I’m considering building a home workstation that is based on Threadripper or maybe Ryzen. I’m a software developer, I write code that works exclusively on Linux, so I need an extremely stable platform where I can compile, test code, run VMs, couchdb, etc., on Linux. I won’t be overclocking the system at all, however I will be running code on it sometimes for days at a time, so stability is a must, which means that I will be running it with ECC. The risk is not worth it with non-ECC RAM. It’s also likely that at some point in the future I will try to install No Man’s Sky on a separate HDD with Windows, but games aren’t a priority – just a distant second thought.
If I were at work, I’d have just ordered a Xeon workstation from HP or Dell and installed Linux on it. Their products work flawlessly with Linux, but are quite expensive and I don’t want to spend so much money from my own pocket. I also have a problem at home with available space, the best I can do is probably an mATX or mITX system.
My first choice is the Asrock X399M Taichi with TR 1900X/1920X/1950X (max. 180W). I’d pick memory that’s in the approved list by the vendor, probably something like 2400MHz@CL16. Quad channel is also an advantage here.
The thing is, I can also do well with a Ryzen 2700x system, and the total cost of the platform would consequently be less than with a TR. But I need a decent mITX/mATX motherboard that plays well with ECC memory, can support the processor running at max. for long periods of time, and works flawlessly with Linux. I was thinking of getting the Asus ROG Strix X470-I Gaming but I don’t think it supports ECC memory, so that’s a bummer. Tbh, most of the consumer B450/X470 boards seem a bit of a letdown.
So, my question is, does anyone know a workstation worthy mATX/mITX board for running Ryzen 2700x on Linux & ECC?
“More juice” is always nice to have and it’s something I can always use more of, and the TR1900X is just slightly more expensive than a 2700x.
One thing that worries me is experiencing general system instabilities due to bad ram, the whole thing burning out because I have pushed it too far, or because the system isn’t really compatible with Linux.
I love TR for dev but the 2700x was so fast under load that I would seriously consider swapping 1950x for 2950x (dont know about the 32 cost/performance yet) .
Go for the 2666 ECC minimally, or 2933 ECC if you can find it. I would love to get my hands on some official 3200 ECC but so far that’s DIY only.
This is also great advice for a lower cost dev box. You might tweak your scheduler to be more responsive under heavy load? Might be my only advice. the 2700x is beastly. Especially if you dont plan to overclock because of its built-in features for stuff.
Based on the news today, the 1950x appears to be 2x2700x on one cpu… which makes me a bit giddy for this type of stuf.f
I need an open source to show off for an upcoming devops video – anyone got any ideas for what project to use? something with really awesome built-in unit tests.
