Dual XEON 2696 v4 Workstation Build Log & Benchmarks

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lni

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Aug 20, 2017
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Each 2696 V4 on eBay is about $1169 used. That's 2338 for both processors not including motherboard and the rest of the components. So it's not the same price of a dual 2696 V4 considering that the 1950X is $999 at Microcenter and a dual 2696 V4 processor's cost $2338 for a pair or $1169 individually. So when you take into account motherboard and memory for a Threadripper setup it ends up being cheaper than a 2696 V4 dual-socket setup while offering better price/performance. Besides your comparing a single socket setup to a dual socket setup. That's not an accurate nor proper comparison.
I bought a pair of 2696v4 for $2k shipped, for a single 2696v4 build (which I tried for a few days before the arrival of the second cpu), the total cost would be -
$1k for 2696v4
$300 for dual socket mb
$1.5k for 16Gx8 2133p ECC REG SAMSUNG RAM
that is $2.8k for CPU+MB+RAM

for threadripper, you'd pay
$1k for processor
$400 for a x399 mb
$1.5k for 16Gx8 2400 RAM
the total is nothing really different, $2.8k or $2.9k in total.

you get similar Cinebench score for such two builds, around 3200 (assuming the 2400 RAM doesn't completely screw threadripper's performance).

different from the threadripper, which is pretty much a dead end, you can add another 2696v4 any time when you need more cpu cores, you can also install more RAM as there are 16 DIMM slots not just 8.
 
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wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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the problem is all those $300 2696v2 are gone, sellers on ebay are asking for $500-600 for a 2696v2.
wow that was fast..... proving again that 2nd hand xeon price are totally supply side dependent....
 

lni

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Aug 20, 2017
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wow that was fast..... proving again that 2nd hand xeon price are totally supply side dependent....
2696v3 was a pretty cool overclocking capable chip, but once the overclocking hack was proved to be stable & efficient, all sellers lifted the price to 80% of a 2696v4 rendering v3 totally meaningless.

market economy :)
 

lni

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Aug 20, 2017
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That price comparison is incorrect and it makes the Threadripper seem more expense than it should be. If we take your breakdown for Threadripper and modify it with the following:
using your logic, I can further argue that it is just $1.4k for a 2696v4 based system as I can install 4G of RAM, surely there are some applications requiring no more than amount.

there might be future threadripper releases, however, there is no way they can release a single socket processor capable of delivering 5500 CINEBENCH score. as long as the price is close, I don't care whether its is 1p or 2p, I care about performance, which is not currently available from any threadripper product.
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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2P or 1P, the bottom line is total processing power for multithread for the dollar. (as well as other things like MB price and ram). MB price is fairly similar for both 2011 2P MB as well as DDr4 ram. right now you can still build a system with 2nd hand xeon cpu that will beat 1950x for about the same price and a little higher power usage. add on the fact that TR support for ECC ram is still not completely baked as well as the 128GB ram limit, 2011 v3 and v4 2nd hand cpu is still a very viable solution

the 2696v4 is a poor comparison because that particular cpu is still too expensive. if you compare dual 2686/96 v3 to 1950x then it's hard to argue that 1950x is really better since the price of dual 2686/96 v3 is no more than $100 more than that of 1950x but with much better multithread performance. who care if it's dual cpu with 36 cores total vs 16 cores total.... it's the price to performance at the end of the day that counts. of course xeon ability to have more than 128GB is a bonus.

let's not also forget the little guy 2696v2. Same performance as 1950x on many benchmark or possibly slightly slower on a few but for much cheaper price for two cpu and much cheaper ram.
 

lni

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You were previously arguing for 128GB of memory and comparing a 2P dual socket system to a 1P X399 Threadripper HEDT system. Now you are using a 1P processor Xeon with a higher core count and a locked multiplier and saying that 4GB is sufficient. X399 and a X99 Xeon are completely different platforms and different processors.
no one cares whether there are 1 or 2 sockets on the mb sitting inside the case, it is all about two simple questions: how much I paid and what performance I am getting.

let's say both builds (threadripper 1950x and single 2696v4 on dual socket c612 mb such as X10DAI) use 4x8G RAM, then the cost and cinebench scores are pretty much the same - $1.5k for cpu/mb/ram and you get 3000-3200 cinebench score. as already explained, x399+threadripper is pretty much a dead end, you don't have any immediate upgrade option, for 2696v4, you can just buy the second processor and almost double (~5300 CB score) your multiple thread performance. ECC support, more RAM slots are the bonus.
 

wildpig1234

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Aug 22, 2016
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no one cares whether there are 1 or 2 sockets on the mb sitting inside the case, it is all about two simple questions: how much I paid and what performance I am getting.

let's say both builds (threadripper 1950x and single 2696v4 on dual socket c612 mb such as X10DAI) use 4x8G RAM, then the cost and cinebench scores are pretty much the same - $1.5k for cpu/mb/ram and you get 3000-3200 cinebench score. as already explained, x399+threadripper is pretty much a dead end, you don't have any immediate upgrade option, for 2696v4, you can just buy the second processor and almost double (~5300 CB score) your multiple thread performance. ECC support, more RAM slots are the bonus.
Completely agree. I think 2696 v4 is slightly more expensive that 1950x but you also do get slightly better performance. At the end of the day it is all about performance/$

If you want flexibility and have the money build a single 2696v4. you won't save any money over 1950x for the same performance but you get the ability to increase your performance later with the ability to add another cpu.

If you are on a very tight budget, build a dual 2696 v2 and get almost about the same performance as 1950x for much much cheaper (including ram).... but you also have no cpu upgrade path

If you have slightly more budget, build a dual 2686/96 v3 for same price as 1950x with significantly better performance right away. at later date, you still have the option to spring for 2696v4 if you want.

No one is denying that TR is killing intel, but for 2nd hand cpu market, 2011 is still very competitive!

If amd decides to really come down on their epyc parts price, then we might have something else to look at
 
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riven

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Oct 25, 2016
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I´ve just bought Asus Z10PE-D16 WS modo, but after reading some forums, there is lot of problems, espacially with E5-2696V4 cpus,
So I think about getting Supermicro X10-DAX mobo, server/workstation board, maybe less problems.

Cpus 2x E5-2696V4. Memory 4x16GB DDR4 ECC REG 2400 CL17/or 2133/CL15?/
booting Samsung 960PRO 512GB, 850PRO 512GB Work, 2x3TB HDD RAID 1 BACKUP, 1x4TB HDD.
Quadro K5000, Corsair HX1200i PSU
 
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Kneelbeforezod

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Sep 4, 2015
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V4s support 2400 so go for 2400 definitely. I'm using 2400 with V3s and it downclocks to 2133. That way i can move to V4s when prices come down.

I'm using the X10DAX - see my thread

Also check out the Open Box thread I posted in the Deals Section - Open box items at Newegg are a great way to save cash and you might find a board you like.
 

moblaw

Member
Jun 23, 2017
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I´ve just bought Asus Z10PE-D16 WS modo, but after reading some forums, there is lot of problems, espacially with E5-2696V4 cpus,
So I think about getting Supermicro X10-DAX mobo, server/workstation board, maybe less problems.

Cpus 2x E5-2696V4. Memory 4x16GB DDR4 ECC REG 2400 CL17/or 2133/CL15?/
booting Samsung 960PRO 512GB, 850PRO 512GB Work, 2x3TB HDD RAID 1 BACKUP, 1x4TB HDD.
Quadro K5000, Corsair HX1200i PSU

I had a Z10PE D16WS produced in 2014, so I bought a "new" Z10PED16WS, since my 2014 board did not boot with 2696 V4. New board is from 2017. I too wanted X10DAX or DAI, but those boards does not feature dedicated IPMI, which is a fail imo. You can use cmd and run command "wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer,version,serialnumber" this will tell you, when your board is produced. Some1 already mentioned in this forum, that it has to be Nov. 2015. to support V4s. I have no regrets, only a second Z10PED16WS on hand.. What a nice feature from Asus...

CPU-Z Bench, indicated that dual 2696v4 is 12% faster than single tr 1950x
 

riven

New Member
Oct 25, 2016
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I had a Z10PE D16WS produced in 2014, so I bought a "new" Z10PED16WS, since my 2014 board did not boot with 2696 V4. New board is from 2017. I too wanted X10DAX or DAI, but those boards does not feature dedicated IPMI, which is a fail imo. You can use cmd and run command "wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer,version,serialnumber" this will tell you, when your board is produced. Some1 already mentioned in this forum, that it has to be Nov. 2015. to support V4s. I have no regrets, only a second Z10PED16WS on hand.. What a nice feature from Asus...

CPU-Z Bench, indicated that dual 2696v4 is 12% faster than single tr 1950x
Can I recognise production date from paper box? Is this information on some sticker?
 

moblaw

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Jun 23, 2017
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Can I recognise production date from paper box? Is this information on some sticker?
No and no. I called Asus support, and they were only able to see when the warrenty was valid from and to by the serial/no, and it help up pretty exact to the production date. Either that, or they want you to mail support or fill out some sort of request, It's anything but customer friendly.
 

riven

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Oct 25, 2016
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No and no. I called Asus support, and they were only able to see when the warrenty was valid from and to by the serial/no, and it help up pretty exact to the production date. Either that, or they want you to mail support or fill out some sort of request, It's anything but customer friendly.
So newer version of Asus Z10PE-D16 WS is better then Supermicro X10DAX?
Asus has M.2 slot but speed is only PCI-E 2.0, so better is use pci-e adapter to get full speed of 960PRO NVME drive, same as Supermicro.
 

riven

New Member
Oct 25, 2016
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V4s support 2400 so go for 2400 definitely. I'm using 2400 with V3s and it downclocks to 2133. That way i can move to V4s when prices come down.

I'm using the X10DAX - see my thread

Also check out the Open Box thread I posted in the Deals Section - Open box items at Newegg are a great way to save cash and you might find a board you like.
Is possible to boot from pcie-card with 960 pro nvme drive on X10DAX?
 

Kneelbeforezod

Active Member
Sep 4, 2015
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Is possible to boot from pcie-card with 960 pro nvme drive on X10DAX?
From what I have seen around the web there are apparently some issues with Consumer Samsung NVME Drives on SM Boards. I'm using P3700 which works like a charm. There does seem to be a workaround though I can't comment on it since i don't a Samsung NVME drive. If it's on SM's list of approved drives it will work fine.

Samsung 960 PRO/EVO/SM961 M.2 NVMe SSD disappearance-after-reboot-or-bios-change workaround is to power cycle, bug fixed in PRO/EVO firmware 2B6QCXP7/2B7QCXE7 | TinkerTry IT @ Home
 

moblaw

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Jun 23, 2017
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For what it's worth. I've read bios adjustments from both SM and Asus, they both corrected/included NVME as bootable drives, and or supported.
But yes riven, Z10PED16WS m2 is limited to SATA6Gb.