My impressions of the 2990WX after building and using it.

[Markfw]

First, this thing is a monster ! I first used the air cooling Noctura at stock(3.4 all core turbo, 1.040 vcore), and it would keep it under 75c, OK that's reasonable. Power was right in line, about 250 watts for the CPU, in spec. So far I have not been able to get 3600 memory above 3000 on the MSI motherboard, also since I have 8 x 8 gig sticks, that may be a limiting factor.

But you all know me, I can't have stock ! So I got a custom water cooling setup with a 360x60mm radiator. Well, I wanted 4 ghz, and it will do it at 1.35 vcore, but the temps skyrocket with sustained use, and I can't have that.

So after playing around a lot, I have settled on 1.15 vcore and 3700 all core turbo@65c sustained 100%load for 64 threads and a 1080TI, It draws 600 watts from the wall, and I know the 1080TI at 100% F@H load is 250 watts, so the CPU is using about 300 watts. (50 watts for the PUMP, 7 case and rad fans, and a SSD, and NVME drive, and the motherboard). Only 50 watts over for about a 10% speed boost. I think thats a nice compromise for 100% load 24/7/365 (my cancer research for BOINC and F@H) Its currently running Linux and Win 10 in a dual-boot setup.

If you have any benchmark requests (using free downloadable software) I can do this, but I want to stick to the stable 3700 setup I have. Also, feel free to comment, but I would like objective feedback, and keep it civil.

 

[whm1974]

Just how much did you pay for the CPU and the rest of the setup?

 

[DooKey]

What version of Linux are you running?

 

[Markfw]

Just how much did you pay for the CPU and the rest of the setup?

About $6000 total. $1800 CPU, $500 MSI motherboard, $1007 64 gig of 3500 ram, $500 970pro NVME, about $600 for the water cooling, $730 for the 1080TI FTW3, and $410 for the 1500 watt Corsair PSU, and the rest.

Edit : actually I also have a x399 Taichi (in case I need it) and a Enermax AIO TR4 kit that I was going to test. but in the process, I decided to skip it. Good backup also.

 

[Markfw]

What version of Linux are you running?

Linux mint 19, win 10 pro latest build for windows.

 

[DooKey]

About $6000 total. $1800 CPU, $500 MSI motherboard, $1007 64 gig of 3500 ram, $500 970pro NVME, about $600 for the water cooling, $730 for the 1080TI FTW3, and $410 for the 1500 watt Corsair PSU, and the rest.

Edit : actually I also have a x399 Taichi (in case I need it) and a Enermax AIO TR4 kit that I was going to test. but in the process, I decided to skip it. Good backup also.

That RAM price is insane. Hopefully the rumors of a DRAM glut next year are true.

 

[Markfw]

That RAM price is insane. Hopefully the rumors of a DRAM glut next year are true.

Yes, but I wanted the best for this build, considering the CPU and its possible handicap due to 2 CCX;'s with no direct memory access. They are still $252 each pair at newegg. Its 3600 cl15, the best stuff that might have worked on this setup. After bios updates, I may get closer to the rated 3600.

 

[scannall]

About $6000 total. $1800 CPU, $500 MSI motherboard, $1007 64 gig of 3500 ram, $500 970pro NVME, about $600 for the water cooling, $730 for the 1080TI FTW3, and $410 for the 1500 watt Corsair PSU, and the rest.

Edit : actually I also have a x399 Taichi (in case I need it) and a Enermax AIO TR4 kit that I was going to test. but in the process, I decided to skip it. Good backup also.

Well, if just two years ago you were told you could have 32/64 for $6000 you would have laughed. I would have too. Good job Mark. Best of everything for you.

 

[Markfw]

Oh, BTW, for those of you that do not know, I have done DC work for 15 years on cancer research, and continue that, but now I have cancer, and thats what this box's primary use is.

 

[whm1974]

Oh, BTW, for those of you that do not know, I have done DC work for 15 years on cancer research, and continue that, but now I have cancer, and thats what this box's primary use is.

Well that sucks. I hope you can recover, what stage are you in?

 

[Batmeat]

Oh, BTW, for those of you that do not know, I have done DC work for 15 years on cancer research, and continue that, but now I have cancer, and thats what this box's primary use is.

My gosh, I had no idea you have cancer. I’m so sorry.

 

[Markfw]

Well that sucks. I hope you can recover, what stage are you in?

The bladder is being removed Oct 8th. Then I find out if they got it all.

Thanks for the thoughts

 

[VirtualLarry]

@Markfw , that's one supremely-AWESOME rig. Who would have guessed, that we would go from 4C/8T a few years back, to 32C/64T on the desktop with a single socket with Ryzen / TR2.

BTW, is that socket the same as the first-gen ThreadRipper? Or are there any differences? I guess that they are the same, but newer boards have better VRM support / more CPU wattage?

To reward you, I'm going to crunch F@H starting in Sept., I think, or maybe Oct., we'll have to see. I haven't done it in so long, but mining is petering out. If it goes so low that I'm not even making enough to cover the electricity, then I'll definitely switch. (I'm on kind of a limited budget, so mining gives me gas money for the month, more or less.)

I don't have TR2, but I've got a pair of G4560 rigs with two RX 570 cards ea., and a couple of Ryzen 5 1600 rigs, each with a GPU. Also, an HP Power Gaming PC, with an i5-7600 and a GTX 1060 3GB. I'll put as much as I can spare on F@H for a few months leading up to the Dec. F@H race that we always do, then in Dec. go full-throttle. (Plug for the TeAm.) Hey, in Dec., I need to heat my apt., and I have electric heat. What better way than a big helping of F@H!

 

[Markfw]

BTW, is that socket the same as the first-gen ThreadRipper? Or are there any differences? I guess that they are the same, but newer boards have better VRM support / more CPU wattage?
:)

[COLOR=#000000]Same socket as my 4 regular TR rigs, but I opted for the MSI 19 phase instead of the Taichi 11 phase, hoping for a better OC/stabiity.[/COLOR]

 

[dnavas]

First, this thing is a monster ! I first used the air cooling Noctura at stock(3.4 all core turbo, 1.040 vcore), and it would keep it under 75c, OK that's reasonable. Power was right in line, about 250 watts for the CPU, in spec. So far I have not been able to get 3600 memory above 3000 on the MSI motherboard, also since I have 8 x 8 gig sticks, that may be a limiting factor.

It'll be interesting to see what you can make work on the taichi, given that has better memory compatibility, generally. It's been a pleasure to watch your build progress.

Its currently running Linux and Win 10 in a dual-boot setup.

I've been debating whether I want dual-boot, or whether I should just go with: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about
I haven't made the switch to Win10, so I can't preview, but a proper shell would be a good start while the fact that docker doesn't run natively makes me think It'd be a better bet to go dual-boot. Thoughts?

Good luck on your upcoming surgery.

 

[guskline]

Markfw, first thanks for posting this. Second, as mentioned before, lots of thoughts and prayers coming your way for the impending surgery.

Are you going to add a second radiator or stay with a single 360 mm rad?

I agree that holding at a solid 3700 with that many cores running is a smart move. Even with additional cooling probably no more than 3800 to 3850. The wattage and heat just builds up too fast.

Keep us posted. Stay positive!

 

[f2bnp]

Thank you for posting specs and impressions, this is a fun read.

This hits home with me as I have a close family member going through cancer as well, so I can relate to a degree. I wish you the best of luck in the following months, stay strong Mark.

 

[Markfw]

It'll be interesting to see what you can make work on the taichi, given that has better memory compatibility, generally. It's been a pleasure to watch your build progress.



I've been debating whether I want dual-boot, or whether I should just go with: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about
I haven't made the switch to Win10, so I can't preview, but a proper shell would be a good start while the fact that docker doesn't run natively makes me think It'd be a better bet to go dual-boot. Thoughts?

Good luck on your upcoming surgery.

You know you can download win 10 pro, make a bootable USB install stick, and install and run it for a little while for free. I don't know what happens after the "grace period" and you do need to get a valid key shortly after installing it, but at least you can preview it,.

 

[Markfw]

Markfw, first thanks for posting this. Second, as mentioned before, lots of thoughts and prayers coming your way for the impending surgery.

Are you going to add a second radiator or stay with a single 360 mm rad?

I agree that holding at a solid 3700 with that many cores running is a smart move. Even with additional cooling probably no more than 3800 to 3850. The wattage and heat just builds up too fast.

Keep us posted. Stay positive!

Probably stick with a single rad, at least for now.

 

[Topweasel]

You know you can download win 10 pro, make a bootable USB install stick, and install and run it for a little while for free. I don't know what happens after the "grace period" and you do need to get a valid key shortly after installing it, but at least you can preview it,.

I have a key for one of my machines but have been to lazy to enter it. Over a year now and the only real issue is no wallpaper just a white water mark stating I need to activate windows.

 

[Schmide]

Probably stick with a single rad, at least for now.

600w is child's play for a 360.

http://martinsliquidlab.petrastech.com/XSPC-RS360-Radiator-Review.html

 

[Markfw]

600w is child's play for a 360.

http://martinsliquidlab.petrastech.com/XSPC-RS360-Radiator-Review.html

That is 35mm thick. Mine is 60 mm thick. almost twice its thickness.

 

[Schmide]

I was exaggerating. Its more 300w, if you want to save your hearing.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I think with new bios updates you will see better memory performance for your ram. It will take a few months but very nice looking specs, Mark.

 

[dnavas]

You know you can download win 10 pro, make a bootable USB install stick, and install and run it for a little while for free. I don't know what happens after the "grace period" and you do need to get a valid key shortly after installing it, but at least you can preview it,.

Indeed, preview was a poor choice of words. Given that I got my current system up and running in much the same way, I can say that Windows 7, at least, gets pretty cranky pretty early on. I think I didn't have a completely working system prior to buying a key and doing a proper install. What I meant was that I haven't lived with the restrictions of WLS, had only a vague idea of what they were, and I was curious what drove you towards dual boot. The Phoronix article about scaling might be the deciding factor for me, but as I'll mostly be doing I/O & compiling vs video work in Linux, it's not the total deal sealer. Hence my curiosity.