Help suggest a cpu for my amd server

[magraga]

Hi all. I am building a small server for my college for use in research and to compare performances with an intel server we have that uses two Intel - Xeon E5-2620 cpus. I am trying to decide between using the threadripper 1950x or an epyc 7351p cpu. What are the pros/cons of each choice? I would like my final build to not cost more than a bit over $2000 so if one of these options would violate that I would love to be told. Thanks in advance.

 

[Markfw]

The EPYC uses 8 channel memory and ECC, but the cheapest motherboard I could find was over $400 and the chip is over 800, and 8x8 gig is $880, so about $2200.

The threadripper is about $200 less, but thats with slow memory. For only $2100 you can get the fast memory. The threadripper is also 1 ghz faster.

These prices are for CPU/motherboard and 64 gig of memory, no cooling device, case, psu, etc.

 

[magraga]

Thanks for the reply. So from what you said, it seems like the threadripper is a better choice since a motherboard is going to cost more and the cpu itself is more expensive.

 

[Markfw]

well, but you said this is a server. With ECC support, and 8 channel memory, the EPYC is a real server. If pure CPU speed is what you want, then threadripper.

 

[magraga]

Gotcha, thanks .

 

[Soulkeeper]

All ryzen/threadripper cpu's support ecc, even the desktop variants, it just isn't validated. Even the am4 desktop ones with a quality motherboard.
I'm guessing you aren't running mission critical software or that your job don't depend on this build never going down. If this is the case then I'd suggest focusing purely on getting the max FLOPs you can for the $ you want to spend. Start with a quality motherboard and add some kingston ecc valueram. I doubt you'll be disappointed with any of the ryzen based setups. Keep in mind that there are still a lot of software that will benefit more from cpu clock speed than more cores/threads, also the 8 vs. 4 channel vs. 2 channel memory helps some, but not other software as much. Really depends on the exact software you plan to use.

 

[magraga]

All ryzen/threadripper cpu's support ecc, even the desktop variants, it just isn't validated. Even the am4 desktop ones with a quality motherboard.
I'm guessing you aren't running mission critical software or that your job don't depend on this build never going down. If this is the case then I'd suggest focusing purely on getting the max FLOPs you can for the $ you want to spend. Start with a quality motherboard and add some kingston ecc valueram. I doubt you'll be disappointed with any of the ryzen based setups. Keep in mind that there are still a lot of software that will benefit more from cpu clock speed than more cores/threads, also the 8 vs. 4 channel vs. 2 channel memory helps some, but not other software as much. Really depends on the exact software you plan to use.

Thanks for the advice. Sorry about being vague on the software. Do you have advice on a "quality" motherboard or what such an item would have?

 

[Markfw]

This combo https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113447 + https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157785
With 1 or 2 (32 gig or 64 gig) of these: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7S67BJ1674

 

[magraga]

This combo https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113447 + https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157785
With 1 or 2 (32 gig or 64 gig) of these: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7S67BJ1674

Thank so much!

 

[LightningZ71]

From an academic sense, it might be worth looking at the TR 1920X (12 cores, 24 threads) in comparison to a dual Xeon E5-2620 (6 cores each, 24 threads total for the pair). That will allow you to look at a like for like comparison of cores while comparing clock speeds, IPC, and the choice of topology (MCM vs dual packages), etc. As a bonus, the 1920X is a bit cheaper and may better allow you to stay within budget or to spend money elsewhere, like more RAM or a better case/power supply, etc.

Just a thought.

 

[magraga]

From an academic sense, it might be worth looking at the TR 1920X (12 cores, 24 threads) in comparison to a dual Xeon E5-2620 (6 cores each, 24 threads total for the pair). That will allow you to look at a like for like comparison of cores while comparing clock speeds, IPC, and the choice of topology (MCM vs dual packages), etc. As a bonus, the 1920X is a bit cheaper and may better allow you to stay within budget or to spend money elsewhere, like more RAM or a better case/power supply, etc.

Just a thought.

Your advice is great, but I made a mistake in my initial post. We have 2620 v4s, so they are 8 cores each. Sorry for the misinformation.

 

[spikespiegal]

If this is indeed a true server build then it's impossible to offer suggestions without knowing what applications are going to be run.

If you plan on running Vmware on this box good luck getting those consumer SATA controllers to work with ESX.

If it's just a file server then the money is better spent on a NAS like a Synology.

If they are just giving you money to tinker with to keep you happy then admit it. I have a feeling this is what's going on.

What about RAID, iDRAC, iLO, or those other adult things that separate white box builds from professional server builds?