ASRock Rack EPYCD8-2T Makes For A Great Linux/BSD EPYC Workstation - 7-Way OS AMD 7351P Benchmarks

[phoronix]

Phoronix: ASRock Rack EPYCD8-2T Makes For A Great Linux/BSD EPYC Workstation - 7-Way OS AMD 7351P Benchmarks

If you are looking to assemble an AMD EPYC workstation, a great ATX motherboard up for the task is the ASRock Rack EPYCD8-2T that accommodates a single EPYC processor, eight SATA 3.0 ports (including SAS HD), dual M.2 PCIe slots, dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports,and four PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots all within ATX's 12 x 9.6-inch footprint. This motherboard has been running well not only with various Linux distributions but also DragonFlyBSD and FreeBSD.

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=27593

[torsionbar28]

That looks like a really nice EPYC board. With dual M.2 and onboard 10gbe, it may be a better workstation board than the Supermicro X11SSL. Personally I'm waiting for AMD to release lower TDP models (EPYC 5000 series?) before I swap out my old Opterons. An 8c 2.9Ghz with 4 DDR4 channels at 65w TDP would be perfect.

[schmidtbag]

That looks like a really nice EPYC board. With dual M.2 and onboard 10gbe, it may be a better workstation board than the Supermicro X11SSL. Personally I'm waiting for AMD to release lower TDP models (EPYC 5000 series?) before I swap out my old Opterons. An 8c 2.9Ghz with 4 DDR4 channels at 65w TDP would be perfect.

Why not get a Threadripper build and just underclock it? Keep in mind Epycs have 8 memory channels and at this rate, I'd be surprised if they're even going to make 16 core models in future generations. Seems AMD didn't bother making a 2nd gen Threadripper with 8 cores so I don't think they plan on making those anymore either.

[Yoshi]

Michael could you tell me which ram you've used? The QVL from ASRock Rack isn't really helpful with only a handful of modules. I'm really thinking about getting an EPYCD8-2T or a Gigabyte MZ01-CE0. The later has way more tested memory in the QVL. Sure, I know that doesn't mean anything, but maybe I'm lucky and you tested somewthing that isn't mentioned in the QVL. Thank you in advance.

[Michael]

Michael could you tell me which ram you've used? The QVL from ASRock Rack isn't really helpful with only a handful of modules. I'm really thinking about getting an EPYCD8-2T or a Gigabyte MZ01-CE0. The later has way more tested memory in the QVL. Sure, I know that doesn't mean anything, but maybe I'm lucky and you tested somewthing that isn't mentioned in the QVL. Thank you in advance.

Crucial Technology 4GB 288-Pin RDIMM DDR4 (PC4-21300) Memory Module, CL=19, Registered, 2666 MT/S Speed, ECC, 1.2V, 512Meg x 72, Single Ranked, x8 Based are pretty much my go-to modules for usually being the best deal and working on all EPYC (and Xeon) boards I've tried.

[torsionbar28]

Why not get a Threadripper build and just underclock it?

ECC memory, mainly. AFAIK not officially supported on Ryzen or TR.

Keep in mind Epycs have 8 memory channels and at this rate, I'd be surprised if they're even going to make 16 core models in future generations. Seems AMD didn't bother making a 2nd gen Threadripper with 8 cores so I don't think they plan on making those anymore either.

I think you have outdated info. No, all EPYC chips do not have 8 memory channels. See the EPYC 3000 series which offers 4 channel and even 2 channel models. EPYC 3000 series also offers 8 core models, and even 4c/8t and 4c/4t models.

The fact they have a 7000 series 'big' EPYC for large servers, and a 3000 series 'small' EPYC for embedded, certainly leaves open the possibility of future 5000 series 'medium' models, with desktop/workstation oriented 65w and 95w TDP's.

[tildearrow]

ECC memory, mainly. AFAIK not officially supported on Ryzen or TR.

What? I thought Threadripper processors supported ECC memory? (especially the WX ones)

[torsionbar28]

What? I thought Threadripper processors supported ECC memory? (especially the WX ones)

It's more like 'maybe'. Just like Ryzen, the on-chip memory controller has the functionality, but it's not officially tested or supported by AMD. Instead, it's up to the individual board manufacturers to support ECC. I'm not interested in playing that game.

Edit: Looks like you're right about the new WX ones having official ECC support. But they're well above the TDP range I'm shopping for, so not really interesting to me. Plus not all TR boards support ECC, so even if the chip has it, board support is still a 'maybe'.

[Yoshi]

Isn't this more a theoretical thing? I've got a 1st gen Threadripper (1950X) and afaik all TR4 boards support ECC, personally I've tested Gigabyte X399 Aorus Gaming 7 and ASRock X399 Taichi. Both have working ECC.

[torsionbar28]

Isn't this more a theoretical thing? I've got a 1st gen Threadripper (1950X) and afaik all TR4 boards support ECC, personally I've tested Gigabyte X399 Aorus Gaming 7 and ASRock X399 Taichi. Both have working ECC.

There is lots of internet discussion about this. No, all TR boards do not support ECC. The official stance from AMD, is that for Ryzen and TR, the decision to support ECC is up to the individual board vendor. OTOH, with EPYC, it is a mandatory feature.

Plus there is the problem of compatibility. Even if a TR board supports ECC, the board manufacturer will often qualify only non-ECC DIMMS, so you are left to 'gamble' on an expensive DDR4-ECC purchase which may or may not work. I'm not interested in doing this.

See here: https://community.amd.com/thread/231484

And here: https://forums.servethehome.com/inde...cc-mode.19436/

Looks like you just happen to have two of the boards that do.