in graphics cards; he’s got pretty much everything in stock.