Skip to content

Main Navigation

Puget Systems Logo
  • Solutions
    • Recommended Systems For:
    • Content Creation
      • Photo Editing
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe Lightroom Classic
        • Adobe Photoshop
      • Video Editing
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Adobe After Effects
        • Adobe Premiere Pro
        • DaVinci Resolve
        • Foundry Nuke
      • 3D Design and Animation
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk 3ds Max
        • Autodesk Maya
        • Blender
        • Cinema 4D
        • Houdini
        • ZBrush
      • Real-Time Engines
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Game Development
        • Unity
        • Unreal Engine
        • Virtual Production
      • Rendering
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • OctaneRender
        • Redshift
        • V-Ray
      • Digital Audio
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Ableton Live
        • FL Studio
        • Pro Tools
    • Engineering
      • CAD
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • Autodesk AutoCAD
        • Autodesk Inventor
        • Autodesk Revit
        • SOLIDWORKS
      • Photogrammetry
        • Recommended Systems For:
        • ArcGIS Pro
        • Agisoft Metashape
        • Pix4D
        • RealityCapture
    • Scientific Computing
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Data Science
      • Machine Learning / AI
      • Scientific Computing
    • More
      • Recommended Systems For:
      • Compact Size
      • Live Streaming
      • NVIDIA RTX Studio
      • Quiet Operation
      • Virtual Reality
  • Products
    • Intel Core i7 & i9
      Workstations with 13th Gen Intel Core i7 & i9 processors on Z690 and Z790 chipsets
    • AMD Ryzen 7 & 9
      Workstations with AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors on B650 and X670 chipsets
    • AMD Threadripper PRO
      Workstations with AMD Threadripper PRO 5000 WX processors on the WRX80 chipset
    • Intel Xeon W
      Workstations with Intel Xeon W 3300 processors on the C621E chipset
    • Rackmount & Server
      Servers and workstations in rackmount chassis
    • Custom Computers
      Customize a desktop workstation from scratch
    • Custom Servers
      Customize a rackmount server from scratch
    • QNAP Network Attached Storage
      Check out our external storage options as an authorized reseller for QNAP
    • Recommended Third Party Peripherals
      View our list of recommended peripherals to use with your new PC
  • Publications
    • Articles
    • HPC Blog
    • Blog Posts
    • Case Studies
    • Podcasts
    • Press
  • Support
    • Contact Support
    • Support Articles
    • Warranty Details
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Press Kit
    • Testimonials
    • Careers
  • Talk to an Expert
  • My Account
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Hardware Articles
  4. /
  5. Arnold for Maya CPU Comparison: New 14, 16, and 18-core Skylake-X Processors

Arnold for Maya CPU Comparison: New 14, 16, and 18-core Skylake-X Processors

Posted on September 25, 2017 by William George
Always look at the date when you read an article. Some of the content in this article is most likely out of date, as it was written on September 25, 2017. For newer information, see our more recent articles.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Test Setup
  • Benchmark Results
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Arnold is the render engine included with Maya 2017, and is also available as a plug-in for several other design applications. It is made by SolidAngle and produces beautiful 3D renditions of scenes and visual effects. When rendering those graphics, the performance of the central processor (CPU) in a computer is of paramount importance. CPU-based rendering generally scales well with both clock speed and core count, but those specifications cannot be directly compared across different brand or generations of processor. Here at Puget Systems we do real-world testing to ensure we provide our customers with the right computer for their needs.

Intel has just released a trio of new Core X series processors, with higher core counts than anything they have offered in this line to date: the Core i9 7940X, 7960X, and 7980XE – with 14, 16, and 18 cores respectively. We ran these chips through a few tests in Maya 2017, using the Arnold render engine, to see how they perform. We had recently put out an article on this same software that covered some additional processors as well, and at the time AMD's Threadripper CPUs were found to be the fastest single-CPU option. This time we will focus just on the Core X series in comparison to Threadripper, to see if the new models can take the performance title back for Intel.

Test Setup

To see how these different CPUs perform in Arnold, we ran it within Maya 2017 on the following configurations:

Test Platforms
Motherboard: Gigabyte X299 AORUS Gaming 7
(rev 1.0)
Gigabyte X399 AORUS Gaming 7
(rev 1.0)
CPU:

Intel Core i7 7820X 3.6GHz
(4.3/4.5GHz Turbo) 8 Core

~$599
Intel Core i9 7900X 3.3GHz
(4.3/4.5GHz Turbo) 10 Core

~$999
Intel Core i9 7920X 2.9GHz
(4.3/4.4GHz Turbo) 12 Core

~$1199
Intel Core i9 7940X 3.1GHz
(4.3/4.4GHz Turbo) 14 Core

~$1399
Intel Core i9 7960X 2.8GHz
(4.2/4.5GHz Turbo) 16 Core

~$1699
Intel Core i9 7980XE 2.6GHz
(4.2/4.4GHz Turbo) 18 Core

~$1999

AMD Threadripper 1920X 3.5GHz
(4.0GHz Turbo) 12 Core

~$799
AMD Threadripper 1950X 3.4GHz
(4.0GHz Turbo) 16 Core

~$999
RAM: 8x Crucial DDR4-2666 16GB
(128GB Total)
8x Crucial DDR4-2666 16GB
(128GB Total)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB
Hard Drive: Samsung 960 Pro M.2 PCI-E x4 NVMe SSD
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Software: Arnold for Maya

The main focus here is on the three new Core X (formerly code named Skylake X) processors, and specifically how they compare to AMD's Threadripper models. In our last round of testing we found that the 16-core 1950X took the lead in single-CPU performance with Keyshot, as well as many other CPU-based rendering engines. Dual CPUs are often a great way to increase performance as well, though they cost substantially more and are outside the scope of this particular article. Here are some details about how we conducted our testing, but if you just want to skip straight to the results then feel free to scroll past this section.

The results presented below are from Arnold for Maya, which comes standard with Maya 2017. That program is available from Autodesk for a 30-day trial, as well as in several subscription options for long-term use. Within Maya we opened a test file called from Solid Angle called "model village", and then navigated to the Arnold render window. The scene was rendered at two resolutions: 640×480 and 1280×960. No threads were reserved for the UI or other applications, so that we could measure the true performance of each CPU without artificial limitations.

Village render scene for Arnold from Solid Angle

It is also worth pointing out the speed of memory we used in these tests. We prefer to use the speed of memory that each CPU is rated for, according to its manufacturer. For the current crop of Core X and Threadripper processors that is DDR4-2666. These platforms can technically be run with even faster RAM modules, but that is pushing the memory controller built into the CPU past its rated speed – overclocking it, effectively. That may lead to slightly increased performance but we have also found it to lead to stability issues and higher rates of memory failure. For that reason we stick with the manufacturer specs when it comes to selecting RAM for our systems.

Benchmark Results

Here are the results, in seconds, for the various CPUs we tested in Arnold for Maya at 640×480. Lower times are better:

Arnold for Maya 640x480 Render Results With New Skylake X Processors

And here are the results for the same scene but rendered at 1280×960:

Arnold for Maya 1280x960 Render Results With New Skylake X Processors

Both sets of results are nearly identical in terms of relative CPU performance. Rendering in Arnold is a heavily threaded application, so there is a clear spread between the different processors based on core count. As shown in our last round of testing, AMD's 12-core 1920X ties Intel's 10-core i9 7900X. This time around, though, the 16-core 1950X is bested by the three new models from Intel – with the fastest 7980XE leading the AMD chip by over 20%. It also costs twice as much, but if you look at that additional $1000 in the scope of the whole system price (rather than focusing on the price of the CPUs themselves) it may be worthwhile for the increased performance.

It is also worth noting that AMD and Intel both have server-class processors with even more cores as well: up to 32 on AMD's EPYC and up to 28 from Intel's latest Xeon Platinum line. With their focus on the multi-CPU server segment those may not come into play for Arnold, or other CPU-based renderers, but if a manufacturer puts out a single-socket workstation motherboard that is compatible with either of those platforms then they may be worth a look.

Conclusion

As shown above, the tables have turned since our last Arnold rendering test. Intel took back the lead, but their new Core X processors are also substantially more expensive than AMD’s Threadripper. If you want the absolute fastest single-CPU rendering speeds then go for the i9 7980XE – but if you want a great value, the 1950X has very strong performance while costing $1000 less.

CTA Image
Rendering Workstations

Puget Systems offers a range of powerful and reliable systems that are tailor-made for your unique workflow.

Configure a System!
CTA Image
Labs Consultation Service

Our Labs team is available to provide in-depth hardware recommendations based on your workflow.

Find Out More!
Tags: 2017, AMD, Angle, Arnold, Core, CPU, i9, Intel, Maya, MtoA, Performance, Processor, Rendering, Skylake, Solid, Threadripper

Who is Puget Systems?

Puget Systems builds custom PCs tailored for your workflow

Extensive in-house testing
making you more productive and giving you more performance for your dollar

Reliable workstations
with fewer crashes and blue screens means more time working, less time waiting on your computer

Support that understands
your complex workflows and can get you back up and running ASAP

Proven track record
check out our customer testimonials and Reseller Ratings

Get Started

Browse Our Workstations

Fractal Design Define 7 Chassis with Puget Systems Logo

Select your workflow:

Content Creation
Engineering
Scientific Computing
More

Latest Articles

  • Puget Systems Hardware Trends of 2022
  • Guide To Removing Instapak Foam
  • Basic Guide to Identify and Remove Malware
  • Should I Upgrade My Gpu
  • Case Study with Lost Boys Interactive
View All

Post navigation

 Premiere Pro CC 2017.1.2 CPU Performance: Core i9 7940X, 7960X, 7980XEZ370 vs Z270: What is the Difference? 
Puget Systems Logo
Build Your Own PC Site Map FAQ
facebook instagram linkedin rss twitter youtube

Optimized Solutions

  • Adobe Premiere
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Solidworks
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Machine Learning

Workstations

  • Content Creation
  • Engineering
  • Scientific PCs
  • More

Support

  • Online Guides
  • Request Support
  • Remote Help

Publications

  • All News
  • Puget Blog
  • HPC Blog
  • Hardware Articles
  • Case Studies

Policies

  • Warranty & Return
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Delivery Times
  • Accessibility

About Us

  • Testimonials
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2023 - Puget Systems, All Rights Reserved.