Product Reviews

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

December 16, 2010

BOXX's renderPRO 8 Review

by Tyson Junkers

 

I can sum up this entire review into three words; Buy one Immediately. However, if you want to know more, I am going to break this apart going from the ordering process, shipping, packaging, and then the good stuff. I am titling every section so if youw ant to skip ahead, go for it! Let’s get started…

Ordering

Boxx’s website is a bit intimidating. Somewhere between the “email us for a price quote” and the constant “Would you like to talk to our agents live” popup, you feel like they don’t want you to know something. What’s that something? The fact that they are very expensive! But why would they want to hide this? Well for good reason actually. It’s like buying an Apple computer; You can complain all you want about the computer being too expensive, but the support you get with it and the care that goes into the machine makes it worth slightly more. Boxx wants you to understand that yes you can spend over $500 less for the same specs, but understand that this machine comes standard with a 3 year warranty, comes out of the box ready to go, is constantly updated with new drivers, customer support is a phone call or email away and are readily available, and it’s TINY! If you stack 5 on top of each other it is the same size as an average desktop. For me, I went to Boxx’s website at the right time when they where having a deal where you get $500 off any RenderPro. I talked one on one with a sales agent who was more than happy to help me out and made sure I got the best deal as well as made sure it gets out as soon as possible.

Shipping

It took roughly 2 weeks for the computer to be built and shipped. It may seem like a long time, however, they have many orders they need to complete before yours. Originally my RenderPro was supposed to take over 3 weeks, but I got it early so I can’t complain. Shipping was fast. Maximum days it can take in the US is 3. They are located in Texas so obviously the closer you are the better. If you live in Europe, well I have no idea how they deal with that, sorry! The package arrived without the slightest dent which made me happy as UPS and Fedex like to throw boxes at your front door where I live.

Packaging

The packaging was very simple; No wasted space for anyone out there crying about Amazon’s out of control box to product ratio. You simply open the box and are looking at a thin box sitting on top of a foam boarder. Inside the box you have a starter guide, cds for the operating system and drivers, a power cord, another cord that I believe is used to link RenderPros, an additional filter for the front of the RenderPro, a USB drive which contains all drivers and install files, a pamphlet about their company and products, and a Boxx TShirt which makes me feel like a VIP when wearing. Under the box is two layers of a foam boarder that fully surround and protect the metal beast within.

Look and Feel

The RenderPro feels about the same weight as your average monitor and looks like its ready to survive a bomb being dropped on top of it. Its all metal exterior makes you feel like you have a very solid machine. The front has a square mesh grill (where you extra filter will eventually go) with Boxx’s logo proudly displayed in front. Below the logo and grill you have a power button, followed by a series of lights showing everything from if the machine is on to the ethernet’s connection to it. After the lights is a small reset button. The back looks like your every day computer with a power plug, followed by USB ports, two ethernet ports, and so on.

Setting up

Setting up is the same as every computer out there. Plug it in, turn it on, and go from there. You have a few options on how to access the RenderPro. You can plug into the VGA cable in the back and use it like a regular computer, or you can install (Off the included USB Drive) BoxxView which is a program that lets you fully monitor your RenderPro. It shows the computer’s vitals as well as lets you connect to it as if using LogMeIn where you have full control of the screen and more. I set up my VRay license as a slave, typed in my IP Address, opened backburner and was ready to render. It was that simple! You can use the included EnFuzion, however, I am not familiar with it and it’s a demo you will eventually have to pay for so I just stuck with what I know.

Rendering

Yes, here comes the good stuff and yet the shortest… RenderPro is a workstation. Whether you go with the RenderPro 4, 8 or 12 you are gaining the power of Xeon Processors that will help render anything you feed it. I set up my desktop to do all my work and have my Render Pro doing all my renders, so now I am able to continue working while the RenderPro does what it does best; Render. My RenderPro 8 is an 8-Core 2.4 GHz Beast with 6 GB of Ram, and a 160 GB Hard Drive.

Conclusion

With a RenderPro you are able to work off any desktop or laptop and not have to worry about the speed at which you’ll render. It’s fast, small and can be brought around easily from work to home should you need to. Why set up a render farm of towers that will take up half your room and cost you hundred of dollars a month in electricity bills when the RenderPro is as quiet as a laptop (Minus initial boot sound) and is very energy efficient. While expensive I find them worth every penny.

 

Go to Tyson Junkers