old system vs. a new one?

[billmce]

I run an FEA code called Abaqus and I am wondering if my dated hardware is a lot slower than say new hardware. I have a dual socket 6 core (each) Xeon system with a processor clock speed of ~3.4GHz with 192 GB of RAM - It is a DDR3 based system. It's an old Dell T7500 but it still runs fine. Will a modern 12 core system of some topology get me much more performance? Getting solves to run faster is definitely worth something to me. Any thoughts? Anybody got a guess at how much faster it might be? Twice as fast? Or is that just too much to hope for?

 

[Eximo]

Depends on what you buy I suppose, basically what you have to spend. But yes, CPU core performance is about doubled since 2010.

If memory and CPU thread count is important, then there are is a lot more bandwidth and maximum memory available on newer platforms. Up to 8 channel DDR4 2666 at the moment.

Some 28 core Intel and 32 core AMD single chips, and dual socket boards are available.

 

[billmce]

Thanks. So if I spend the dough (TBD) on say a new single socket 12 core of similar clock speed I can expect to get roughly double the the flops and double the memory bandwidth as the old memory is DDR3 1333? So do you think all that combined might cut my solve time in about 1/2 - I know it not an easy question but just looking for a gut level guess here? What prompted me to ask was the performance of my new(ish) laptop - about 1 year old. It just seems to really rock running jobs with 2 core solves. It has 40 GB of ram. It is an i7-6700HQ @ 2.6 GHz (4 core). I run 11 core solves on the T7500 and they do not seem to go a lot faster, not exactly the same job either but I haven't really run a comparison - just a sense. Any thoughts on a processor and MB? Thanks again.

 

[Eximo]

Is the concern here licensing? You want to stick with 12-cores?

The CPUs would still be a lot faster regardless. But from what little reading I've done, and a quick look at the machines we have here running Abaqus (they have our fastest workstations). More cores is the way to go to really improve performance.

 

[Eximo]

Well if you want a Xeon the choice would be a generation back on the LGA2011-3 platform. This one boosts up to 3.7Ghz.

Here is a rough comparison of the a 2010 6-core Xeon vs the new one.

From PassMark
Single Core
New: 2056 Old: 1231
Multi Core
New:13618 Old: 7425

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Xeon E5-2643 V4 3.4GHz 6-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($1599.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: Asus - X99-E WS/USB 3.1 SSI CEB LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($471.52 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial - 64GB (4 x 16GB) Registered DDR4-2666 Memory ($1067.99 @ Adorama)
Memory: Crucial - 64GB (4 x 16GB) Registered DDR4-2666 Memory ($1067.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $4207.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-14 16:17 EDT-0400

The big boys are on LGA3647, but I don't really think those are easy to get. I think the OEMs more or less control that.

 

[billmce]

Is the concern here licensing? You want to stick with 12-cores?

The CPUs would still be a lot faster regardless. But from what little reading I've done, and a quick look at the machines we have here running Abaqus (they have our fastest workstations). More cores is the way to go to really improve performance.

Yes. I have only tokens for an 11 core Non Linear solve so as fast as I can go with 12 cores is what I am after.

 

[Eximo]

To get more memory you would probably need to hit up SuperMicro or Tyan to get a more professional/server grade board. Or just consider picking up a late model Dell Precision.

Precision 7920
6C/12T up to 3.7Ghz single processor
256GB of memory DDR4 2666 (16x16)

$8500 before messing with drives and other stuff.

 

[billmce]

I don't much care if it is a Xeon or not. I do need a lot of RAM though. More than 192 GB is probably where I am headed - say 256GB. Will and i9 support that much RAM? If not then Xeon is where I am headed. Any thoughts on a MB? II ahve not really looked at hardware in a long time hence my attempt to reach out to get some guidance. Thanks again.

 

[billmce]

I know super micro - that maybe where I go.
Thanks.

 

[Eximo]

Dell is offering up to 1.5TB in that monster of theirs. Only $34,000...

With large datasets you want a Xeon so you can have Registered ECC memory. The consumer chips are unlocked and can be overclocked (You could get something like a 7800X up to 5+ghz), but they don't support ECC.

For the type of work you do, Optane DIMMs might be worth looking into. I don't think they are quite out yet, but that is basically plugging Micron/Intel's crosspoint memory (think flash memory) directly into the RAM slots.

Might have to wait on X599 and its enterprise equivalent, though.

 

[billmce]

I like $4200 much better than $35k but alas I need more RAM than 128GB. I am not in a great hurry so I will wait and see how this unfolds and right now I do not have my Dell running flat out. Hardware is far cheaper than tokens so motivation exist. ~$8500 only buys me 1 token, give or take and gets me two additional cores at my present token count. I have to say that I very much appreciate your taking the time to respond. If I can help with Abaqus question please let me know. Thanks again.
Bill