Help choosing workstation platform > 64GB DDR4 RAM

[berwick53]

Hey,

 

I’m currently running a 4930k setup with 48GB of DDR3 RAM and I’m looking to upgrade the CPU, RAM and motherboard to be able to use DDR4 memory. My workload is primarly RAM intensive and utilizes one CPU core ~95% of the time and bursts up to 4 cores for the remainder (FPGA design tools). Because of this single-core performance and L2/L3 cache size plays a big impact on performance for me.

Any reconmmendations on what CPU/platform I should be looking at that can support > 64GB of DDR4 RAM? I was hoping to keep the CPU and MOBO cost under £1100.00 GBP so please keep this is mind!

 

Cheers berwick53

[Kenny477]

I believe the only consumer grade platform that supports more than 64 GBs of ram is Threadripper, so you could go with a 1920X and a TR4 mobo.

 

EDIT: It is GBP not USD so you could theoretically go with 1950X

[TheGlenlivet]

Single core performance will be an Intel CPU.  A 7700K with a z270 board will work for you and should make your budget.

It will max out at 64GB of RAM though...

[seon123]

With 4 DIMM slots, you can get up to 64GB RAM. Coffee Lake would fit in the budget easily.

If you need more than that, X299 and a 7900X should cost ~£1000. The lower end options have less cache, but the single core performance should be around the same.

The 6900K is another option, with more L3 cache. It won't overclock as well as Skylake-X.

It seems like Skylake-X has more L2 cache, but less L3 cache. 

[berwick53]

1 minute ago, seon123 said:

With 4 DIMM slots, you can get up to 64GB RAM. Coffee Lake would fit in the budget easily.

If you need more than that, X299 and a 7900X should cost ~£1000. The lower end options have less cache, but the single core performance should be around the same.

The 6900K is another option, with more L3 cache. It won't overclock as well as Skylake-X.

It seems like Skylake-X has more L2 cache, but less L3 cache. 

 

Yeah I was thinking of the 7900X as it's got pretty good SC performance unlike threadripper and can take more than 64GB of RAM. Any thoughts on going with the new Xeons?

[berwick53]

4 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

Honestly depends on what you're doing, but when you hit opteron/xeon level you're going to be paying a lot more for everything.  RAM support can cost more due to ECC requirements.  Even multi-socket mobos that support specific ones can cost more.

Yeah thinking about it, I'm fine not having ECC (would prefer faster RAM instead) and to maximise the use of the RAM going the consumer route seems wisest. Think I'll be heading the way of the 7900x.