8 ms·

I am planning on making a home-server. Any suggestions for EPYC boards?

by gcells 7y ago

cyphar 7y ago
I'm setting up a home server and decided to just go with Ryzen. You get a bunch of server features (ECC RAM, lots of PCIE lanes, and lots of cores) for a lot less cash than the equivalent EPYC build. Obviously EPYC has a place but for the home usecase you could use a Ryzen as a substitution for Intel Xeons because of the baseline features of Ryzen.
- mfatica 7y ago
  Do you need Ryzen Pro for ECC?
  - mizzack 7y ago
    Nope. Regular Ryzen supports unbuffered ECC modules.
    - mfatica 7y ago
      What about registered (buffered) ECC modules?
      - mizzack 7y ago
        Nope, Ryzen and TR don't. Epyc does.
        mfatica 7y ago
        Thanks!
    - secabeen 7y ago
      Unbuffered ECC modules can be hard to find, though.
  - 2calazm 7y ago
    You only need your motherboard to support ECC (not sure if they all do), that's the only prerequisite.
    - cyphar 7y ago
      They don't all support ECC. ASRock seems to be the most-supported in this category.
- formichunter 7y ago
  Be aware of the fun with numa nodes and AMD. https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/9ngwzf/amd_epyc_on_esxi_6567_numa_issues_mostly_resolved/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/9ngwzf/amd_epyc_on_esx...
  - snvzz 7y ago
    These will be made irrelevant in the immediate future due to Zen2's dedicated I/O chiplet.
- kllrnohj 7y ago
  Ryzen only has 20 PCIE lanes, it's not that much. Basically the same as Intel since Intel uses DMI 3.0 (basically pcie x4) for communication to the chipset. So on Ryzen you get 16x lanes directly to CPU + 4 to chipset where it multoplexes, and on Intel you get 16x lanes directly to CPU + dmi3 to chipset which multoplexes to pcie. Threadripper has 64 lanes, though, which is definitely a lot.
  - MrRadar 7y ago
    Ryzen has 24 PCIe lanes: 16 for graphics (can be split to 8/8), 4 for NVMe storage, and 4 for the chipset. So you get 4 more lanes compared to Intel's consumer platforms.
_JamesA_ 7y ago
I just built my first AMD machine since the Athlon days with an ASRock Rack EPYCD8-2T [0] motherboard and an AMD EPYC 7281 CPU [1]. I upgraded a VMWare ESXi server hosting FreeNAS from a consumer motherboard with an Intel Core i7 3930K and it was completely painless. [0]: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=EPYCD8-2T#Specifications https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=E... [1]: https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-epyc-7281 https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-epyc-7281
- gcells 7y ago
  I've used a lot of ASUS desktop boards and never have been disappointed. However I have heard that they stop pushing BIOS updates for older boards. Have you faces such an issue? My current HP home-server has been with me for ~10years
mizzack 7y ago
Depending on what you're using it for, I would take a look at Threadripper too. There are some crazy deals right now. If you don't IPMI and registered ECC, it's a great option for a ton of cores and PCIe lanes.
- kllrnohj 7y ago
  Threadripper and Ryzen both have ECC support.
  - undersuit 7y ago
    'Registered ECC' is just slightly different than ECC memory, but it's definitely a feature of EPYC, and unsupported on Threadripper and Ryzen.
    - kllrnohj 7y ago
      I cannot find anything at all that supports such a claim. Do you have any links or supporting spec sheets? All I can find are the same "Supports ECC: Yes" listing for Epyc, Threadripper, and Ryzen. The only spec differences I can find for Epyc vs. Threadripper on the memory side of things is 8-channel vs. 4-channel.
      - mizzack 7y ago
        Look at specs for any X399 board and they will say something like "Supports Quad Channel DDR4 3600+(OC) & ECC UDIMM Memory" or "8 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4 3600(O.C.)... MHz ECC and non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory". Both omit buffered/registered DIMMs. AM4 boards have similar verbiage.
      - undersuit 7y ago
        Here's a document from AMD about EPYC: https://developer.amd.com/wp-content/resources/56301_1.0.pdf https://developer.amd.com/wp-content/resources/56301_1.0.pdf They do not mention unregistered DIMMs being supported.
kop316 7y ago
If you are running only open source software, you may want to consider this: https://www.raptorcs.com/ https://www.raptorcs.com/
- walrus01 7y ago
  Starting at $5800? For 5800 I can build one hell of a threadripper or epyc system with nvme storage. I've been seeing people try to make power architecture (ibm) servers a thing for 12+ years now, it never happens, because ordinary developers can't afford them. Compared to what you can put under your desk for a thousand bucks based on any Intel or amd, amd64 architecture system . Or this? https://www.raptorcs.com/content/TL2B01/intro.html https://www.raptorcs.com/content/TL2B01/intro.html $2700 and probably is outperformed by a $150 ryzen cpu on a $110 motherboard.
  - nickpsecurity 7y ago
    "Starting at $5800? For 5800 I can build one hell of a threadripper or epyc system with nvme storage." Except that it won't have open firmware on a CPU hardly anyone targets. Whatever you build will probably be vulnerable. Unless you're running OpenBSD or something.
    - TheOperator 7y ago
      I guess something being such terrible value nobody uses it is a sort of advantage...
      - yjftsjthsd-h 7y ago
        Less used != terrible value.
  - kop316 7y ago
    https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=power9-threadripper-core9&num=1 https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=power9-t... In case you are curious to see benchmarks.

I am planning on making a home-server. Any suggestions for EPYC boards?

by gcells 7y ago

I am planning on making a home-server. Any suggestions for EPYC boards?

I'm setting up a home server and decided to just go with Ryzen. You get a bunch of server features (ECC RAM, lots of PCIE lanes, and lots of cores) for a lot less cash than the equivalent EPYC build. Obviously EPYC has a place but for the home usecase you could use a Ryzen as a substitution for Intel Xeons because of the baseline features of Ryzen.

mfatica 7y ago
Do you need Ryzen Pro for ECC?
- mizzack 7y ago
  Nope. Regular Ryzen supports unbuffered ECC modules.
  - mfatica 7y ago
    What about registered (buffered) ECC modules?
    - mizzack 7y ago
      Nope, Ryzen and TR don't. Epyc does.
      - mfatica 7y ago
        Thanks!
  - secabeen 7y ago
    Unbuffered ECC modules can be hard to find, though.
- 2calazm 7y ago
  You only need your motherboard to support ECC (not sure if they all do), that's the only prerequisite.
  - cyphar 7y ago
    They don't all support ECC. ASRock seems to be the most-supported in this category.
formichunter 7y ago
Be aware of the fun with numa nodes and AMD. https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/9ngwzf/amd_epyc_on_esxi_6567_numa_issues_mostly_resolved/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/9ngwzf/amd_epyc_on_esx...
- snvzz 7y ago
  These will be made irrelevant in the immediate future due to Zen2's dedicated I/O chiplet.
kllrnohj 7y ago
Ryzen only has 20 PCIE lanes, it's not that much. Basically the same as Intel since Intel uses DMI 3.0 (basically pcie x4) for communication to the chipset. So on Ryzen you get 16x lanes directly to CPU + 4 to chipset where it multoplexes, and on Intel you get 16x lanes directly to CPU + dmi3 to chipset which multoplexes to pcie. Threadripper has 64 lanes, though, which is definitely a lot.
- MrRadar 7y ago
  Ryzen has 24 PCIe lanes: 16 for graphics (can be split to 8/8), 4 for NVMe storage, and 4 for the chipset. So you get 4 more lanes compared to Intel's consumer platforms.

_JamesA_ 7y ago

I just built my first AMD machine since the Athlon days with an ASRock Rack EPYCD8-2T [0] motherboard and an AMD EPYC 7281 CPU [1]. I upgraded a VMWare ESXi server hosting FreeNAS from a consumer motherboard with an Intel Core i7 3930K and it was completely painless. [0]: https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=EPYCD8-2T#Specifications https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=E... [1]: https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-epyc-7281 https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-epyc-7281

gcells 7y ago
I've used a lot of ASUS desktop boards and never have been disappointed. However I have heard that they stop pushing BIOS updates for older boards. Have you faces such an issue? My current HP home-server has been with me for ~10years

mizzack 7y ago

Depending on what you're using it for, I would take a look at Threadripper too. There are some crazy deals right now. If you don't IPMI and registered ECC, it's a great option for a ton of cores and PCIe lanes.

kllrnohj 7y ago
Threadripper and Ryzen both have ECC support.
- undersuit 7y ago
  'Registered ECC' is just slightly different than ECC memory, but it's definitely a feature of EPYC, and unsupported on Threadripper and Ryzen.
  - kllrnohj 7y ago
    I cannot find anything at all that supports such a claim. Do you have any links or supporting spec sheets? All I can find are the same "Supports ECC: Yes" listing for Epyc, Threadripper, and Ryzen. The only spec differences I can find for Epyc vs. Threadripper on the memory side of things is 8-channel vs. 4-channel.
    - mizzack 7y ago
      Look at specs for any X399 board and they will say something like "Supports Quad Channel DDR4 3600+(OC) & ECC UDIMM Memory" or "8 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4 3600(O.C.)... MHz ECC and non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory". Both omit buffered/registered DIMMs. AM4 boards have similar verbiage.
    - undersuit 7y ago
      Here's a document from AMD about EPYC: https://developer.amd.com/wp-content/resources/56301_1.0.pdf https://developer.amd.com/wp-content/resources/56301_1.0.pdf They do not mention unregistered DIMMs being supported.

kop316 7y ago

If you are running only open source software, you may want to consider this: https://www.raptorcs.com/ https://www.raptorcs.com/

walrus01 7y ago
Starting at $5800? For 5800 I can build one hell of a threadripper or epyc system with nvme storage. I've been seeing people try to make power architecture (ibm) servers a thing for 12+ years now, it never happens, because ordinary developers can't afford them. Compared to what you can put under your desk for a thousand bucks based on any Intel or amd, amd64 architecture system . Or this? https://www.raptorcs.com/content/TL2B01/intro.html https://www.raptorcs.com/content/TL2B01/intro.html $2700 and probably is outperformed by a $150 ryzen cpu on a $110 motherboard.
- nickpsecurity 7y ago
  "Starting at $5800? For 5800 I can build one hell of a threadripper or epyc system with nvme storage." Except that it won't have open firmware on a CPU hardly anyone targets. Whatever you build will probably be vulnerable. Unless you're running OpenBSD or something.
  - TheOperator 7y ago
    I guess something being such terrible value nobody uses it is a sort of advantage...
    - yjftsjthsd-h 7y ago
      Less used != terrible value.
- kop316 7y ago
  https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=power9-threadripper-core9&num=1 https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=power9-t... In case you are curious to see benchmarks.