Question Tower server for development and AI training.

[Simon Golbert]

Hi guys,

I plan to by a tower server for my home office to use it for development and long AI training. And I would like to get your opinion, tips and suggestions regarding the configuration I'm currently considering.

Dell T640 8LFF
2 × Intel Xeon Gold 5120 (14C 19.25M Cache 2.20 GHz)
2 × 32GB DDR4 RDIMM 2400MHz
RAID DELL PCI-e H730p (2GB+FBWC)
iDRAC 9 Express
Power supply Dell 1100w
2 port 1Gb/s (Integrated)
SSD 960GB SAS 2.5" + Tray Caddy
NVIDIA Tesla V100 32GB PCI-e

I plan to buy it refubushed (except the GPU) for $4350.

What do you think of this purchase? Does it make sense. Would appreciate if you share your insights. Thanks.

 

[kanewolf]

Hi guys,

I plan to by a tower server for my home office to use it for development and long AI training. And I would like to get your opinion, tips and suggestions regarding the configuration I'm currently considering.

Dell T640 8LFF
2 × Intel Xeon Gold 5120 (14C 19.25M Cache 2.20 GHz)
2 × 32GB DDR4 RDIMM 2400MHz
RAID DELL PCI-e H730p (2GB+FBWC)
iDRAC 9 Express
Power supply Dell 1100w
2 port 1Gb/s (Integrated)
SSD 960GB SAS 2.5" + Tray Caddy
NVIDIA Tesla V100 32GB PCI-e

I plan to buy it refubushed (except the GPU) for $4350.

What do you think of this purchase? Does it make sense. Would appreciate if you share your insights. Thanks.

Two DIMMS is very inefficient. Each of those CPUs have SIX channel memory controllers. To get best performance you want twelve DIMMs not two.

 

[stonecarver]

I plan to buy it refubushed (except the GPU) for $4350.

Not saying the computer is a slouch but those CPU's are hitting 6 years old now and on the used market there extremally cheap.

You can pick up a pair of them for $20 bucks.

I'm not the sharpest tool in the wood shed here on Tom's but something to think about.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1461183333...DKq3b6_gAuaK9VnYlVVl8rz5Y_6MVFWBoChWUQAvD_BwE

https://www.serversupply.com/PROCES...5liowz79c1nv-9hmBI_wp6lFxXLCFNQRoC8-wQAvD_BwE

https://techmikeny.com/products/int...t2-6OaT4embKNEFTTIDdyEL8v4ydJgQxoCDGUQAvD_BwE

 

[Simon Golbert]

> Two DIMMS is very inefficient. Each of those CPUs have SIX channel memory controllers. To get best performance you want twelve DIMMs not two.

Makes sense. Maybe I should consider more DIMMS with less capacity to save money. From the other hand I wouldn't like to occupy too many slots...

> I'm not the sharpest tool in the wood shed here on Tom's but something to think about.

Indeed very cheap. Could you suggest some good firms where I can buy a refurbished server to have a good deal?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Make sure your CPU's are a matched set (right down to the stepping number stamped on the die) or you will not get the dual CPU function you are looking for. And here's another vote for filling ALL memory slots with the correct memory for best performance.

 

[kanewolf]

> Two DIMMS is very inefficient. Each of those CPUs have SIX channel memory controllers. To get best performance you want twelve DIMMs not two.

Makes sense. Maybe I should consider more DIMMS with less capacity to save money. From the other hand I wouldn't like to occupy too many slots...

> I'm not the sharpest tool in the wood shed here on Tom's but something to think about.

Indeed very cheap. Could you suggest some good firms where I can buy a refurbished server to have a good deal?

Do you want performance or exapandability "just in case" ? 12 x 8GB is still more RAM than your originally proposed and the performance will be much higher.
If you don't want to do 12 DIMMs, then just buy a single CPU with 6 DIMMs. Most motherboards that would support a first gen scalable will also support a second gen. So a 6246R is 16 cores with a 3.4Ghz base clock speed. Having a whole bunch of CPU cores, but starving them for RAM bandwidth doesn't get work accomplished very fast.

 

[Simon Golbert]

That is a problem. For the budget of $4.5k I need a good tower server (possibly refurbished with a warranty) equipped with a descent server-class GPU card optimised for machine learning (I'm not a gamer). And I lack both knowledge and expertise to pick proper offerings.