EPYC Naples build

I’m currently running Proxmox an old t620 with dual e5-2697 v2 to host all my VMs etc. Mostly a big docker VM, Windows VM and a few others, most notably the plan to add a second NAS, which would be house in this new server.

I also have a Ryzen 5 3600 based desktop build that I just use as a desktop with some light gaming (dota2 mostly).

Looking at the possibility of downsizing and reducing both power and noise by combining the server and the desktop into one.

I’ve read a lot that slates the EPYC Naples architecture and was wondering if it’s really that bad? Mostly, I’m toying with either a 7351P (£300) or a 7401P (£170).

I appreciate the most limiting factor is likely to be the single core performance, and noted that the 7351P shared its 64MB L3 cache with less cores.

Are either of these chips sensible choices for my needs? Budget is a real constraint here. I’d be stretching for the 7351P here, and part of me is thinking that the 7401P could be a good stepping stone along the way to a Rome based EPYC as they become more available preowned.

Planned spec:

EPYC 7401P or 7351P
Supermicro H11SSL1-I
Noctua NH-U14S
Meshify 2 XL

With drives, RAM etc.

Having a server on your desktop is generally a bad idea. Using your server as a desktop is a security risk. Be aware that server hardware has some pre-defined hardware assumptions/requirements regarding cooling and a desktop case can’t provide these requirements. My advise: keep them separate.

Consider an alternative, in this case the AMD 3000 series SoC. Gigabyte offers the MJ11-EC0 (based on the 3151 SoC: 8 core/16 thread), Zen-2 based, mITX so quite efficient in terms of space and power requirements. Comes with SoC and cooler already installed. No idea where you’d get one in the UK, but a Polish supplier offers them reportedly for about $500 US, plus shipping. I’m aware Asrock also offers boards for the 3000 series SoC platform, but I haven’t seen those for sale “in the wild” yet.

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Can you elaborate on the security risk? Not ignoring the advice at all, just aware of Cloud desktops etc, which are essentially just VMs in a server aren’t they?

Edit:

I realise it may not be clear that my intentions are to run the whole thing on Proxmox/Hypervisor, and then run my desktop as a VM with GPU/disk passthrough. All the other server elements will then just run in their own VMs as normal. I won’t be natively installing self hosted stuff to my desktop OS or anything like that. The plan was to just move my physical desktop into a VM.

i’m not sure about epyc 3k being zen2 yet.

As far as i remember, Naples should also be overclockable.

And yes, naples is bad in comparison to anything after it.
Broadwell level performance.
but more cores.

Sure, but Rome chips are approx 5 times as much new, and 4 times as much used in the UK from what I can find. Milan obviously even more ££. My whole budget is about 1.2k, so I’m just wondering if the 7401P is really that bad compared to its peers in the same (current) price point for used chips.

Would it be awful? Some comments imply it’s not worth buying them, but from the benchmarks 1 x 7401P is comparable to 2 x E5-2697? With the added benefit that the mobo can later be fitted with a 7002 series, uses less power, and I can fit it to a chassis with less noise (but ample airflow).

I totally understand that I’m not going to get Zen2 performance in my virtualised desktop. But will the 2GHz base, boosting to 3GHz be really that bad for someone who’s heaviest load is casual light gaming? It feels like it should be ok, but I don’t have hands on experience.

I don’t have hands on experience with naples either.
Both ES i have here don’t make it through post.
luckily they aren’t mine, and it’s not my fault.

Yes, price wise, Naples is more affordable and available then Rome or Milan.

One advantage you have with Naples is the mentioned overclock-ability that i’m pretty certain naples has.
Only Rome ES share that in part due to buggy FW apparently.

So, i recon that you will be able to crank it up enough that it will perform like a R7 1700 in single core which should be like that of a HEDT Broadwell, and outperform them and Xeon Broadwells on multicore.

And hence, should be a decent bang for the buck

As far as i remember, Naples should also be overclockable.

I believe that’s only special engineering samples that can do that.

Naples: Overclock your AMD Epyc | ServeTheHome Forums

Rome: Finally: Overclocking EPYC Rome ES | ServeTheHome Forums

Have a look at that thread please, second or third post from a certain Nero states retail naples to also be unlocked. That is a claim and dude i trust so far. But have a look what others report.

You could also watch the der8auer video on his world record in that regard.
Pretty sure he didn’t have ES.

Ah I think you’re right, my memory had conflated Naples and Rome together.

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Thanks, it’s helpful to have someone else sanity check as it feels like good bang for buck, but I’ve read a ton now and it’s hard to tell if I just want it to be true, or if it’s objectively actually sensible!

From my reading, it is possible, and definitely a consideration! I think I’d want to run stock a while to get used to the chips normal behaviour, but I do like this as a way to get a little more value, esp. @ £170/chip. I’m pretty sure I saw it on a tech review site somewhere explicitly mentioned with the base clock @ 100MHz and a multiplier of 20 that can be altered.

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