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The results within speak very clearly
for themselves as a picture paints a
thousand words; so there is absolutely
no need for a running commentary of the
results gained from each of the
systems. What totally amazed us was the
accuracy that each of the systems
returned, nearly every time we witnessed
results of similar values (give or take
0.01 +/-)from each.
It therefore goes to show just how much
behind the scenes collaboration goes
into the bios updates between Intel and
it's partnering suppliers.
Therefore we took the best screenshot
result from all of the 4 systems as if
not, this would be a huge article and we
have to consider that this is a
technology update.
Before we uttered the voice of choice.
Today you all have witnessed a
remarkable set of choices and at a price
to suit all pockets and your chosen
brand. We have totally been in awe at
just how much performance increase has
been made across the scale from each
company, notwithstanding the raw power
of Intel's 3.33Ghz Xeon solution driving
forth the astonishing results seen
within. Remarkable to say the least.
It has to be reiterated once more,
today's modern studio's, Soho's and
general users want fast, they need
fast. So fast is what they get and not
at a premium as we have uncovered.
Notwithstanding we must also take into
due consideration the other peripherals
that has made today such a success.
The maturity of the ATI FirePro V8750
has come an awful long way since it's
burst out into the wild in August and
the driver set are extremely good now.
We have to remember that there is a huge
amount hidden under the hood of this
mighty card. Western Digitals 300GB
VelociRaptor, it just keeps on going and
for a spindle drive has at times got
more in the pipeline then end-users give
it credit for. Its sound resilient
performance has been outstanding
maintaining peak I/O throughput at all
times. Line up some of the new
current SSD's against it and you will be
very surprised at the final outcome.
Crucial/Micron's memory modules, these
are extremely good value for money and
at the same time maintain that all
important stability required whilst
running systems of these magnitudes.
There are of course the other parts,
like the mainboards from both Intel and
Supermicro that have matured with time,
these are all sound platforms which
should be taken into serious due when
planning the build. The other parts
used within todays articles have their
own merits and finally complete the
builds. Chosen for reliability and
their expandability, mission critical
systems of this magnitude, you cannot
afford to cut corners.
In the beginning many looked at this
being a substantial investment some
would once more argue it still is.
Though if we look at the current costs
of today's Xeons , Mainboards and
supporting peripherals, its not. There
still are many analysis’s who claim all
to be much too expensive - but not so as
the proof has been shown unequivocally.
Blistering fast results with the
stability of a mountain range. The
product has matured and how. Until
Westmere makes its debut, studio's
cannot be seen to have the latest and
greatest in their array of show pieces
to pull in those all important
customers. Enter the superfast 3.33GHz
Xeon. Todays pricing on these
extra-ordinary CPU's is extremely good
indeed and in some places they are
actually cheaper than the lower 3.2GHz
variants. So those who could not afford
the top bin chip a few months back, get
in now whilst the going is good.
Developers and programmers now will be
having many thoughts on the what's
around the corner and taking into
careful consideration the ratified
standard of OpenCL . Previously we
briefly mentioned earlier Ray Tracing,
this does take a huge amount of
processing power to complete some of the
most simplest scenes, today as many have
now experienced this protocol has been
made ever so simple with the raw power
of Intel's current generation of Xeon.
We stipulated a year ago that life would
get so much simpler and now, its going
to get even better.
Therefore to reiterate, fast is good
fast is what we want and at todays
pricing and product stability it has
never been such a momentous time to get
that upgrade completed. |
