AM5 VFIO/Workstation/Gaming Rig

Hi,

I’m planning on building my first PC. I’m going to use this PC for programming, data science, machine learning and gaming.

The plan is to have Arch Linux as my main OS and run virtual machines which i can pass my GPU to.

I haven’t built a system before, so I have come here for some guidance. If you see anything that is “weird” about my part list or some part i can change to get a better pc for a similar price, please tell me :slight_smile:

I will buy the parts at the end of this month, so I might choose a 7950X3D over 7950X. I want a silent system which is why I am using Noctua fans.

Type Item Price
CPU AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5 GHz 16-Core Processor $589.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler $109.95 @ Amazon
Thermal Compound Noctua NT-H2 10 g Thermal Paste $29.57 @ MemoryC
Motherboard Asus ProArt X670E-CREATOR WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard $499.99 @ Amazon
Memory G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory $339.99 @ Amazon
Storage Kingston KC3000 2.048 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive $183.68 @ Amazon
Video Card PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6600 XT 8 GB Video Card $469.99 @ Amazon
Video Card MSI GAMING X TRIO GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB Video Card $879.99 @ Amazon
Case Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case $94.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 1300 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Case Fan Noctua Ax25 chromax 60.09 CFM 120 mm Fan $32.90 @ Amazon
Case Fan Noctua Ax25 chromax 60.09 CFM 120 mm Fan $32.90 @ Amazon
Case Fan Noctua Ax25 chromax 60.09 CFM 120 mm Fan $32.90 @ Amazon
Case Fan Noctua Ax25 chromax 60.09 CFM 120 mm Fan $32.90 @ Amazon
Total $3328.75
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Hi,

I have a lot of the same components (cooler, cpu, motherboard, ssd). I don’t know in how far budget is an issue, but you could look into the much cheaper proart B650 motherboard. It was not out when I got my system, but it actually has a nicer pcie layout (x8, x8, x4, x2) vs. (x8, x8, x2), albeit with pcie 4.0.

I’m sceptical of the 7950X3d though, as it seems only one CCX gets the 3d V-cache. This will probably be a scheduling issue on windows and especially linux. I avoided intel due to the heterogeneous cores, which would be an issue with VMs (or at least a hassle)

Otherwise you could consider an extra ssd (or 2?) for passthrough. I got a second cheap ssd (a kingston NV2) which I pass through as a pcie device to my windows VM. It cost only €35 and it probably handily beats a qcow2 or even raw image (though I did not test it, it seems reasonable). The board has 4 m.2 slots so adding 1 or 2 drives to give the VM native storage seems reasonable.

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Its around 200$ USD cheaper in my country, but i think i will go for the ProArt X670E-CREATOR as i want to “future proof” my system a little.

I’m going to have multiple VM’s (more than two) is it possible to passthrough a single ssd and have multiple paritions? I’m a fairly new user when it comes to VFIO, so i’m not sure about the limitations.

I’m also sceptical of the 7950x3d, I will be waiting for reviews when it comes out. It will probably make the 7950x cheaper? Which is a bonus.

P.S.
Added a RX 6600 XT to my components list to use in a macOS VM

I have the same cpu, cooler albeit different colour as well as same motherboard.

For the case fans am I right that the idea is to replace the two existing case fans and install 4 fans 3 in the front and 1 in the back? I will say depending on what you like about the case or sound concerns you might find a better option for you then buying over $120 worth of case fans.

While it may be because I use ecomode I’m not sure if spending the $30 on the NT-H2 since NT-H1 is good as well.

Other then that only comment as someone who also had their first PC build and was planning to do a similar thing albeit less decided on the main OS is that VFIO takes time and patience and while with the PSU you went with it looks like it should be fine it’s probably worth just counting in your head what PCI-E you need vs what is available since I ran into that problem. Though that power supply is fancier and looks like it should have more then enough cables.

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I’m going to have multiple VM’s (more than two) is it possible to passthrough a single ssd and have multiple paritions? I’m a fairly new user when it comes to VFIO, so i’m not sure about the limitations.

You can only pass it through to one machine at a time, but otherwise you can have multiple installs on there (as if you’re dual-booting that one ssd).

You do lose the features of qcow2, like snapshotting etc.

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For the case fans am I right that the idea is to replace the two existing case fans and install 4 fans 3 in the front and 1 in the back? I will say depending on what you like about the case or sound concerns you might find a better option for you then buying over $120 worth of case fans.

Yeah the idea is to have 3 intake and 1 exhaust replacing existing case fans. I want a case with high airflow which is silent, do you have any suggestions?

I know the Fractal Design Define 7 is built for being quiet and the airflow is decent enough.

This is from the reviews I have read/watched though. I don’t have any personal experience with it but have considered it.

I also know wendell has used it, I feel like that speaks well about it.

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Sorry, I don’t have a great recommendation, in my case since it was my first time building a computer and wanted to try and make it as close to future proof as possible I went Fractal Torrent which definitely isn’t silent but before trouble shooting with ethernet problems happened I had placed it two meters away and used a Thunderbolt 4 dock.

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Im wondeing if its possible to gpu passthrough on PCIe slot 2, as I will be passing two gpu’s. Have any of you tried that yet? @quilt @ultraforce

No, haven’t tried. But as far as I know, as it is directly cpu-connected, it should work.

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I went Fractal Torrent which definitely isn’t silent

My torrent compact can be really quiet if I want to. I just set the fans to top out at around 30 or 40%. It gives me a few degrees extra (or maybe 50-100 MHz less) but at a fraction of the noise. I never tested formally, but I can still run all-core loads at around 4.9 GHz with temps capped at 75°C

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I’ve not, I’m not really a tech wizard and after two weekends of not quite figuring out how to pass through an SSD and GPU to a Windows VM I decided to put the GPU back in my old machine and just leave it for when I need to transfer files and as an optional second choice for playing games since it has an okay CPU.

I think it probably is possible but didn’t try it and have enough games and other stuff on my plate that I’m not really interested in doing major experimentation with my computer at the moment.

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Okay, wasn’t sure since while it doesn’t feel too loud to me I have a weird fan curve that I set and set the CPU to eco-mode 105 w which made me feel like I should tell @Solid8 what reviews have said which is that because of all the airflow it’s not a quiet case per se.

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I currently in the same dilemma around future proof choice, but I cannot understand the reason why X670E boards vs X670 do exist.

X670E motherboard prices are bonkers when compared to normal asus prime X670. What do I get for twice the money? Upgrade of PCIE.1 slot from x16 PCIE 4 to PCIE 5? Something that does not even have any use yet?

For that kind of money I would apreciate that bandwith to be distributed between two x16 PCIE4 slots connected to cpu and able to bifurcate down to 4x4x4x4x.

Or is there something I have missed?

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that’s exactly the reason why i think about getting the 7950X3D over the 7900X3D.
8C8T is far enough for a windows gaming vm. Being able to pass a single CCX as 7800X3D is a nice (expensive) solution.
The 7900X3D is cheaper and (at least for me) in total still has enough cores but i guess the scheduler problem is a thing if you pass the full X3D CCX + 2C2T from the non X3D ccx :confused:

So if you can afford it i suggest the 7950X3D is a easier solution for a gaming VM (:

I had the same thought, but it may also be that it is not a problem if the ccx without X3D can use the cache on the other CCX as 4Level cache.
Question is what does qemu make of such a configuration.

@DS_DV have you checked the cache sizes in your VM with coreinfo?

yep … i am quite curious.
i guess ill preorder the 7900X3D asap and test it.
Sadly i am not very competent. I some times can follow guides and i can click on pixels if the are nicely colored.

but in the Linux world some times where UX and even UI are still not the 1st priority i struggle even more than on M$ …

As usual ill just brute force try and error around and maybe i stumble up on a interesting solution.

of course i can keep you posted and test suggestions :smiley:

@Janos the Thread got updated Is it possible to use iGPU/APU as primary GPU? (with dGPU installed) - #9 by DS_DV :smiley:

that’s not a problem as long as you take notes and undo your changes as soon as it is clear that your problem is not solved

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I don’t think there is something you have missed, i guess the pricing on these boards are unreasonable.

why ?
yes they are expensive but unreasonable?
look at the prices of food or other things?
Add that they have pcie5 and look at the amount of pcie5 - look up why pcie5 is such a huge cost adding.
A630 which has no pcie5 is just as “cheap” as 400 Series chipset boards and that even with the inflation.