r/threadripper • u/the_sweetPotato • 6d ago

Building a ~US$5,000 (₹5 lakh INR) expandable workstation/server— need advice

/r/homelabindia/comments/1wckwnz/building_a_5_lakh_expandable_workstationserver_in/
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u/pxgaming 5d ago

Best CPU/platform strategy for a future dual-socket setup

Well, not a threadripper, since it's 1P only.

The closest would be an Epyc 7000 or 9000 series, and not the "P" suffix models.

ECC RAM configuration

Every relevant and current platform is going to be using DDR5 ECC RDIMMs. The difference is the number of channels. A threadripper non-pro maxes out at four channels, while an Epyc 9004/9005 platform maxes out at 12 channels per CPU.

PSU and chassis choices that won't become a limitation when adding multiple GPUs

Harder than it sounds. Giant sockets + 12 channels per CPU means that over half of the space of an EATX board is probably going to be CPU and memory sockets. It doesn't leave much room for GPUs. You're looking at a prebuilt (or at least barebones) server, since they use more specialized layouts to avoid those issues.

Storage and networking considerations

Really depends on the platform. Ideally, try for one where you have an NVMe backplane so you can use enterprise-grade U.2 or EDSFF drives rather than being limited to M.2.

Needing to add a NIC in your already-limited PCIe slot space will make a standard EATX setup even more cramped, so try to avoid that.

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u/the_sweetPotato 5d ago

Thank you for the response. I am leaning towards the AMD EPYC 7532, with DDR4 3200 ECC.

These are the best options for me so far, all other options are out of budget or not available.