Motherboard and System Reviews

Tom M
Tom M
Joined: 2 Feb 06
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Assuming I can deal with the

Assuming I can deal with the ATX vs. E-ATX form factor difference. (I think I found some E-ATX mining frames)

And presuming I want to build the highest end CPU cruncher to co-exist with with a GPU cruncher on the EPYC platform.

Right now it looks like I can get Epyc 7601's (32c/64t, 2+GHz) for a price I can stretch up to.  And maybe later upgrade.

So Supermicro H11SSL-i REV 2.0 (1 cpu) at $394  (This seems to be the mostly likely GPU cruncher candidate)

Or H11DSI-NT SuperMicro Rev2.0 (2 cpus) at $586

Or AsRock Rack EPYCD8-2T (1 CPU) at $506 (aka: all time GPU cruncher favorite with 7 pcie slots).

Sooner or later I am going to get the "itch" to try to get a 4 GPU rig running at "full speed" which implies I am going to need 4 16x ribbon cables to the MB.

I understand your responses/opinions are time-limited based on current eBay pricing and availability.

Tom M

 

 

A Proud member of the O.F.A.  (Old Farts Association).  Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® (Garrison Keillor)  I want some more patience. RIGHT NOW!

Ian&Steve C.
Ian&Steve C.
Joined: 19 Jan 20
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personally I would go with

personally I would go with the Asrock board, but hold out for a better price.

the asrock board has open-ended x8 slots, which will allow you to plug a x16 GPU or x16 riser into. the Supermicro board has closed ended slots making an adapter necessary. the supermicro board also lacks the dedicated PCIe power plug that the asrock board has, which will be useful for a multi-GPU system that's using ribbon risers and getting power from the motherboard. I wouldn't run more than 2 modern GPUs without this power connection.

the dual socket board is going to be more trouble/expense than it's worth for you. without adequate cooling for the VRMs you're gonna run into performance issues. and without populating 2 CPUs you won't have access to all the slots. (only 4 out of 5 on CPU1). it also lacks dedicated PCIe power connection.

 

don't limit yourself to eBay, keep an eye out for deals from Amazon and/or Newegg also.

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Tom M
Tom M
Joined: 2 Feb 06
Posts: 6381
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RAC: 17299999

Ian&Steve C.

Ian&Steve C. wrote:

personally I would go with the Asrock board, but hold out for a better price.

==edit===

don't limit yourself to eBay, keep an eye out for deals from Amazon and/or Newegg also.

NewEgg has one for $469 (apparently the lowest price Google can find).

Tom M

 

A Proud member of the O.F.A.  (Old Farts Association).  Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® (Garrison Keillor)  I want some more patience. RIGHT NOW!

Keith Myers
Keith Myers
Joined: 11 Feb 11
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I would get that.  That is

  

 

Keith Myers
Keith Myers
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I would get that.  That is

I would get that.  That is the board that both Ian and myself use.

 

Tom M
Tom M
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Keith Myers wrote:I would

Keith Myers wrote:

I would get that.  That is the board that both Ian and myself use.

Is there likely to be a lower price in the next month?

A Proud member of the O.F.A.  (Old Farts Association).  Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® (Garrison Keillor)  I want some more patience. RIGHT NOW!

Ian&Steve C.
Ian&Steve C.
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Tom M wrote: Keith Myers

Tom M wrote:

Keith Myers wrote:

I would get that.  That is the board that both Ian and myself use.

Is there likely to be a lower price in the next month?

my gut says no. but it's really impossible to answer with certainty.

_________________________________________________________________________

Tom M
Tom M
Joined: 2 Feb 06
Posts: 6381
Credit: 9461301642
RAC: 17299999

Ian&Steve C. wrote: Tom M

Ian&Steve C. wrote:

Tom M wrote:

Keith Myers wrote:

I would get that.  That is the board that both Ian and myself use.

Is there likely to be a lower price in the next month?

my gut says no. but it's really impossible to answer with certainty.

Ordered it.  I will shop for ram later.

Tom M

A Proud member of the O.F.A.  (Old Farts Association).  Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.® (Garrison Keillor)  I want some more patience. RIGHT NOW!

Keith Myers
Keith Myers
Joined: 11 Feb 11
Posts: 4957
Credit: 18625638953
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Newegg has been selling that

Newegg has been selling that board for the same price for the past year and a half.

That is probably the lowest price that Asrock Rack will allow vendors to sell it for.

 

Mr P Hucker
Mr P Hucker
Joined: 12 Aug 06
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Tom M wrote:Sooner or later I

Tom M wrote:
Sooner or later I am going to get the "itch" to try to get a 4 GPU rig running at "full speed" which implies I am going to need 4 16x ribbon cables to the MB.

I've got four GPUs connected to one board (only one of its PCI-E sockets) with a 4 way mining multiplexer on USB cables.  Works just fine.  All GPUs powered off a 1kW LED lighting power 12V supply from China Ebay.

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