High-end(ish) Hackintosh: 8-core Xeon or 4-core i7?

[icedrake]

Hi folks. I'm trying to come up with a reasonable build for a Hackintosh, to be used primarily for 3D rendering. The app in question is Daz 3D, which swears up and down to support multithreading (though how well the multithreading is implemented is a topic of some discussion). With that in mind, here are two builds I'm looking at (mostly stolen from these two posts on these very forums)

 

For the sake of expediency, I'm comparing only three things: Mobo, CPU, and RAM, and aiming for roughly $1000. I'm planning to keep the GPU (about $160) the same in either build, mobo permitting.The case, cooling, DVD drive, and mouse/keyboard are hopefully going to fit into the remaining $340, but these shouldn't affect compatibility anyway.

 

Build 1:

CPU: Xeon E5405 2.00GHz x2 ($196 each, $392 total)

Mobo: Tyan Tempest i5400XT ($386)

RAM: Crucial CT51272AF667.36FE1D4 4GB DDR2 667 registered, buffered x2 ($98 each, $196 total)

Price before shipping&taxes: $974

 

Build 2:

CPU: Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz ($290)

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ($270)

RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 12GB (6 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 ($340)

Price before shipping&taxes: $900

 

 

The GPU I have my eye on is the XFX Radeon HD 4870 1GB ($160)

 

The main question I have is:

Assuming the app uses all 8 cores if available, am I going to see significant benefits from running an 8-core build instead of a somewhat higher-clocked 4-core? The PassMark score for the i7-920 is 5458, slightly less than double that for each of the E5405's. There is also some data here on 3DS Max render times, which gives the i7 a clear lead.

 

If you have comments on other things (future upgrade possibilities, stupid choices I've made in the build, why 3D rendering is a dead-end and how I should become a pro-circuit gator wrestler instead...), I'll be happy to read them.

 

Thanks in advance, and happy holiday season to everyone!

[Evildemon989]

I'd just go with the i7. You won't see much improvement with the 8 cores. The clock speed on the i7 is higher, the RAM is faster(DDR3 + 1.6GHz), support is better, and it's cheaper. Not to mention the ability to overclock to 3.8GHz+. Also, the clock on those server CPU's is pretty slow. Not to mention that the i7 has hyperthreading(not sure if the server CPU's do), and it can support triple channel RAM(which is the RAM you'd be getting for the i7 build). Just get the i7, you'll have much less trouble. Not to mention that I've never ever heard of the server mobo's manufacturer. Go with the Gigabyte board. Their great for hackintoshes(I'm getting one myself).