Hello all. I’m planning a developer workstation build to work on my own software to push the boundaries of personal computing. I run Guix System with non-libre kernel as my OS.
(UPDATED with final specs and some findings)
CPU: AMD Threadripper Pro 3975WX
I considered the 16 core variant (because cost), but I imagined being limited by core count for what I have in mind. The 64 core is prohibitively expensive. (This was the right choice.)
Motherboard: Asus WRX80E-SAGE
Gigabyte is dead to me as a brand. The Asus seems like a nicer board than the Supermicro, with dual 10 gig network ports for one. Post-build: This is a great board. So happy to see a consumer motherboard that isn’t plastered in useless gimmicks. Admittedly, it is very expensive. Can take literal minutes to boot, especially after toggling mains power, for some reason.
Memory: 32GB x8 Registered ECC MTA18ASF4G72PDZ-3G2E1
Populating all 8 channels is a must Threadripper Pro platform, otherwise you’re not taking advantage of the extra bandwidth. Putting “just” 16GB per channel to max out at 128GB felt short sighted for this build.
Storage: Intel P5800X Optane and 4x 1TB P31 raid0 array
Since this is platform to push my limits as an engineer, I wanted to be on the cutting edge of storage today, hence the Intel. I have a NAS connected over 10gb link for archival and the raid array is a larger work drive. The 4 drive array is sitting in the Asus Hypercard that came with the motherboard. Note that you have to change the bios settings for the PCIe slot to x4/x4/x4/x4 somewhere deep in the bios.
GPU: AMD W6600
Was going to use an old HD 6870 that I have, but it has failing and noisy fans. Saw this card at msrp and felt it was right for what I need. Naturally still overpaid in the current market for what the card can do. (Beware this card requires fairly recent kernel, mesa, xf86-video-amdgpu, etc) Note, BMC VGA might need to be disabled for older hardware to work.
PSU: 1300W Seasonic Plat
Cooling: Noctua nh-u14s + nf-a14 for push pull
Air cooling since I didn’t want to mess with water for such expensive hardware and wanted a reliable system in the long term. Idle CPU hovers around 40C, goes up to perhaps 70C under heaviest loads. This is 20C under the 90 max for this CPU which is fine by me.
$ sensors # Idle
k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
Tctl: +35.4°C
Tccd1: +35.2°C
Tccd3: +41.5°C
Tccd5: +40.0°C
Tccd7: +36.2°C
Case: Fractal Torrent in Gray
Pretty, amaze airflow, quiet with the right fan profiles (configured over BMC only on the Asus).
HOWEVER, the case is NOT built well contrary to the reviews. All the thumbscrews aren’t, you need a screwdriver. One of the USB ports on the front panel was dead, had to solder a wire back on. Its kind of dogshit with (not enough) hotglue and stuff in there the way its built. All the case trim is plastic, which surprised me coming from an old premium CoolerMaster case, which was all metal. It is very well designed, but just OK in terms of materials and construction. One of the 180mm fans makes a noise. In a gist, its a cheaply made pretty thing, I don’t care what anyone says.
To no fault of fractal, the case is a bit small for this board. I would consider Lian Li (for an all metal construction) or a Fractal Meshify XL for an easier fit.