Affordable HEDT, is there such a thing?

[Rorre]

I need at least 48 PCIe lanes, what are my options? Presently, I’m utilizing the X299 platform with a 10989xe. Looking for an affordable option. Its very discouraging as I research the options to replacing my system, cost benefit analysis is outrageous. Is Zen3 Threadripper, say 5945wx or 5955wx, an option that will be affordable and sustainable for at least 3 more years? Is a Zen2 Threadripper suitable, or is it long in the tooth also? Compute CFD simulations are stressing my X299 platform, money is tight for a replacement. Whether Intel or AMD motherboard options for quad channel memory and 40+ PCIe lanes are expensive in the used marketplace. Any ideas out there?

 

[unwind-protect]

I would get Zen3 EPYC. It has enough PCIe lanes and takes DDR4 ECC reg which is dirt cheap.

The mainboard will be expensive, yes.

 

[kapone32]

X399. I think Amazon stills sells the 1900X. Even though the Zen3 Epyc chips have come down in price they are still really expensive. You might even find 2920x on Ebay.

 

[unwind-protect]

X399. I think Amazon stills sells the 1900X. Even though the Zen3 Epyc chips have come down in price they are still really expensive. You might even find 2920x on Ebay.

Well, if you go down to Zen 2 the H11 Supermicro boards become cheaper, as well as the CPUs.

 

[Dr. Dro]

I need at least 48 PCIe lanes, what are my options? Presently, I’m utilizing the X299 platform with a 10989xe. Looking for an affordable option. Its very discouraging as I research the options to replacing my system, cost benefit analysis is outrageous. Is Zen3 Threadripper, say 5945wx or 5955wx, an option that will be affordable and sustainable for at least 3 more years? Is a Zen2 Threadripper suitable, or is it long in the tooth also? Compute CFD simulations are stressing my X299 platform, money is tight for a replacement. Whether Intel or AMD motherboard options for quad channel memory and 40+ PCIe lanes are expensive in the used marketplace. Any ideas out there?

No. HEDT is frankly a mess and there's nothing really better than a 10980XE given your specific requirements. Raptor and Arrow Lake match it in performance, lose out on lanes. The same situation is to be expected with X670E + Zen 4/5, and it's actually worse with X870E as AMD mandates USB 4.0 support which requires an external controller and this has further reduced lane count available in 800 series chipsets by 4. You might get away with earlier generation Xeon Scalable server parts from AliExpress (do some research on Xeon Platinum 8200-series chips), but the motherboards are not easy to get and generally, not on the affordable side. Unless some very old Naples samples, EPYC in general is not affordable even resorting to AliExpress.

AMD elitized Threadripper to the extreme, dropped the Ryzen branding and pretty much all of the current-gen TRs are priced out of reach and out of market, since Intel no longer competes in that niche. Expect to disimburse $5,000 for the processor alone if adopting latest-gen TR non-Pro flagship.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7980X Review

AMD's 64-core Ryzen Threadripper 7980X drives leading multi-threaded performance with superb efficiency. It's pricey and runs hot, but pro content creators and demanding users using optimized software will thrill to its power, and all those cores and threads.

www.pcmag.com

Be aware that Threadripper (consumer) and Threadripper Pro are very different products targeting different segments, the Pro chips are basically EPYC's with a few additional restrictions, with a price to match. Zen 3's version also uses a different chipset altogether, which further raises the prices due to low availability of the motherboards.

X399. I think Amazon stills sells the 1900X. Even though the Zen3 Epyc chips have come down in price they are still really expensive. You might even find 2920x on Ebay.

Straight downgrade from i9-10980XE performance-wise unless you buy the 2990WX - and even then it is still a downgrade if AVX-512 is involved and in many more node-unaware workloads.

Well, if you go down to Zen 2 the H11 Supermicro boards become cheaper, as well as the CPUs.

Zen 2 is TRX40 not X399. Zen 3 Threadripper was aborted and TRX40 ended up receiving only one CPU generation. It's not affordable (in fact, it is very expensive due to scarcity) and by most metrics, obsolete. Threadripper Pro and EPYC have bad pricing all around. I guess it's just not meant to be, tough niche to be in right now.

 

[eidairaman1]

Well, if you go down to Zen 2 the H11 Supermicro boards become cheaper, as well as the CPUs.

I know epyc finally came down to am4 or 5, question is there any boards with the connectivity

 

[unwind-protect]

I know epyc finally came down to am4 or 5, question is there any boards with the connectivity

No.

 

[LabRat 891]

I know epyc finally came down to am4 or 5, question is there any boards with the connectivity

The platform itself, is limited in PCIe lane capacity. EPYC on AM5 doesn't expand that.
-it's more/less Ryzen 9000 Pro, but marketed like the old single socket Opterons.

 

[Solaris17]

I deal in the server and work station space a lot. Mobos are going to be the challenge here just like HEDT. They are expensive. If you are looking for root ports for the $$ AMD will be what you want.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Affordable HEDT, is there such a thing?

Short answer, No. This is why it's called "High-End Desk-Top".

However, if you're careful and know what top look for, you can find reasonable values on used or discontinued parts.

I need at least 48 PCIe lanes, what are my options? Presently, I’m utilizing the X299 platform with a 10980xe.

That's still a relevant system, especially with that beast of a CPU. Are you looking because you need more compute or are you maybe just jonesing for an upgrade?

Its very discouraging as I research the options to replacing my system, cost benefit analysis is outrageous. Is Zen3 Threadripper, say 5945wx or 5955wx, an option that will be affordable and sustainable for at least 3 more years? Is a Zen2 Threadripper suitable, or is it long in the tooth also?

A Zen 2 based 3970X Threadripper would effectively double your compute power, depending on what you want to run. IF you don't need that many cores, the 3960X would be a happy middle ground. With both of those CPU's, the parts required would amount to the CPU, a mobo, a cooler for the CPU and a new PSU/case(depending on what you have already). Your existing 64GB of DDR4 would slide right in seamlessly. You'd boost your performance by a very healthy margin without breaking the bank. Anything newer is going to be much more expensive and will require an RAM upgrade as well.