Is it possible to make your own Apple Supercomputer?

[mystixman]

Ok, Im a dumb newbie when it comes to building a computer, but would it be possible to get a normal MOBO, attach some G4 chips, and other Apple stuff, and have a workable Apple computer? I would like to make one with more than two cips, more room for DDR RAM, and more Hard Drives. I do computer animation and would love to have a MUCH faster machine. Anyone know?

 

[rainman::|:|]

Easier would be to parallel process a bunch of macs. Somewhere i have research info, we did this a few years back on a bunch of 5400's (they were outdated already and we started with 10bT enet to see what results it would get us)... We used software from the UCLA particle simulations labratory, Dean Dauger was the grad student in charge at the time... It worked surprisingly well, won us quite a few awards.

As for building a one-unit cluster. You'd have a hell of a time doing it without advanced knowledge of electrical engineering and electronics. But i think the hardware would support processor clustering, if it was done symetrically... some G4 techies might be able to tell you more...


pnw

 

[shadowfax0]

LightWave and Maya both implementations built in for parallel processing (parallel rendering) so you can look into that

 

[rice_web]

Does anyone know have any information on Lightwave and clustering? I'd really like to get back into Lightwave modeling, but the render times were horrendous when advanced effects came into play.

 

[tjwett]

Cubase has implemented a utility called "System Link". It makes 2 machines, Mac or PC, process like one single Uber...thing. It probably only works while running Cubase but you may be able to look into how it works for some ideas.

 

[MisterMe]

Re: Is it possible to make your own Apple Supercomputer?

Originally posted by mystixman
Ok, Im a dumb newbie when it comes to building a computer, but would it be possible to get a normal MOBO, attach some G4 chips, and other Apple stuff, and have a workable Apple computer? I would like to make one with more than two cips, more room for DDR RAM, and more Hard Drives. I do computer animation and would love to have a MUCH faster machine. Anyone know?

You might want to take a look at here. This site will show you how to do it.

 

[Catfish_Man]

More room for ram...

...would mean a new motherboard. Unless you have a motherboard factory, it's not gonna happen. Go with clusters instead. Here's the link:
http://exodus.physics.ucla.edu/appleseed/appleseed.html

note: most apps can't use this, it's more of a curiosity right now. Bryce, Lightwave, and others have their own clustering built in.

 

[BenderBot1138]

http://www.apple.com/powermac/processor.html

http://www.apple.com/xserve/architecture.html

http://www.apple.com/scitech/stories/appleseed/

Well, there're some links, but I'm sure if you explore the Apple site a little you'll find examples of how Apple makes connecting machines together the norm rather than the exception.

Basically, mystixman, you can buy Xserve and rackem 48 to a unit and blow away anything, and I do mean anything... make yourself a render farm, have a ball, and the best part is it isn't all that expensive - business wise. I love the Xserve power. (Heck Intell and others have a hard time making dual processors keep from dueling).

It's all that Roswell Crash technology... truth or just MacRumor.

 

[gopher]

This is the software that does it

http://daugerresearch.com/pooch/whatis.html

 

[agreenster]

Re: Is it possible to make your own Apple Supercomputer?

Originally posted by mystixman
Ok, Im a dumb newbie when it comes to building a computer, but would it be possible to get a normal MOBO, attach some G4 chips, and other Apple stuff, and have a workable Apple computer? I would like to make one with more than two cips, more room for DDR RAM, and more Hard Drives. I do computer animation and would love to have a MUCH faster machine. Anyone know?

If you are doing 3D animation (as I do everyday on the job) you seriously ought to consider switching to a dual 2.4 Xeon with RDRam and a 128MB video card. (The video card is VERY important) You COULD make your own, or make a parallel processing system, but you will be spending MAJOR dollars.

Even just one dual 1.2 Mac w/128MB card with set you back 3500 dollars. (not to mention that a XServe parallel system could run you into the tens of thousands) Why not spend 1700-2000 for a PC which are the industry standard anyway? Until Apple supplies its consumers with more powerful workstations for half the price they are offering now, no one (with a brain) should switch.

Steve Jobs himself knows this. Trust me, Pixar isnt using Apple computer to do THEIR 3D animation. Thats why Jobs is pushing Apple for the consumer, and is TRYING to get the 64 bit chip together for his Pro users.

I dont think anyone can argue with me on this.

I wish I could suggest using an Apple (they are so damned sophisticated, just slow and expensive!) but in this case, a 2000 dollar PC should way exceed you expectations.

 

[agreenster]

Originally posted by rice_web
Does anyone know have any information on Lightwave and clustering? I'd really like to get back into Lightwave modeling, but the render times were horrendous when advanced effects came into play.

Thats just the nature of 3D. Optimizing your geometry and having a nice renderfarm are the most common solutions.

 

[peter2002]

Microtel

Buy the Microtel at Walmart. It has a 800MHZ C3, Lindows, 10GB, etc. and is only $199. For less than $1000, you can a decent supercomputer for less than a 1 Mac.

Peter

 

[agreenster]

Sarcasm wont get you anywhere.

I was giving this guy some honest advice, and pointed him toward the type of computer that I use, which offers extremely good performance for 3D animation apps.