Dell Precision + Xeons for heavy workloads?

[dLife_dt]

Hi! I do maths and need to run week-long simulations using all cores, and a few times / year for next 5yrs.

 

Could you let me know your thoughts on reliability (cpu,psu) of revamped builds like this one (Precision T7810 + 24 core Dual 2x Xeon E5 2680 v3)?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/174625138291?ViewItem=&item=174625138291

 

Thank you!!!

 

[manikyath]

usually, those boxes are from corporate environments where they get replaced on a regular cycle, to avoid them failing in a mission critical environment. generally the professional oriented desktops are designed with reliability in mind, but failures just end up happening.

 

given that.. i'd say there is a higher chance for an age-related failure (wear on a connector, wonky capacitors, ..) in an older box like this, but if there's no signs of any age-related wear it's highly unlikely to suddenly conk out, as long as you take propper care of it.

[SupaKomputa]

That system is OLD. I cannot recommend it for long term activity. Price is very good though.

If you have more budget get a Ryzen 3950x, 16 cores 32 threads, consume less power but way higher in performance.

[dLife_dt]

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

usually, those boxes are from corporate environments where they get replaced on a regular cycle, to avoid them failing in a mission critical environment. generally the professional oriented desktops are designed with reliability in mind, but failures just end up happening.

 

given that.. i'd say there is a higher chance for an age-related failure (wear on a connector, wonky capacitors, ..) in an older box like this, but if there's no signs of any age-related wear it's highly unlikely to suddenly conk out, as long as you take propper care of it.

Thanks!! Would you expect failures to be more likely in mb/cpu or psu? (latter cheaper fix I expect)

 

For Ryzens I’m having some trouble finding an easy build of similar value (eg 16 cores for <$6-700; 32 cores for <1200 would be ideal; I’m in usa). May be looking in wrong places though; the high core cpus seem niche. 

[manikyath]

5 minutes ago, dLife_dt said:

Thanks!! Would you expect failures to be more likely in mb/cpu or psu? (latter cheaper fix I expect)

 

For Ryzens I’m having some trouble finding an easy build of similar value (eg 16 cores for <$6-700; 32 cores for <1200 would be ideal; I’m in usa). May be looking in wrong places though; the high core cpus seem niche. 

depends on the environment

- if you use it as a hardware test platform (swapping out hardware, so not your use case), a mechanical issue like a connector failing is the most likely thing to go wrong.

- if you have notably dirty power in your area, i'd say the power supply is likely to go out first.

- if the device will run notably hot (dusty environment, no regular cleaning, just in an exceptionally hot room) i'd say the motherboard is going to go first.

 

but all in all, computers failing is a matter of luck (or lack thereof..), you may have one that dies a day after the warranty runs out, or you may have that one box that stays alive for 25 years without any repairs.

[dLife_dt]

1 hour ago, SupaKomputa said:

That system is OLD. I cannot recommend it for long term activity. Price is very good though.

If you have more budget get a Ryzen 3950x, 16 cores 32 threads, consume less power but way higher in performance.

I’m more constrained by value ($/core) and skill (if building myself) than $ per se. Mostly need a long-term backup machine for time-sensitive sims when geneticists clog up my normal cluster. Eg happy to get 32core ryzen + good video card (gaming on side) for 2k. 

[brob]

If your simulations are long running with little to no restart ability you probably want a system that uses ecc memory.

 

You will want to use ssd storage as hdd has a relatively high failure rate.

 

Motherboard, cpu, and memory have very low failure rates. Good, modern psu are very reliable.

 

 

[dLife_dt]

On 2/6/2021 at 2:09 PM, SupaKomputa said:

That system is OLD. I cannot recommend it for long term activity. Price is very good though.

If you have more budget get a Ryzen 3950x, 16 cores 32 threads, consume less power but way higher in performance.

One more thing: seems 3950x rigs I can build (similar to this) are only $~200 more - would those outperform the dual Xeons or did you assume additionally overclocking the 3950x? Thanks!

(comparing scores tricky when dual CPUs or thermals/oc matter so much)

[SupaKomputa]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($723.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler  ($74.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI X470 GAMING PLUS MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Crucial 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory  ($123.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital SN750 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 710 1 GB Video Card  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: DIYPC Solo-T2-R Black USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($116.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1272.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-08 14:01 EST-0500

 

2 hours ago, dLife_dt said:

One more thing: seems 3950x rigs I can build (similar to this) are only $~200 more - would those outperform the dual Xeons or did you assume additionally overclocking the 3950x? Thanks!

(comparing scores tricky when dual CPUs or thermals/oc matter so much)

Motherboard not good, no gpu, PSU bad, no ssd.
Check out above list for the complete set.

Yes 3950x will outperform dual xeon, with much lower power demand & thermals, and overclockable.

[dLife_dt]

9 hours ago, SupaKomputa said:

Check out above list for the complete set.

Yes 3950x will outperform dual xeon, with much lower power demand & thermals, and overclockable.

Thanks, you rock! Really helps to get a sense of $ range.

I was actually hoping for something analogous in a mini-ITX form factor (under 1500)... wondering if I'll get any week-long OC with a Velka 7?

Of course there's plenty of larger ITX cases but as a newbie hard to tell where more volume translates to more airflow...

[SupaKomputa]

Wow that's a super tight case, I don't recommend using 3950x in mini ITX as the board temp might be higher for the cramped space.

Plus you need a mini SFX PSU that can be very expensive if you want high wattage.

[dLife_dt]

8 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

Wow that's a super tight case, I don't recommend using 3950x in mini ITX as the board temp might be higher for the cramped space.

Plus you need a mini SFX PSU that can be very expensive if you want high wattage.

Hmm is there a "smallest" normal-form case, eg budget version of cerebrus X? Don't need optical drives, only 1hdd, and only a mid-tier graphics card.

[SupaKomputa]

Micro-atx would be safer for long term usage. Mini ITX that can run 3950x need a very good VRM / power delivery will cost so high.

You can get a smallish micro-atx, my favorite is Bitfenix Prodigy, not a super small one but very portable.