4 ms·

Maybe slightly off-topic, but how do y'all feel about the Epyc for workstation-type workloads? I really want ECC for my next workstation, and my understanding

Maybe slightly off-topic, but how do y'all feel about the Epyc for workstation-type workloads? I really want ECC for my next workstation, and my understanding is that Ryzen/Threadripper ECC support is very hit or miss (the common failure mode is that it will claim it's on, but not actually detect or correct memory errors). But on the other hand, these Epyc chips sure seem slow on paper compared to consumer-grade stuff. I am not sure it matters, though, and am interested in what HN's thoughts are there.

aidenn0 6y ago
Asus has an X570 with supported ECC don't remember the exact middl model name, but it had WS in the name. I do wish memtest86 had a rowhammer style test, as that should tell if ECC is working
- londons_explore 6y ago
  > I do wish memtest86 had a rowhammer style test Send a PR...
- jrockway 6y ago
  memtest86 (the non-open-source one) has a rowhammer test. It passes on my non-ECC machine though. https://www.memtest86.com/tech_individual-test-descr.html https://www.memtest86.com/tech_individual-test-descr.html
  - greggyb 6y ago
    Overclock the RAM for the test?
dwohnitmok 6y ago
AFAIK The Ryzen/Threadripper CPUs are all support ECC perfectly fine. Where things get shady are with motherboards that advertise support but don't quite do it right. Make sure you get a reputable motherboard and you should be fine.
- greggyb 6y ago
  Not so much a reputable motherboard, but one that has been validated by a reputable manufacturer to support ECC. Asus (literally the first I thought of, no preference implied) is a reputable manufacturer, but they may happily sell a low-end motherboard without ECC support and a high-end motherboard with ECC support. Both motherboards are equally reputable.
zargon 6y ago
For Threadripper, all CPUs and motherboards are fully validated for ECC. (AMD requires Threadripper motherboards to implement ECC.) It's only Ryzen where the CPUs support ECC, but AMD doesn't require AM4 socket motherboards to implement it. (And you have to verify that a board advertising ECC actually implements ECC and doesn't just accept ECC modules.) I'm in the same situation, looking to get a new workstation and want ECC. Performance-wise, I would be good with a 3900x or 3950x. But PCIe lanes and good IOMMU separation are also requirements for me, so it looks like I have to go Threadripper. I'm disappointed that there's no 16 core Threadripper that has the other benefits of a HEDT platform for people who don't need zillions of cores. The current generation motherboards are also disappointing in that they max out at 4 PCIe slots. Apparently this is because PCIe 4.0 is still rather expensive at the moment.
- greggyb 6y ago
  > For Threadripper, all CPUs and motherboards are fully validated for ECC. (AMD requires Threadripper motherboards to implement ECC.) I did not know this. Do you have a source for this that I can share with others for reference in the future? My understanding was that Ryzen and Threadripper were the same on this front.

aidenn0 6y ago

Asus has an X570 with supported ECC don't remember the exact middl model name, but it had WS in the name. I do wish memtest86 had a rowhammer style test, as that should tell if ECC is working

londons_explore 6y ago
> I do wish memtest86 had a rowhammer style test Send a PR...
jrockway 6y ago
memtest86 (the non-open-source one) has a rowhammer test. It passes on my non-ECC machine though. https://www.memtest86.com/tech_individual-test-descr.html https://www.memtest86.com/tech_individual-test-descr.html
- greggyb 6y ago
  Overclock the RAM for the test?

dwohnitmok 6y ago

AFAIK The Ryzen/Threadripper CPUs are all support ECC perfectly fine. Where things get shady are with motherboards that advertise support but don't quite do it right. Make sure you get a reputable motherboard and you should be fine.

greggyb 6y ago
Not so much a reputable motherboard, but one that has been validated by a reputable manufacturer to support ECC. Asus (literally the first I thought of, no preference implied) is a reputable manufacturer, but they may happily sell a low-end motherboard without ECC support and a high-end motherboard with ECC support. Both motherboards are equally reputable.

zargon 6y ago

For Threadripper, all CPUs and motherboards are fully validated for ECC. (AMD requires Threadripper motherboards to implement ECC.) It's only Ryzen where the CPUs support ECC, but AMD doesn't require AM4 socket motherboards to implement it. (And you have to verify that a board advertising ECC actually implements ECC and doesn't just accept ECC modules.) I'm in the same situation, looking to get a new workstation and want ECC. Performance-wise, I would be good with a 3900x or 3950x. But PCIe lanes and good IOMMU separation are also requirements for me, so it looks like I have to go Threadripper. I'm disappointed that there's no 16 core Threadripper that has the other benefits of a HEDT platform for people who don't need zillions of cores. The current generation motherboards are also disappointing in that they max out at 4 PCIe slots. Apparently this is because PCIe 4.0 is still rather expensive at the moment.

greggyb 6y ago
> For Threadripper, all CPUs and motherboards are fully validated for ECC. (AMD requires Threadripper motherboards to implement ECC.) I did not know this. Do you have a source for this that I can share with others for reference in the future? My understanding was that Ryzen and Threadripper were the same on this front.