Raptor's Blackbird micro-ATX POWER9 System Is Ready To Take Flight This Week

[coder]

At first I also thought that it's odd that there are only two DIMM slots but then I read the specs. Those slots can already fit 256 GB of memory which is not that bad.

My concern with the DIMM slots is not capacity, but bandwidth. 8 fast cores (32 threads!) is certainly enough to encounter bandwidth bottlenecks. Workload-dependent, obviously, but I'm certain it'd be a measurable amount.

Also, consider that you could have PCIe 4.0-connected peripherals competing for that memory bandwidth, as well. The nominal unidirectional speed of a x16 slot is 32 GB/sec, which is the bulk of what a dual-channel DDR4 config could support.

[coder]

Please test the noise levels (idle, max load) too.
Would like to know if I can put it under my desk to replace my homeserver.

With which CPU? The 4-core config is quoted as 90 W TDP, with 31 W @ idle and 58 W @ full load.

https://wiki.raptorcs.com/wiki/Talos...gy_consumption

Here's an unsupported cooling mod, linked from the Talos II hardware support list: https://wiki.raptorcs.com/wiki/Dual_92mm_fan_CPU

With the quad-core CPU, you could certainly get away with using just one of those fans.

[coder]

ppc64 (big endian) is on maintenance mode (no new features, but will remain available). ppc64le is still fully supported.

Probably too much software now assumes little endian, resulting in too much breakage in big-endian mode.

[starshipeleven]

Usually yes, but not exclusively. I'd be very interested in knowing if there's electronic noise coming from the motherboard. Some designs can cause electronic noise (e.g. high-pitched whines).

It's called "coil whine" and it comes from coils (or chokes, that are still coils but with an external metal casing). Power flowing through them deforms them and causes them to vibrate at the same frequency the power flows (which is usually high frequency), making the noise. General solution is to hotglue them, use heatshrink tube or use insulating paint for waterproofing electronics on the offending coil. Been there, done that.

You can see this done preemptively (blobs of glue or heatshrink tube) on many coils in consumer electronics, usually PSUs.

[Terrablit]

That's a cooler thing.

Usually yes, but not exclusively. I'd be very interested in knowing if there's electronic noise coming from the motherboard. Some designs can cause electronic noise (e.g. high-pitched whines). It's not super-common at the motherboard level, but it's not unheard of. I've got an HP workstation (Z420) that has noise issues, and there was even a BIOS update to help mitigate them by adjusting power management policies.

This sort of thing isn't as annoying in a $100 motherboard, but I'd be irritated beyond belief after dropping $999 and hearing the reminder for the next few years.

[Tomin]

Why dual gigabit Ethernet and only 2x DIMM slots?

Cost. I'm pretty sure that it is much more expensive to design a board with more DIMM slots than with more ethernet ports. The number of traces needed alone is much higher and not to mention the signaling requirements for the higher frequency of DDR4.

At first I also thought that it's odd that there are only two DIMM slots but then I read the specs. Those slots can already fit 256 GB of memory which is not that bad. A more expensive board can fit more memory but that much memory is not cheap anyway so it's probably not the largest extra cost then. This is the more affordable POWER9 board with low volume so they had to do compromises to keep the price down. Higher volume manufactures (which sell x86 boards) can do better because design and other such expenses are shared.

[fuzz]

Gentoo?

[jtoaspern]

Could you also test:
AlpineLinux: https://alpinelinux.org
ArchLinux: https://archlinuxpower.org
CentOS: https://www.centos.org

Parabola would make more sense than Arch though

[c117152]

Could you also test:
AlpineLinux: https://alpinelinux.org
ArchLinux: https://archlinuxpower.org
CentOS: https://www.centos.org

Now that IBM bought Red Hat there's no reason for them to spend resources on it and its derivatives directly.

Alpine is pointless for a high-end workstation.

Unfortunately, Arch would take considerable resources for very little returns over Fedora.

Anyhow, the wiki mentions WIP NixOS and GuixSD. The latter especially is VERY appealing.

[starshipeleven]

Yes I mean the stock cooler which is part of the bundle and the only one available on their website.
I could not find any information

I would not really think the stock fan (AVC DASA0820R2U) is silent, especially because it's a 80mm server fan trying to cool a desktop processor that can reach 160w of tdp.

Still, this isn't particularly hard job for midrange x86 air coolers.

madscientist159
do you know if there are conversion kits to adapt normal heatsinks or other heatsinks for the IBM Power9 socket?