Running Clear Linux On AMD's Ryzen + X370: Still Competitive Performance

[liam]

now that *is* interesting. There might be some kernel optimisation work to do for Ryzen. then again, these could be physical limitations of the arch

It's both. Iirc, Ryzen has only 128bit avx, narrower decode and dispatch, smaller ooo window, and that really nasty numa issue between the ccx.
None of these are huge deals, though. It's still a fantastic value, and, except for the last (which has benefits when it comes to scalability), these are things they can improve over the next few years.

[andrei_me]

these are things they can improve over the next few years.

Improve on software side or hardware side? Like new gen/revision Ryzen?

[liam]

Improve on software side or hardware side? Like new gen/revision Ryzen?

Both, actually. At least on Windows we know the scheduler could do a better job, and I'd assume Linux is in a similar position (but i haven't checked out any commits to the scheduler by amd, so, maybe it works in 4.11?). On the hardware side it is as i said: lots of additions to make to the core they would make a big difference in a few workloads. Those changes, however, will make the cores larger, more complex, and use more energy, so, it's a trade-off.

[andrei_me]

Both, actually.

Aahh, I read it before as "wait for next gen" instead of "wait software matures"

[liam]

Aahh, I read it before as "wait for next gen" instead of "wait software matures"

So, there's always "next gen", but ryzen looks pretty damn good (expecially on linux).
I'm looking to get a new (nas) set-up but require/desire ecc (which, apparently ryzen has! but, afaict, NO mobo provides) so, I'll likely go with either ryzen or naples (assuming prices are reasonable --- though I'd honestly prefer a hardware accelerated video encode pathway, but throwing in a small gpu isn't that big of a deal).
I know I've already said this but it bears repeating: amd did a helluva job with this new arch when you consider their resources (in absolute terms, it's still really good, but intel still has the advantages that owning your own fab bring). If you're interested you should checkout realworldtech.com (pcper, iirc, also had a nice interview with david kanter, prior to the release of ryzen, and it's worth a listen) and anandtech.com (not as great as it once was, but still among the best).

[misGnomer]

So, there's always "next gen", but ryzen looks pretty damn good (expecially on linux).
I'm looking to get a new (nas) set-up but require/desire ecc (which, apparently ryzen has! but, afaict, NO mobo provides)

I can't confirm this but I saw someone refer to Asrock's Taichi (X370 board) as supporting ECC functionality already with some other boards accepting ECC RAM but not providing the error correction. Some boards might get ECC support in form of a BIOS/UEFI update I suppose if there's demand for it.

With all Ryzen CPUs actually supporting ECC it just might become a more mainstream option.

Most of the current initial batch of AM4 boards seem to target gamers, but I'm sure the more professional or niche oriented offerings will follow soon enough.

I'd wait a couple of weeks to see how the ECC support issue turns out, if it's an important issue to you, and meanwhile the RAM compability/configuration issues should become clearer as well.

[liam]

I can't confirm this but I saw someone refer to Asrock's Taichi (X370 board) as supporting ECC functionality already with some other boards accepting ECC RAM but not providing the error correction. Some boards might get ECC support in form of a BIOS/UEFI update I suppose if there's demand for it.

With all Ryzen CPUs actually supporting ECC it just might become a more mainstream option.

Most of the current initial batch of AM4 boards seem to target gamers, but I'm sure the more professional or niche oriented offerings will follow soon enough.

I'd wait a couple of weeks to see how the ECC support issue turns out, if it's an important issue to you, and meanwhile the RAM compability/configuration issues should become clearer as well.

Thanks for that, misGnomer.
So, from http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/X370%20...#Specification they support it AND the asterisk doesn't say "Error correction not supported". I'll definitely keep an eye on that, but need them to offer it in mini-itx

[deusexmachina]

So which optimizations will beat ClearLinux on AMD - for those of us who are willing to compile our own kernels?