Xeon E7 8894 v4 - what type of Memory for best performance (single core)?

[MichalPL]

Hello,

Just bought super old used HP DL580 Gen9 with 4x E7-8894 v4 CPU (thought next server will be 2xEpyc,but when realized Gen9 is cheaper than my laptop just bought it )
I need to upgrade RAM to 512GB or 1TB (It will be C++ builder machine, replacing 60core DL580 Gen8 8895 v2 / 1TB DDR3).

What memory should I use for best possible performance (especially single core performance)?

my idea is - DDR4 rank4 2133MHz
but maybe 2666MHz will be faster or other type of memory ?

I read the spec it says that DDR4 1866MHz max are supported, so 2666 or 3000MHz makes no sense?

Product Specifications

quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

and in addition the RAM cassettes in DL5800 G9 has chips on it who are probably not super fast too.


Best regards,
Michal

 

[Wasmachineman_NL]

Faster RAM will just underclock to the nearest JEDEC spec.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

E7-8894 v4 supports up to DDR4-1866 or DDR3-1600. I assume the question may be what is better, higher throughput of DDR4 memory or lower latency of DDR3. and the answer - it depends:

 

[i386]

I read the spec it says that DDR4 1866MHz max are supported, so 2666 or 3000MHz makes no sense?

yes and no.
Technically the are no adavantages to use faster ram as you will be limited by the cpu. But the "older" ram is harder to get and 2666MHz (or faster) ram is cheaper than 2133 or 2400MHz dimms (at least here in germany and buying new instead of used).

Spoiler: Examples from mindfactory (retailer in Germmany)

Samsung 2666 ddr4, dual rank 32GB: 94€ + shipping
Samsung 2133 ddr4, dual rank 32gb: 189€ + shipping

 

[MichalPL]

E7-8894 v4 supports up to DDR4-1866 or DDR3-1600.

Do you thin can I insert DDR3 cassette (1TB Samsung DDR3 1866 inside) from dl580 gen8?

 

[MichalPL]

yes and no.
Technically the are no adavantages to use faster ram as you will be limited by the cpu. But the "older" ram is harder to get and 2666MHz (or faster) ram is cheaper than 2133 or 2400MHz dimms (at least here in germany and buying new instead of used).

Simple logic: used computer - used memory
Here in Poland can find DDR4 2133 used Samsung 4x4 32GB for about 57€ net/unit

And 2666 used is more like 75€ net

Is it woth it? Maybe CL in 2666 @ 1866 will be better?

Unfortunatelly HP DL580 is strange and I dont fully understend how it works. E5 1650 v2 or 1660 v3 was super clear and fun plaing with DDR3 @ 2133 ECC or 1660 v3 @ 5.1GHz (almost) all core.

 

[nutsnax]

Side question for anyone that might know:

What would the performance difference be like between something like this with PCI-E gen 3 SSD's and a dual Epyc 7282 server with 256GB RAM and PCI-E gen 4 SSD's for heavy database usage, Tableau Server etc with ESXi?

Would the dual Epyc server be worth the additional price?

 

[MichalPL]

Old builder DL580 G8 4x8895 v2 (60 cores 3.2GHz all core, 3.6 boost) does 28GBytes/s peak on software raid. TR 3970X 32 core @ ~4.6 PCIe 4.0 is (much) faster in any task.

But my case is compile C++ things, link then copy 50..150GB build, database can be different.

 

[nutsnax]

Old builder DL580 G8 4x8895 v2 (60 cores 3.2GHz all core, 3.6 boost) does 28GBytes/s peak on software raid. TR 3970X 32 core @ ~4.6 PCIe 4.0 is (much) faster in any task.

But my case is compile C++ things, link then copy 50..150GB build, database can be different.

Thanks, so yeah makes sense that sequential is way faster. Just wondering if the CPU architecture is enough of a step-up to warrant the additional cost and headache of doing a custom build.

I have to put together an ESXi box for my company to consolidate a bunch of other boxes. I'd rather use Epyc but these older servers are REALLY tempting. This server is going to get absolutely hammered with database stuff and things like analytics etc so I'm trying to decide which way I want to go and to hopefully future-proof things.

 

[MichalPL]

Same here, TR 3970 256GB was a custom build ~1.5 year ago. But DL580 G8 60 cores 1TB was way cheaper, and quite fun to play with. Now the strategy was clear: only new TR or waiting bit for new Dual Xeons based on 12gen. But when you see G9 96cores Xeon v4 for 1450€ net you are clicking buy without thnking The only and big issue is no big IPC increase between 3 to 10gen. IPC in TR 5000 is amazing, same with desktop intel 12gen.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

Do you thin can I insert DDR3 cassette (1TB Samsung DDR3 1866 inside) from dl580 gen8?

Your CPUs model support DDR3 memory, but HP DL580 Gen9 doesn't. I'd suggest you read in-depth pages 48-53 in the service manual.

 

[nutsnax]

Same here, TR 3970 256GB was a custom build ~1.5 year ago. But DL580 G8 60 cores 1TB was way cheaper, and quite fun to play with. Now the strategy was clear: only new TR or waiting bit for new Dual Xeons based on 12gen. But when you see G9 96cores Xeon v4 for 1450€ net you are clicking buy without thnking The only and big issue is no big IPC increase between 3 to 10gen. IPC in TR 5000 is amazing, same with desktop intel 12gen.

So the question would be 32 cores of epyc or 96 cores of v4 Xeon?

 

[MichalPL]

Your CPUs model support DDR3 memory, but HP DL580 Gen9 doesn't. I'd suggest you read in-depth pages 48-53 in the service manual.

Hmmm, probably I must run passmark and compare LRDIMM quad rank vs RDIMM dual rank - no clear answer what will be faster :/
And test all modes 1866MHz and Performance
with 1600MHz max... ?

 

[MichalPL]

So the question would be 32 cores of epyc or 96 cores of v4 Xeon?

Don't know yet, esspecially when I am comparing it to slightly overclocked watercooled TR

My guess is 96cores v4 will be faster than any 32 Core Epyc or TR. But 48 Epyc zen3 can be faster, 64cores for sure.

In a few days I will check if the 8895v2 @3.6 is faster (single core and IPC) or 8894v4 @3.4 - it's not clear remembering 1680v2 and 1660/1680 v3
And what will be allcore speed in 8894v4inside HP server.

And still not clear with memory - they can change results a bit.

 

[MichalPL]

Ok they are super cheap (used) so bought 2 variants, because it's not clear from the documentation what will be faster:

test1:
8x Samsung 32GB 2133MHz 4Rx4 LRDIMM CL15 1.2V //56EUR net M386A4G40DM0-CPB

test2:
8x Samsung 32GB 2400MHz 2Rx4 RDIMM CL17 1.2V //54.3EUR net M393A4K40CB1-CRC0Q

will see, if more ranks = better, or RDIMM better CL @ 1866MHz should be same (I hope )

 

[nutsnax]

Ok they are super cheap (used) so bought 2 variants, because it's not clear from the documentation what will be faster:

test1:
8x Samsung 32GB 2133MHz 4Rx4 LRDIMM CL15 1.2V //56EUR net M386A4G40DM0-CPB

test2:
8x Samsung 32GB 2400MHz 2Rx4 RDIMM CL17 1.2V //54.3EUR net M393A4K40CB1-CRC0Q

will see, if more ranks = better, or RDIMM better CL @ 1866MHz should be same (I hope )

What is power consumption like on these at idle and full load?

 

[MichalPL]

What is power consumption like on these at idle and full load?

I dont know yet - I will test it soon, G8 with 4x8895v2, with DDR3 1TB was about ~240W up to ~1300W

 

[MichalPL]

lol - first results, G9 is sloooooooooow - still trying to setup it properly because "best performance" in UEFI isn't the best choice (boost not working properly).

Passmark (new one):
G9 (8894v4) multicore: ~55000, single core: ~1750
G8 (with 8895v2): ~51000, single core: ~2000 (other platforms not from HP can do more from same CPU's :/ ~57000)

for comparation:
1650v2 @ 4.2, single core: ~2400
TR 3970X, single core: ~2840 (multicore: ~66000)
1660v3 @ 5.1, single core: ~3100
5950X: ~3750 (multicore: ~50000)
12900k DDR5: ~4300 (multicore: ~43000)

what is good, G9 is booting from NVME

 

[nutsnax]

lol - first results, G9 is sloooooooooow - still trying to setup it properly because "best performance" in UEFI isn't the best choice (boost not working properly).

Passmark (new one):
G9 (8894v4) multicore: ~55000, single core: ~1750
G8 (with 8895v2): ~51000, single core: ~2000 (other platforms not from HP can do more from same CPU's :/ ~57000)

for comparation:
1650v2 @ 4.2, single core: ~2400
TR 3970X, single core: ~2840 (multicore: ~66000)
1660v3 @ 5.1, single core: ~3100
5950X: ~3750 (multicore: ~50000)
12900k DDR5: ~4300 (multicore: ~43000)

what is good, G9 is booting from NVME

That lower clock is hurting things on the 8894 v4.... but I didn't think that it would hurt it THAT much!

So if I'm reading this correctly, a single 5950x is nearly equal to a single 8894 v4?

 

[BoredSysadmin]

PassMark - AMD Ryzen 9 5950X - Price performance comparison - the result is bit under 46k
Passmark doesn't yet have results for quad E7-8894, but its smaller cousin quad E7-8880 (24 vs 22 cores and 165W vs 150W TPD)
PassMark - [Quad CPU] Intel Xeon E7-8880 v3 @ 2.30GHz - Price performance comparison - 50k

So if I'm reading this correctly, a single 5950x is nearly equal to a QUAD 8894 v4?

FTFY, and yes.