I just completed an AMD Epyc 7302P workstation build using a Supermicro H11SSL-NC board with the following components:
CPU: HPE AMD Epyc 7302P 3.0/3.3GHz Boost; 16-core; 128MB L3; HPE No. P16667-B21
Heatsink: Supermicro SP3 AMD Epyc Heatsink SNK-P0064AP4
RAM: Supermicro 4x 32GB 3200MHz DDR4 ECC; 128GB total; MEM-DR432L-SL02-ER32
Motherboard: Supermicro H11SSL-NC Rev. v2.0 w/LSI 3008 SAS3 + 2x NVME + 1x M.2 + IPMI
Networking: Supermicro AOC-STGS-i2T-O; 2-Port 10GbE w/ Intel X550-AT2
Chassis: Supermicro CSE-743AC-1200B-SQ 4U Tower Chassis; 8-port SAS3 Backplane; Whisper-Quiet Series
Power: Supermicro PWS-1K25P-PQ Power Supply w/PMBus;
Fans: 2x extra CSE-743 80mm Middle Case Fans (FAN-0104L4) 2,800 rpm; 32.9 CFM; 24 dBA
Graphics: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Super Gaming X 6GB GDDR6 (G166SGX) w/Nvidia Studio Drivers
OS: Windows 10 Pro
This machine with all of the parts, above, and 1 SSD idles around 86w in Windows 10 and with Prime95 running 32 threads at max heat/stress setting, it stays at 3.1 GHz and does not go above 60 C with "Optimal" fan profile selected in IPMI.
Cinebench R20 score DDR4 @ 2933MHz : 7826 (32 threads, runs @ 3.27GHz and 56 C with "Optimal" fan profile.
Cinebench R20 score DDR4 @ 3200MHz : 7822 (32 threads, runs @ 3.27GHz and 56 C with "Optimal" fan profile.
I am running the DDR4 ram at 2,933 MHz so that it runs at the same speed as the AMD infinity fabric, which reduces system latency a bit and makes things more responsive.
Using 4 channels of DDR4, the difference in memory bandwidth between 3200MHz and 2933MHz is only 102.4 GB/s vs 93.8 GB/s, which isn't much. For me at least, IMHO, the lower latency seems to be more important and helps system responsiveness. I have not noticed a significant difference either way with various benchmarks.
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/epyc-rome-ifop-limited-to-1467mhz.27113/
Regarding the installation of Windows 10, I found it necessary to do the following:
1) Download the latest Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft and create a bootable USB thumbdrive with the latest version of Windows 10 Pro.
2) Before installing Windows 10, disable IOMMU and Hyper-threading in the bios. See FAQ Entry | Online Support | Support - Super Micro Computer, Inc. for some discussion about IOMMU. I read in another article that disabling Hyper-Threading is also helpful, so I did that too.
3) Make sure that one of the Intel i210 networking ports on the H11SSL has internet access as the Windows 10 installer will grab some needed drivers during the installation.
Why I decided on this particular build:
This current build replaces my previous workstation, built in 2013, which was an Intel Xeon E3-1245 v3 (4C/8T @ 3.4GHz) w/32GB DDR3 ECC. I do a lot of camera raw processing in Adobe Bridge and Photoshop for travel & outdoor photography and have huge piles of images to sort and process after each outing. With 30+MP images, the 4-core Xeon just wasn't cutting it. This new system chews through a stack of 100 raw images 4.5x faster than the prior system.
I researched various options including:
Intel Core Series -
Positives: Great CPU prices and decent performance.
Negatives: No reasonably priced larger capacity DDR4, hefty price premium for 32GB stick UDIMM's. Limited options for upgrades past 128GB. Only dual channel DDR4. No ECC support and I was not happy with the "RGB gamer style" motherboard options currently available. Limited expandability and limited PCIe lanes & slots.
Intel W-2200 Xeon -
Positives: ECC RDIMM and larger DDR4 capacities, workstation-class motherboard options.
Negatives: Price per core & price per unit of performance still much higher than AMD, lingering security concerns, still 14nm. Only quad-channel DDR4. Huge price premium to jump up to W-3200 series with 6-channel DDR4 and more PCIe lanes. Limited expandability and limited PCIe lanes/slots. A W2200 build was my backup option if the 7302P didn't materialize.
AMD Threadripper -
Positives: High clock rates and core counts, 7nm.
Negatives: Only quad-channel DDR4, still no ECC RDIMM support, more expensive UDIMM ram required, expensive $1,300 entry-level price for 24 cores was not in the budget, higher power consumption, no reasonable workstation-class motherboard options, available motherboards are expensive and looked gimmicky with all the fans, heatpipes, covers and RGB lighting.
AMD Eypc 7302P -
Positives: 16 cores/32 threads for $665 (via HPE deal), great value, 7nm, latest CPU architecture and security, infinity fabric, 1P NUMA, very snappy and responsive in Windows 10 Pro, power efficient for the amount of processing power (16 cores @ 155w/180w TDP), large amount of PCIe lanes, ECC RDIMM support, server/workstation class motherboards. Will transition well into a home file server role when this system is outgrown.
Negatives: 3.0GHz/3.3GHz clock speeds could be faster, especially since 4-5GHz is more common these days, but 16 cores @ 3.3GHz boost speed helps offset this issue. Currently, limited options for PCIe v4.0 motherboards. I ultimately decided to go ahead with a PCIe v3.0 board as I do not foresee needing the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0 devices within the next couple of years. PCIe 4.0 board also use more power and are more expensive to manufacture, so going with a PCIe 3.0 board actually has some benefits for some use cases.
All in all, this build went together very smoothly, no major hiccups. So far, I've been extremely pleased with this build and its a huge step up from what I was using previously.
CPU: HPE AMD Epyc 7302P 3.0/3.3GHz Boost; 16-core; 128MB L3; HPE No. P16667-B21
Heatsink: Supermicro SP3 AMD Epyc Heatsink SNK-P0064AP4
RAM: Supermicro 4x 32GB 3200MHz DDR4 ECC; 128GB total; MEM-DR432L-SL02-ER32
Motherboard: Supermicro H11SSL-NC Rev. v2.0 w/LSI 3008 SAS3 + 2x NVME + 1x M.2 + IPMI
Networking: Supermicro AOC-STGS-i2T-O; 2-Port 10GbE w/ Intel X550-AT2
Chassis: Supermicro CSE-743AC-1200B-SQ 4U Tower Chassis; 8-port SAS3 Backplane; Whisper-Quiet Series
Power: Supermicro PWS-1K25P-PQ Power Supply w/PMBus;
Fans: 2x extra CSE-743 80mm Middle Case Fans (FAN-0104L4) 2,800 rpm; 32.9 CFM; 24 dBA
Graphics: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Super Gaming X 6GB GDDR6 (G166SGX) w/Nvidia Studio Drivers
OS: Windows 10 Pro
This machine with all of the parts, above, and 1 SSD idles around 86w in Windows 10 and with Prime95 running 32 threads at max heat/stress setting, it stays at 3.1 GHz and does not go above 60 C with "Optimal" fan profile selected in IPMI.
Cinebench R20 score DDR4 @ 2933MHz : 7826 (32 threads, runs @ 3.27GHz and 56 C with "Optimal" fan profile.
Cinebench R20 score DDR4 @ 3200MHz : 7822 (32 threads, runs @ 3.27GHz and 56 C with "Optimal" fan profile.
I am running the DDR4 ram at 2,933 MHz so that it runs at the same speed as the AMD infinity fabric, which reduces system latency a bit and makes things more responsive.
Using 4 channels of DDR4, the difference in memory bandwidth between 3200MHz and 2933MHz is only 102.4 GB/s vs 93.8 GB/s, which isn't much. For me at least, IMHO, the lower latency seems to be more important and helps system responsiveness. I have not noticed a significant difference either way with various benchmarks.
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/epyc-rome-ifop-limited-to-1467mhz.27113/
Regarding the installation of Windows 10, I found it necessary to do the following:
1) Download the latest Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft and create a bootable USB thumbdrive with the latest version of Windows 10 Pro.
2) Before installing Windows 10, disable IOMMU and Hyper-threading in the bios. See FAQ Entry | Online Support | Support - Super Micro Computer, Inc. for some discussion about IOMMU. I read in another article that disabling Hyper-Threading is also helpful, so I did that too.
3) Make sure that one of the Intel i210 networking ports on the H11SSL has internet access as the Windows 10 installer will grab some needed drivers during the installation.
Why I decided on this particular build:
This current build replaces my previous workstation, built in 2013, which was an Intel Xeon E3-1245 v3 (4C/8T @ 3.4GHz) w/32GB DDR3 ECC. I do a lot of camera raw processing in Adobe Bridge and Photoshop for travel & outdoor photography and have huge piles of images to sort and process after each outing. With 30+MP images, the 4-core Xeon just wasn't cutting it. This new system chews through a stack of 100 raw images 4.5x faster than the prior system.
I researched various options including:
Intel Core Series -
Positives: Great CPU prices and decent performance.
Negatives: No reasonably priced larger capacity DDR4, hefty price premium for 32GB stick UDIMM's. Limited options for upgrades past 128GB. Only dual channel DDR4. No ECC support and I was not happy with the "RGB gamer style" motherboard options currently available. Limited expandability and limited PCIe lanes & slots.
Intel W-2200 Xeon -
Positives: ECC RDIMM and larger DDR4 capacities, workstation-class motherboard options.
Negatives: Price per core & price per unit of performance still much higher than AMD, lingering security concerns, still 14nm. Only quad-channel DDR4. Huge price premium to jump up to W-3200 series with 6-channel DDR4 and more PCIe lanes. Limited expandability and limited PCIe lanes/slots. A W2200 build was my backup option if the 7302P didn't materialize.
AMD Threadripper -
Positives: High clock rates and core counts, 7nm.
Negatives: Only quad-channel DDR4, still no ECC RDIMM support, more expensive UDIMM ram required, expensive $1,300 entry-level price for 24 cores was not in the budget, higher power consumption, no reasonable workstation-class motherboard options, available motherboards are expensive and looked gimmicky with all the fans, heatpipes, covers and RGB lighting.
AMD Eypc 7302P -
Positives: 16 cores/32 threads for $665 (via HPE deal), great value, 7nm, latest CPU architecture and security, infinity fabric, 1P NUMA, very snappy and responsive in Windows 10 Pro, power efficient for the amount of processing power (16 cores @ 155w/180w TDP), large amount of PCIe lanes, ECC RDIMM support, server/workstation class motherboards. Will transition well into a home file server role when this system is outgrown.
Negatives: 3.0GHz/3.3GHz clock speeds could be faster, especially since 4-5GHz is more common these days, but 16 cores @ 3.3GHz boost speed helps offset this issue. Currently, limited options for PCIe v4.0 motherboards. I ultimately decided to go ahead with a PCIe v3.0 board as I do not foresee needing the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0 devices within the next couple of years. PCIe 4.0 board also use more power and are more expensive to manufacture, so going with a PCIe 3.0 board actually has some benefits for some use cases.
All in all, this build went together very smoothly, no major hiccups. So far, I've been extremely pleased with this build and its a huge step up from what I was using previously.
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