Information about configuration
 

Hi guys, i would kindly ask for advice.

I have a budget of about 2500 / 3000€, and i'm thinking about a configuration that would be good to perform CFD simulations of about 15M / 20M cells with openfoam, external aero problems.

What do you think about:

Motherboard: Supermicro H11DSI-NT
CPU: 2x AMD Epyc 7351P
Memory: 12 x 8GB 2666mhz

I've read on other threads about a compatibility problem between Supermicro H11DSI rev 1 and Epyc Rome generation, that's why i was thinking about 2x Gen1 Epyc CPU.
But... in your opinion, is it worth to think like that?

As alternative, what different motherboard would you suggest me?

What if i look at single socket motherboard? In that case which configuration would you suggest to me?

Thanks in advance for any answer,
Any suggestion is well appreciated,

Astan

I see a few issues with your plan:
A "P" suffix in AMD Epyc CPUs indicates that the part is single-socket only. If you want to use two Epyc CPUs on the same board, you need to pick a model without P.
Using less than 8 DIMMs per CPU is a big no-no, especially with 1st gen Epyc. Before doing that for budget reasons, I would rather drop down to a single CPU for now.

3000€ is a tough budget for a recent dual-socket machine.
If you decide to go with 1st gen Epyc, then I highly recommend used CPUs. At least on ebay US. Epyc 7601 are being sold for 600$ or less. Beware of engineering samples though, that is a path I would advise against.
And even if you decide to go with 1st gen, it is definitely a good idea to get a revision 2.x board anyway.

I am not a huge fan of single-socket boards for this purpose. Even if you decide to go with a single CPU at first, you can still get a dual-socket board for an easy upgrade path. Unfortunately, Supermicro H11DSI(-NT) is still the only realistic option for dual-socket AMD Epyc.

In conclusion: if you can make dual-socket work with 1st gen CPUs within your budget, it is a valid option. Do not go below 7301 with 16 DIMMs. You can contact me via PM, I have two Epyc 7301 that I don't need anymore.
If you can not get it within your budget constraints, then a dual-socket board with a single Epyc Rome CPU is a good solution as well.

thank you for the reply flotus1, really appreciate it.

I am thinking about what you wrote.

what about Intel cpu? what do you think about intel vs amd epyc cpu in that price range?

Astan

From a pure "how much compute performance do you get for your money" standpoint: it is not looking too good for Intel.
Epyc 7302 sells at around 1100€. It gets you 16 cores at 3.0-3.3GHz, 8 memory channels at DDR4-3200 and 128MB of L3 cache. In a dual-socket capable CPU.
What does Intel offer in that price range?
The closest SKU in price, which is still 2S capable, is the Intel Xeon Silver 4216. 16 cores at 2.1-3.2GHz, 6 memory channels at DDR4-2400, and 22MB of L3 cache.
That's just one example, other price points look similar.

Thank you for the answer flotus1, really really helpfull.

I will think about the configuration and take into account your propose about epyc cpu.

I'll let you know by pm once i'll be a little bit more secure about the config!

Astan