DIY Dual-Socket Server Advice

[mfeller2]

I am considering a dual-socket server, hoping to get 6+ cores per socket, with total system memory at 32GB or 64GB, for a computing project. I haven't followed recent trends in the server space.

A few years ago, I spec'd out an AMD based system, where at least CPU's + MB would be ~$1000. This was ignoring the high-end, but coming down a few models in the processor offering, I was still able to get the core count, but at lower frequency. But with the new AMD cores, should I still look here, or focus on Intel? Is the price target still reasonable? Is DIY still the way to go, or is the gap smaller vs. system vendor offerings?

(I am also considering a cluster of 4+ multi-core, ~$300 desktops, but a single system will be more simple at hopefully a similar cost).

 

[Puppies04]

You need to look at the specific software you will be running then see if it is more cost effective to run on an Intel or an AMD rig. Specifically find out if the software scales better with more cores or higher clockspeed and spec your hardware accordingly.

 

[mfenn]

You can get Sandy Bridge Xeon E5-2620's for $420 each. Add a $370 motherboard like the SuperMicro X9DRL-3F-O and you've got a twelve core system for $1210. You could get more cores for the same amount of money if you went with AMD, but whether or not that makes sense really depends on how well your application scales to > 12 cores.