I want to build a new home lab. Parts I am thinking of + Questions. Last PC build I did was in 2012. Starting budget $1400-ish (to start) with upgrade path to add more stuff as needed
Motherboard: Supermicro H11SSL-i ($375-$500) -or- H12SSL-i ($500-$600)
CPU: Epyc 7551P ($250-$300 ebay) -or- 7401P ($175-$225 ebay)
Ram: 8x16GB Nemix 2666 ($575 Newegg) -or- 8x16GB, ECC/Reg - Unbranded 3200 ($400 on AliExpress)
Cooler: Recommendations? AIO or Big Air Cooler?
PSU: Recommendations? EVGA SuperNova 1000 G+ ($165 Newegg)
Case: Recommendations? Looking for a Mid-Tower
*Can get H11SSL-I +7551P combo on ebay for $700
*Different MoBo??
*Is epyc picky about ram. Can I use AliExpress ram? If so it would save a bit of $$.
Current home setup
Dual core Laptops 8GB ram (Ubuntu)
Quad Core Laptop 16GB ram (Windows + Parsec, runs windows software and Games)
Mini Computer from Aliexpress (Quad Core)
Nimbuster NAS 4x14TB Exos x16 drives, 16GB ram upgrade
2x Rasberry Pis
Mesh Wifi with Ethernet backhaul (4 units)
5 Nvidia Shield Pros (Streaming device, plus thin client for parsec) I have no “traditional desktop”
Uses ( I have 0 legitimate use for EPYC, I just want it)
Proxmox as OS, Then a crap ton of VM to isolate everything (Gota use all those cores right?)
Gaming, ummmm. . . I play a shit ton of Civilization and Starcraft. I dont really “Game”
Media Stuff (Plex, Channels DVR, Downloaders, MCE Buddy)
Video Editing occasionally (Home videos)
Plus any other random stuff I find online
Again a Ryzen 9 would be 10x better for what I need. However EPYC still has a upgrade path. Ryzen is on its last generation. I also like idea of running “SERVER” hardware. Idea is put in 1st gen EPYC (7401 or 7551). Then in a few years as EPYC gets replaces hopefully Ill see price drops like xeons did and I can upgrade to better 2nd or 3rd gen EPYC.
The product page for H12SSL-i states that it only supports Rome/Milan, not Naples (7xx1) - I don’t know if you can get around that with a different BIOS. Some boards do explicitly support all three generations with different BIOS’s (e.g Asrock Rack ROMED8-2T).
Haven’t heard of RAM incompatibility problems with any generation of EPYC, as long as it is registered.
PSU sounds great, even a lower spec one should be fine, but good to invest in a decent PSU.
The Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 works great on my EPYC, never goes above 60C even at 100% load - it is quite tall, though. AIOs with a TR4/SP3 fitting can be expensive. I replied in an older thread about my build details, you might get some more ideas from that thread.
I think OP listed H11 chipset which is Naples/Rome compatible. Asrock rack EPYCD8-2T would also support Naples and is a bit cheaper than the ROMED8-2T. I used a NEMIX ram kit on my epyc workstation that wasn’t qualified for the motherboard (Tyan S8030) and it worked fine.
Note that if you want to do a socket upgrade in the future to Rome or Milan, the H11 will only support up to Rome.
As far as EPYC having an upgrade path, most mother boards can go from 7001->7002 or 7002->7003. I don’t know of any boards that can support both 7001 and 7003.
When it comes to virtualization, you’ll generally want to keep latency sensitive tasks confined to a single NUMA node, and the 7003 series makes this much cleaner to deal with, as the 7002 series has a weird thing going on with CCDs that results in another (smaller) latency’s barrier within a NUMA node, between certain cores.
@xzpfzxds
Thank you for pointing out incompatible motherboard and recommending a cooler. I looked up ROMED8-2T cpu compatibility list. Your right it does support all 3 generations depending on bios. Ill consider this board.
@khoidang
I googled the EpycD8-2T and bookmarked its page. Ill look into it in am. It’s bedtime now. So ty for sharing your experience with nemix memory and non qualified ram.
I did not relize that most motherboards don’t span all three generations. That is quiet peculiar. Im sure there is some complicated engineering reason.
Ok. New thoughts. The Epyc 7002 series is still out of my budget. The 7302 (16 Core) is still $600+ on eBay. That’s a big bullet to bite when also purchasing mobo and other components. I was really hoping to have upgrade path to Milan.
Hmmmm. . .
Even still
Naples/Rome is still far beyond overkill for anything I need (for now).
Another thing to note when buying secondhand, is that AMD implemented a half baked locking system that despite being useful to security, is permanent. So if you put a CPU in certain motherboards, it’s locked to that vendor forever.
You’ll probably find a bunch of CPUs selling for way cheaper marked “Dell” or “Dell Locked”. Those can only be used in motherboards that have a Dell signed bios.
A search of Ebay for me puts a dell locked 7302 at $290, and an unlocked 7302 at $1,120. I find it funny that a CPU can get a $800 discount because it’s chained to a garbage vendor.
@Log
Ty for pointing out the Locked cpu. That was actually a feature I had never heard of until recently on Ellens Degeneres Tech channel (LTT). However it is a good and safe reminder. It would truly suck to get one and not know it.
I realy like the Asrock RomeD8-2t. Sadly at over $700 right now it puts it out of my reach unless I wait a while longer to purchase, Which I might do. I also like that it is pcie 4x16 rather then pcie 3x16 like the H11SL. I also like that asrock comes with 10gig LAN. One less PCIE card I have to add in later.
So my decisions currently come down to cost. I can get a H11SL + a 32 Core Epyc for the cost of just the asrock board. The h11SL board still leaves access to the 7002 line. Again which is still extreme overkill for anything I could need
So rough pricing ballpark on the asrock Rome8d if I go that route for ram+mobo+cpu will be around $1500+ (easily pushing more) vs $1100 on the h11SSL.
So I think my final conclusion is hold off on ordering another 30-60days and continue throwing money into my sock drawer (sock drawer currently has $1300 in it) and wait till i get closer to $1600 in sock drawer till I begin ordering parts.
Any other Mobo sugestions or tips on building my first EPYC pc? Any other semi-affordable mobos that support all three generations (with bios update) that I should read.
****Side note. If Wendell ever happens to randomly read my post. I have been watching your videos for a very long time. I like watching you play with tech I will NEVER afford. Its like “computer porn”. Keep up the good work.
@khoidang
I have not looked at the Tyan S8030. I just googled it and opened up a bunch of tabs. I will read them later when I get home from work.
At moment I am still looking for something that supports Naples. I know it has its drawbacks however at moment I feel it offers good bang for buck (I could be wrong). The Rome chips are still too inaccessible for my home lab budget at moment. My hope is go with Naples today. In a few years when the sp3 servers are being retired and their Milan chips hit 2nd hand market I will be able to “drop in” a upgrade to buy more time on my server.