S8030GM4NE-2T or ROMED8-2T with EPYC7262?

[Philip Richardson]

I'm planning a combined workstation, gaming computer and server, and after a lot of searching I think I've found the right combo of processor and motherboard. The EPYC7262 and either S8030GM4NE-2T or the ROMED8-2T. Both have huge expansibility, the promise of decent longevity (through their support for upcoming Milan CPUs, and PCIe 4.0).

Does anyone have experience of this processor and/or these boards?

Here are some questions I've yet to resolve:

1) Does the S8030GM4NE-2T work with the EPYC7262? I would have expected it to, but the EPYC7262 isn't listed here: TYAN® Computer - Motherboards S8030 S8030GM4NE-2T

2) Will ROMED8-2T run Ubuntu Server 20.04?

3) Has anyone tried these boards with consumer graphics cards (I'm looking at the nVidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super - either for gaming or Plex hardware transcoding)

4) I've read that it's easier to find second hand ECC RDIMMs than ECC UDIMMs, and therefore using RDIMMs can be cheaper per GB... Looking online that doesn't seem to be true. Where can I find lower cost (used) RDIMM RAM?

My current preference is the S8030M4NE-2T. It comes with onboard connections for 14 SATA drives (I want to connect 22), which would save me buying the HBA cards (and using up a couple of PCIe slots). Also it is listed as being able to run Ubuntu Desktop 19.04x64.

 

[pdaliu]

I have been running LInux Mint smoothly on S8030GM4NE-2T + EPYC 7702P + nVidia Titan RTX + LRDIMM 2933Mhz 128GB x1 + NVME M.2 1TB for months. One M.2 slot is converted to PCIe to host a USB card, which is further connected to the front panel of the case for USB type-c x 2 and one 3.5mm audio jack. I have this setup because I want to reserve all MB PCIe for GPUs, and would like to have keyboard/mouse connected from the front. By the way, sound is import, but a server MB surely does not care about that. I need to create a sound jack myself. So far only two minor issues have ever occurred to me:

1. 10Gbe connection to my QNAP sometimes was lost after reboot. I had to manually unplug and replug to reestablish the connection. Not sure if it's Tyan's fault or QNAP's fault.

2. Some parameters in IPMI cannot be configured. For example, the temperature thresholds for some sensors. This is my first-time use of IPMI, so not sure if I've missed anything. Nonetheless other functions of IPMI have been working very well. For example, remote control and power switch are big plus not seen on regular consumer MBs.

I don't use SATA, so cannot share anything about that; by the way, my LRDIMM was from taobao. Hope these info would be useful to you.

 

[hmw]

I have the Tyan S8030 without the 10GbE NICs, and I’m using DDR4-3200 Samsung RDIMMs purchased from memory.net. If you have a large order - you can always ask nicely for discounts. But if you come across some good pricing for RDIMMs, be sure to let us know in the “Great Deals” section of the forum

 

[Philip Richardson]

Thanks @hmw and @pdaliu I hadn't factored in the sound... could that be resolved with an expansion card?... I'll take a look.

Incidentally, I found an attractively priced 7262 from evaris.com: AMD EPYC 7262 / 3.2 GHz processor - Evaris

Thankfully the contact there pointed out to me that you can only use this processor with HP motherboards... And it looks as though the same is true for the 7232 7252, 7272 and 7282. Can someone confirm that's correct?

I don't need a huge core count, but I want something I can put in a tall tower (Antec 1200)... so, I'm not interested in a Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) solution.

I'll have to go with the 7302. Trouble is, the S8030M4NE-2T specs don't show support for the 7302. I'll have to contact them to see whether that's an omission, or a statement that there's no support for this CPU and mobo combo.

Backup plan is to go with the AS RockRack ROMED8-2T. AS RockRack show support for the 7302 on their site: ASRock Rack > ROMED8-2T

Such a shame not all 7002s will go in any SP3 socket board!

 

[hmw]

HPE sells upgrade kits at very attractive prices (https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...yc-rome-cpu-via-hpe-upgrade-very-cheap.26877/). I purchased a HPE 7302P upgrade kit for my S8030 - and it works fine.

My S8030 build is here: https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/tyan-s8030gm2ne.28914/

AMD Processors have a feature whereby they can be 'locked' to the vendor AFTER first boot in a vendor motherboard. As long as the CPU is new and never been used - you're fine. But just be careful with buying eBay pulls from working systems ...

 

[csp-guy]

HP never locks Epyc CPU to their motherboards/systems, but beware, Dell locks CPU to their systems.

STH article is here: https://www.servethehome.com/amd-psb-vendor-locks-epyc-cpus-for-enhanced-security-at-a-cost/

 

[Philip Richardson]

@hmw thanks for the details - that build description you linked to has a fantastic level of detail (I've decided to change the cooler to the Supermicro one).

Can I check I've understood what you and @csp-guy are telling me? I can buy any 7002 processor and put it in any motherboard with a single SP3 socket, and provided it has never been installed on another motherboard it will definitely work? And the way to get my hands on one of these CPUs is to search for a HPE upgrade kit (i.e. a brand new CPU sold by itself and not part of a pre-built computer)?

Additionally, @csp-guy, I think you're telling me that I could buy a second-hand/used 7002 processor, as long as it hasn't been installed in a motherboard produced by a manufacturer who 'locks' CPUs that are installed on it? And one of those manufacturers is Dell, but HP is not? Are there others you know of? Where are you getting that information?

 

[hmw]

You can buy any 7002 CPU - old or new - and it will work as long as it hasn’t been installed into a motherboard that locks the CPU. As of today, only Dell makes such motherboards hence if you buy a used CPU that has been installed previously on a Dell motherboard - you should make sure that it isn’t locked to Dell

If you buy a new unused 7002 CPU it will just work.

Currently the HPE upgrade kits are selling for more than what you would get the normal CPU for. Check Provantage for example and keep checking the deals section of the forum. The prices vary based on demand. I got the 7302P for $670 and others got it for less. Right now the price is $850.

There’s also a forum section for buying/selling where forum members have been selling EPYC CPUs. As always YMMV (I had someone offer a Ruckus R720 for $250 and then vanished, luckily got the money back from PayPal)

Also - make sure you have the *correct* torque wrench when installing the CPU - if you haven’t installed enterprise server CPUs before - watch loads of videos and take it slow.

good luck with the build and start a thread when you’re starting the build ...

 

[hmw]

Didn't realize you were in Blighty - the Evaris link is actually for a HPE upgrade kit. Here's the upgrade kit processors from HPE - AMD EPYC Processor Kits | HPE Store United Kingdom.

If you will never use this processor in a dual socket motherboard, you can buy the 'P' variant (i.e. 7302P instead of 7302) it's cheaper but uniprocessor-only

This means you cannot use it in a quad or dual socket motherboard like Tyan S8253

 

[Philip Richardson]

It's difficult to explain how grateful I am for your knowledge. You've saved me a whole load of time figuring this stuff out for myself. Thank you @hmw !

And yes, I'll post the build when it happens.

 

[Magic8Ball]

On the topic of P vs non-P processors and single vs dual socket motherboards it's worth a quick read of this FAQ to help answer a bunch of useful questions.

Also, worth noting that there seems to be a tiny bit of uncertainty right now on which motherboards will support the Milan cpu's when they drop next quarter, it depends on the manufacturer to actively enable support which isn't necessarily guaranteed (especially for V1/Naples boards).

 

[Philip Richardson]

OK, so I've bitten the bullet, and bought the following:
Motherboard: ROMED8-2T
- new from LamdaTek (the cheapest vendor I could find)

Processor: EPYC 7262
- 'refurbished' and tested on a HP server... Buying this was a risk worth taking at the price I found. @hmw's post above gives me confidence that if it works in a HP board, then it'll work on an ASRock Rack board (fingers crossed)

RAM: 4 x 16GB RDIMM RAM (M393A2K40BB1-CRC)
- I was looking for RAM that was on ASRock's list of tested memory (is there a difference between M393A2K40BB1-CRC0Q and M393A2K40BB1-CRC?), at the lowest price, while not compromising latency any more than I have to (I calculated that latency will be about 3% greater than my current UDIMM setup, and the throughput will be 50% better!).

Thing is I have these components, except for the RAM (shipping from the US), but I *really* want to find out whether the CPU works... so I'm wondering whether I can temporarily use a stick from my existing server. I have three sticks of UDIMM RAM in my existing server (3 x 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 ECC UDIMM SDRAM Hynix HMT41GU7MFR8C-PB). If I put one of these (by itself) into the ROMED8-2T, will it work? Might it damage the motherboard?

Please only answer if you're confident of what you're saying... I don't want to experiment with a new £550 motherboard.

 

[Magic8Ball]

My ROMED8-2T arrived from LamdaTek literally about 3 hours ago! The prices of these boards is crazy high so it took me a while to justify it to myself, but hopefully worth it in the end. I also saw the great deal on those 7262's but I'd already found an even cheaper 7401 which will do very nicely.

I personally wouldn't take the risk with the udimms even if someone on here says it'll be OK. I'm waiting on ram to arrive from Scan but have ECC udimms sat next to me and they're certainly not going anywhere near the board. It's just one of those occasions where patience is a virtue

 

[hmw]

You don’t want to do that. That’s DDR3 vs DDR4. It’s not the same RAM type and you will damage the RAM socket by forcing it into the socket

I know - waiting can be terrible. You could install just the CPU and then apply power to the motherboard and see if you can login to the BMC interface. The baseband is independent of the CPU and RAM and allows you to control the motherboard. That’s why it doesn’t rely on RAM - or the CPU - at all.

 

[hmw]

Totally off topic BUT ... LambdaTek & Scan - brings back memories ;-)

It’s funny how folks in the Bay Area take availability of electronics and computer parts for granted. Heck even the fact that there’s four major Apple stores within 15 mins of driving

I think other than being in China, the Bay Area is probably the easiest for scoring all hard to get computer goodies ...

 

[Philip Richardson]

Update: The motherboard (ROMED8-2T), processor (EPYC 7262), cooler (SNK-P0064AP4), RAM (M393A2K40BB1-CRC) and HBA (LSI 9240-8i in IT mode) are working well with Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS. Unfortunately, when I add my TV tuner (WinTV QuadHD), the system will not boot. I've tried moving the HBA and putting the TV tuner into the slot that the HBA vacated (so that I know it's not the PCIe slot that's the issue), but no joy.

This card was working in my previous setup (Xeon E3-1230 on a Supermicro board), without any issues. What do you think is going on? Have I had an ESD that I didn't notice?.. I've been careful to ground myself during the build, so it just doesn't seem likely. I've also tried updating the BIOS to the latest version (1.3).

Any ideas why the Tuner card stops it from POSTing?

 

[hmw]

Try the following:

In your BIOS

- Advanced​

- Chipset Configuration: turn on SR-IOV support​

- AMD CBS: turn on IOMMU, ACS Enable and ARI support​

See if that can get the board to at least boot into the BIOS ...

Update:

- When the card is the ONLY thing attached to the motherboard, will it still boot?

- Sometimes the PCIe cards disappear or interfere with the BIOS. On Enterprise motherboards like these, enabling IOMMU, Access Control Services (ACS), Alternate Routing ID (ARI) can help alleviate the problem, but not always

- It could be the card is damaged and/or shorted, in which case the board will shut down

 

[vkEnthusiast]

Is this now a ROMED8-2T users thread lol?
I got ROMED8-2T + EPYC 7502 ES-04 about 2 weeks ago and so far it's been an interesting quest.
FWIW I can confirm that it's running fine with ubuntu 18.04 using both 4.15 and 5.4 kernels.

I've also tried updating the BIOS to the latest version (1.3).
Any ideas why the Tuner card stops it from POSTing?

Could your issue be somehow linked to UEFI vs Legacy settings in BIOS?
Another suggestion I see online is smth about changing "input mode from Analog to digital."

Question - Asus RX 570 No Display(SOLVED)

Hi guys. Yesterday I bought a Asus ROG Strix RX 570 OC and was excited to play games on it but after I installed it in my mobo it won't boot. The led logo on it flashes red and the led1 is lit but led2 is off. I have connected the 2+6 pin from my power supply to it. The post beep is normal and...

forums.tomshardware.com

Also have you tried upgrading your BMC? And how is your new BIOS v1.30 running so far?
I tried updating mine and had to roll it back as right after it I lost BMC/IPMI with heartbeat led not blinking at all. I might try it again later but just curious what's other users' experience with it.

 

[Philip Richardson]

Try the following:

In your BIOS

- Advanced​

- Chipset Configuration: turn on SR-IOV support​

- AMD CBS: turn on IOMMU, ACS Enable and ARI support​

See if that can get the board to at least boot into the BIOS ...

Update:

- When the card is the ONLY thing attached to the motherboard, will it still boot?

- Sometimes the PCIe cards disappear or interfere with the BIOS. On Enterprise motherboards like these, enabling IOMMU, Access Control Services (ACS), Alternate Routing ID (ARI) can help alleviate the problem, but not always

- It could be the card is damaged and/or shorted, in which case the board will shut down

Well this is a bit weird. It's working and I'm not sure why...

I removed all expansion cards except the tuner card and it booted without any issues. I noticed that I was missing a firmware file in /lib/firmware, so I added that and now I can watch TV.

I then added back the LSI 9240-8i in IT mode and unexpectedly the machine still booted!

Thanks for the idea of booting with just the WinTV-QuadHD card @hmw. That seemed to do the trick.

 

[Philip Richardson]

Have you tried upgrading your BMC? And how is your new BIOS v1.30 running so far?
I tried updating mine and had to roll it back as right after it I lost BMC/IPMI with heartbeat led not blinking at all. I might try it again later but just curious what's other users' experience with it.

I've had no issues with the BIOS (except maybe the one with the expansion cards that seems to have resolved itself).

Incidentally, I stress tested the CPU (sudo stressng --matrix 0 -t 10m) to see how good the cooling was with the SNK-P0064AP4 heatsink. Turns out it's epic (idle temp of 24 Celsius in a room at 19 Celsius, and maxes out at 47 Celsius with all 8 cores / 16 threads cooking... That heatsink is £20 - £30 cheaper than the latest Noctua, and it's even easier to install (it comes ready prepared with thermal paste evenly coated on its plate).