First Time Builder Needs Advice

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vEj_

New Member
Aug 3, 2019
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Build’s Name: forwardProgress

Operating System/ Storage Platform: Windows 10 Pro

CPU: Xeon W Model W-3235

Intel® Xeon® W-3235 Processor (19.25M Cache, 3.30 GHz) Product Specifications

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SPA-TF-O

SUPERMICRO MBD-X11SPA-TF-O LGA 3647 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

Chassis: Supermicro Superchassis Cse-743Tq-1200B-Sq 1200W 4U Rackmount Server Chassis

Supermicro Superchassis Cse-743Tq-1200B-Sq 1200W 4U Rackmount Server Chassis (Black) - Newegg.com

Drives: TBD
RAM: TBD
Add-in Cards: TBD
Power Supply: with chassis
Other Bits: TBD

Usage Profile: Digital content creation, animation rendering workstation.

I'm not new to computers - I started on a Commodore 64 and have used Macs in content creation for 30 years. Having said that, I'm not a tech-head and need some guidance going forward. I have a budget of $5000 to $10000 - but I'd rather end up closer to five than to ten. I'm not going to be performing the actual build - the IT guy where my wife works will be doing that. He's built hundreds of computers. I will be selecting the various components, however.

I have some really basic newbie questions and need some advice. I'll try to stick to one topic per post:

The MB that I want to use has 12 DIMM slots.

I want to start with just two 64GB modules, leaving the other 10 slots to be filled later. Does that sound technically valid?

Can I mix the DIMM sizes? In other words, could I add 128GB DIMMS to the 64GB DIMMS? Or even get 32GB DIMMS into the mix? Or should they all have the same values?

The specs for the Xeon W3235 say "Max # of Memory Channels = 6".

Does that mean that I should add the DIMMS six at a time or is two at a time OK?

Thanks for any comments or suggestions. I'll be asking more questions, if that's OK.

vEj_
 

Jax_the_Gnome

Active Member
Aug 14, 2014
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Portland
I'm not sure your processor will fit in that specific board.
From the supermicro site: Manual page 35
Memory Population Table for the X11SPA-T/-TF (w/12 Slots) based on the 81xx/61xx/51xx/41xx/31xx and 82xx/62xx/52xx/42xx/32xx Platforms (W-32xx is supported by X11SPA-T only)

You may want to get 6 dimms so that you use all 6 channels.
Page 35 shows that you can use 1/2/3/4/6/8/12 DIMMS.
 

vEj_

New Member
Aug 3, 2019
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I've downloaded the manual for the X11SPA-T motherboard.

One thing that jumps out is this statement that appears several times in the manual:

"Note: 2933 MHz memory is supported by 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable-SP (82xx/62xx series) processors only."

Yet, the Intel Product Specifications for the W-3235 says:

"Memory Types = DDR4-2933"

What's up with that? Who is correct, SuperMicro or Intel?

Sorry if these questions are on the dumb side. I'm obviously not qualified to build this computer but I'm the one that has to choose the components...
 

alex_stief

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2016
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Both are correct. The examples from the Supermicro manual are just not an exhaustive list.
If you care about memory performance you really should start with at least 6 DIMMs.
 

vEj_

New Member
Aug 3, 2019
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Both are correct. The examples from the Supermicro manual are just not an exhaustive list.
If you care about memory performance you really should start with at least 6 DIMMs.
Got you - thanks! If both are correct, then Intel is correct and I can use the DDR4-2933 with that chip/board combination.

Thanks for confirming the 6 DIMM minimum.
 

vEj_

New Member
Aug 3, 2019
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I'm trying to perform my own 'due diligence' and not bug you guys too much - but...

I have read that it's best to buy multiple DIMM chips in kits of 2, 4 or 8 because they are somehow matched to each other. Kind of like guitar amp tubes. ;)

Is this true or significant?

There aren't any 6-chip kits. If I install an 8 now and a 4 later, should I try to somehow match the two sets?

Thanks!
 

vEj_

New Member
Aug 3, 2019
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I hear you. I've been reading some of the articles here and know a lot more about it now than I did a few days ago.

Believe it or not, I'm still working on a Mac G5. I don't upgrade very often. ;)

I had never heard of Rome or Ice Lake or anything like that. I want to build a workstation that I can create 'art' on for the next five years or so - but this looks like a bad time to do it.

Guess I should wait until at least fall to let the dust settle.

Hope I'm still welcome here then. I'm sure you guys get a lot of people looking for free advice.

Thanks to those who responded!

eVj_
 

alex_stief

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2016
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From my own experience of waiting for new AMD products become available: you need patience.
Rome is due to be released Q32019. For me this means end of September 2019. And even after that, availability will be a different issue entirely.

And this whole "matching kit" thing with RAM may be relevant for extremely high overclocks. But definitely not for bog-standard server memory.

Don't worry, asking people questions who know something you don't is the whole point of a forum like this. We all do it.
 

kapone

Well-Known Member
May 23, 2015
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I wasn't trying to be snide or anything. The whole "matched" RAM is a non-issue for 99.9999% of the cases. Especially if you're buying enterprise DDR3/DDR4 RAM, instead of the colorful, fancy heat spreader type of RAM with a name like Predator or Vengeance or something like that...