I dnno bout new build, but I need some help figuring this out (Dual Socket Platforms)

[Aremis]

Budget (including currency): idk 500

Country: USA (MI, Recycle Centers)

 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: I am running linux and doing a lot of high availability compute related things.  Not that I am running GRAVLAB or anything, but I am moving a lot of data, working on a lot of other things, centering my workload on a computer instead of my brain.  If I gotta drop everything and do something else, I don't want to come back and find that this dev kit crashed, took all these files with it, and I didn't have anything big running to save it.

 

I am literally doing anything from streaming source games to literal repository surgery, and everything in between.  I don't screw around.  If I have something I want to do, I make sure I have the headroom.

 

Other details (Dual Socket requirement minimum) High availability resources, init, react, now, not in 2 minutes, now

 

I have a conundrum and it turns out its even harder to replace than I realized.  Over time I have repeatedly blown up boards.  The only machines I don't blow up are laptops, servers, and multisocket workstations.  Example being I was using an X79 build with a 2690 (P9X79LE) and I started to kill 2 sata ports, the sound card, and the ethernet controller.  In the past I have done the exact same thing on all sorts of pieces of hardware.  You know what I haven't blown up?  Multisocket systems.

 

Like I know this shit hard core enough that I'm like....  @LinusTechhire me you're not going to find anyone that knows about this shit desktop wise other than people who are absolute freaks about this shit such as yourself.  Gimme a job dammit lol.

 

This is what I am currently working with.

 

 

 

 

This was a shit load of work.

 

Mac Pro 3,1

2X Xeon E5462

R9 290 4GB (display, amdgpu loaded)

RX 580 (compute, ram, amdgpu loaded)

64GB FBD Ram DDR2 (the reason I can't replace this machine, legitimately, aside from pure platform needs)

Antec Earthwatts Green 650W Silver

Apple PSU (950W Silver)

 

The drives are not inside because while I was wiring in the second PSU I broke the SAS connector on the board.  The plastics are old as shit,so all I can do for now is either have NVMe, I'll explain why thats a bad idea in a minute, or use the ODD sata ports.

 

The reason NVMe is a bad idea is these CPU's are FSB based.  Meaning, you need stuff, you get it now.  DMI DMA whatever takes time to make sure it doesn't need other shit later and modifies bandwidth limits.  FSB just connects you there and is like "Yay I did it" its like.... way better.  Someone make a 3GHZ fsb please I need it.  But, because FSB is FSB, if I download, unpack, write to disk, I've now lost an entire CPU.

 

This machine streams a 1080P image rescaled to 720, playing source games, doing audio, at 48FPS and locked a 5000kbps to twitch.  I was using that X79 box but I started killing it.  I also had a 3900X system during covid and while it could do the stream, if I did a bunch of other stuff, while the CPU can do it, the board still lagged behind.  Something would somewhere and slow everything down.  Believe it or not, reaction to init wise, this is faster.  It shouldn't be, but when you use the intel machine as a backplane and use the GPU's as your heavy load processors, everything else is.... well, everything else that doesn't work when it should?  You start feeling batshit.

 

The other day I went out to try and find any dual socket workstation to at least look at. Not only could I not find a machine, I couldn't find anyone who had a good idea for a replacement.

 

The thing about this mac pro is its an all in one version f the computers that I wanted to build originally.  Rather than this mac pro setup, I wanted dual HAF Stackers, one AMD one intel, network sync'd, to do what I need.  But I couldn't get those cases, still can't.  No one knew how to use them (the idiots) so I've gotta do this instead, which is insanely power innefficient.

 

So, ATP I'm like "Alright, I know EPYC will do what I want.  Or I can go get whatever the hell Dell or HP dual chip box I see and pray"

 

Or @LinusTechsome more for his skull trail stuff.

 

Like legit if you don't need it can I buy it?

 

HACK COUGH Ahem

 

But uh, what should I do?

 

Edit:

I want to continue using high power platforms like this so I can actually expand what I am doing.  Not get a newer peice of hardware that will barely function 10% faster.  Pointless.  I know my workload.  The machine I had before this one was a Precision 670 that I built, quite a while ago.  I scaled up to cover what I needed, but I've been on this level of hardware for a while.  Its the type of computer that I know how to use and am comfortable using.

 

If I was just opening minecraft and abi word, that'd be one thing.  If I could get a talos 2 that'd literally cover everything.  But I don't want to spend 2000 on a board and 3500 on CPU's when I can't use the CPU arch very effectively.  It'd do a lot, but I'd miss out on source engine stuff that I am working on.

 

 

[Aremis]

I want to note, the AMDGPU is important on this machine so I only have to run one driver suite and CPU cache doesn't get hit as hard.  Nvidia to me is a laughable excuse for a graphics card company, so I have 0 interest in getting one, new used or for free out of the trash.  I have a GT730 for fun, thats literally it.

 

No wait I have an 8800GTs OC.  That was when it was actually nvidia though, so I don't really count that.

[SpookyCitrus]

I'm sorry what's going on? 

You want a recommendation for a dual socket workstation to pick up on the cheap?

Or you want a job?

Or is this just some sort of weird flex post?

 

I can't tell because this is the most convoluted post I have ever read on here.

[Aremis]

28 minutes ago, SpookyCitrus said:

I'm sorry what's going on? 

You want a recommendation for a dual socket workstation to pick up on the cheap?

Or you want a job?

Or is this just some sort of weird flex post?

 

I can't tell because this is the most convoluted post I have ever read on here.

I'm looking for a dual socket replacement that won't take me for a deer in the headlights

 

Anything I found was servers, like quad socket servers, or people wanted an incredulous amount of money

 

I'm also just feeling hyped that I was getting shit talked at level1techs and now that I've done a bunch of real world shit I figured out I was actually right and I feel so god damn pumped about it

[SpookyCitrus]

27 minutes ago, Aremis said:

I'm looking for a dual socket replacement that won't take me for a deer in the headlights

 

Anything I found was servers, like quad socket servers, or people wanted an incredulous amount of money

Dual socket is tough, for the exact reason you mention here.

You can look into something like the Dell Precision line of dual xeon desktops. They're going to be the absolute cheapest ones to get into for dual socket, the only problem is that the only ones that are even reasonably priced are going to be Windows 7 Generation or older, anything actually semi new like 10th Gen or really anything that's come out in the last 4 years is going to be around $1000 give or take, minimum. 

 

The reason why so many are called server computers and why they are so expensive is because that's what dual socket is, it's literally a server platform. Anything with more than one CPU socket is going to be considered a server, as multi-socket computers were pretty much solely made as that. Servers.

 

The cheapest dual socket systems you'll be able to find are going to be the Dell Precision desktops on like Ebay. 

 

If you're not using the dual socket system as a server or for server related tasks, there is literally no point in getting one. I think the jist I was getting from your post is that you only want the dual socket system because that's the only thing you haven't been able to break?? If that's the case maybe instead build a system using new, quality parts. If you're other systems are anything like the one in your post I can see why you may have killed as many as you claim.

[SansVarnic]

-= Topic Cleaned =-

Let's be helpful to the OP instead of railing them for their choices.