Hi all,

I have 2 virtual machines, running AMD Phenom II X2 and X4 respectively, each with 4G and 8G RAM and 600G/1T hard drive. They have been running for sometimes, mainly for testing.

I'm prepared to build a new virtual machine to replace the Phenom II X2 box, also for testing Linux servers with following config:

1)
CPU
AMD 8-Core FX-8120 3.1GHz

2)
RAM 16 or 32G
Corsair Vengeance CMZ16GX3M4X1600C9G DDR3 1600 16G Kit (4Gx4)
or
Corsair Vengeance CMZ32GX3M4X1600C10 DDR3 1600 32G Kit (8Gx4)

3)
Hard drive 1.5T
WD Caviar Black 1502FAEX 1.5TB SATA3/64MB HDD

I haven't selected a motherboard yet.

Re CPU:-
I have looked at "AMD 8-Core FX-8150 3.6GHz/16M". The clock speed is faster by 0.5GHz increase but the price is 40% more

Comment and advice would be appreciated. Any suggestion in selecting motherboard? TIA

B.R.
satimis

How do you intend to build a virtual machine out of physical hardware? I assume that you mean you want to build a machine for hosting virtual machines.

1) Nice CPU, just keep in mind that (despite AMD's marketing) this is not a real 8-core CPU but rather a 4-module CPU. You will get better performance if you use the recent Intel CPUs. But for the price/performance ratio these are good CPUs.
2) Nice choice. Going higher than DDR3-1600 doesn't make sense when you have 2 modules per channel, so these should be fine.
3) There is not really much difference between harddisks in the same price segment nowadays, so this one should do the job. May be you should consider to use a RAID0 for better performance.

Regarding the motherboard: I would go for Gigabyte or Asus, IMHO the most reliable boards. If you don't intend to overclock a mid-range board should do the job, keep in mind that you need an AM3+ board for those CPUs.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

What I need is a box with multiple VMs running at the same time to test the configuration NOT the performance of the running servers

Which AMD CPU is true 8-core device?

I'm wondering which way shall I go "16G RAM" or 32G RAM"? Would 16G cater my need?

I'll consider.

Thanks.

I'm looking for a mobo with built-in video, sound and NIC. Graphic is NOT important to my test. What I need to plug-in on the mobo are HD and an additional NIC. Any suggestion.

B.R.
satimis

In the desktop market? None. If you want true eight-core you have to buy an expensive Opteron CPU. Don't bother, the FX8xxx will be fine for you.

Depends on how many VMs with how much RAM you will run at the same time. i have 16GB and hardly ever use all of them for applications/VMs.

All modern motherboards have sound and NIC built-in. If you need built-in video you have to go for one of the boards with 8xxG-chipset, the newer 9xx don't have that feature. I personally would buy a board with 970-chipset (like the Asus M5A97) and add a simple video-card (around 20€), instead of going for the older 8xx boards.

Hi,

I have been considering "AMD 8-Core FX-8150 3.6GHz"
The Bulldozer Review: AMD FX-8150 Tested
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4955/t...-fx8150-tested

The price difference is about 20% more compared to "AMD 8-Core FX-8120 3.1GHz/16M CPU". I have no target budget. If it is worthwhile I can consider? What will be your opinion?

Regarding Motherboard and video card I found;

Motherboard;
ASUS M5A97 Pro AMD 970,DDR3,USB3.0,SATA3 6Gb/s,ATX M/B
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD...specifications

Video card;
ASUS DI-A6570G1 HD6570 PCI-E 1G DDR3
http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/A...specifications

What will be your comment?


In respect of Hard drive some folks suggested me to consider Seagate/Hitachi. Their price are cheaper than "WD Caviar Black"

I found;
Seagate ST2000DM001 2TB Barracuda SATA3 6Gb/s /64MB HDD
and
Hitachi Deskstar HDS723020BLA642 2TB SATA3 6Gb/s /64MB HDD

Any suggestion?

TIA

satimis

1- FX8120 is probably going to be 95% as fast as the FX8150 in most situations. Up to you if its worth 20% increase in cost for a few % better preformance.

2- 16GB, 2 x 8GB sticks, DDR3-1600+. FX supports up to 1866 (without 'overclocking' the RAM), and the extra bandwidth of faster RAM would help. But its porbably too expensive to get DDR3-1866 or faster RAM now, and the FX only supports 1866 if you have 2 RAM slots filled. 16GB is cheap enough, and later on when RAM prices have dropped it could (should really) be possible to get 2 x 16GB DDR3-1866+ with low latencies for a much lower prices than currently, if you decide that 16GB isnt enough.....or just want a minor upgrade.

I'd agree with TobiSGD about motherboard, get a 970/990X chipset board. IMO the 8XXG/7XXG chipsets are more prone to trouble than the AMD chipsets without onboard vifeo, and the nVidia nForce chipsets are awful. I'd get either a gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 or one of the M5A97 boards (probably just the 'vanilla' H5A97, the 'pro' and 'evo' models have more addon junk that isnt that great with windows (eg marvel SATA controllers) and extra power phases...nice for overclocking, not that important if you arent going to overclock.

If you are not gaming, HD5450/6450. Lower cost, lower power draw, lower heat output than the HD6570.

WD Caviar black HDDs are WDs 'top of the line' HDDs. They are generally the fastest drives you can get (its not by a huge amount unless you are comparing slow 5400/500RPM drives with them, but still, they are faster). The other big advatage of the blacks is that they have a 5 year warranty, and IMO they should have a better lifespam than cheaper drives. 'Seagate ST2000DM001' is a cheaper drive with 1 year warranty, and closer to the WD blue drives (which have 2 year warranties). 'Hitachi Deskstar HDS723020BLA642' would sit between WD 'blue' and WD 'black' (and its a 3 year warranty).

I'd consider a SSD over the trouble of RAID0.

There is the '8 core' opteron 3280 HE, in AM3+ socket....but its just a 'bulldozer' based CPU so its teh same story as the FX (eg, 4 modules, not 8 real cores).

There are farily cheap 'Magny-Cours' 8 (real) core opterons around (like Opteron 6128, its under $300 in the US). Even if the 8 core Magny-Cours CPUs were good for the OPs use, because its a G34 socketed CPU the cost of the motherboard would double (about $100-120 for a 970 chipset board, about $250 for a G34 board). I havent checked the RAM requireemnts, but for G34 boards is possible you will only have the option of using ECC/buffered RAM, which isnt cheap and tends to be slower than normal RAM.

+1, Dont bother. Even if it is possible and affordable.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

I build this new box for testing Cloud.

Noted and thanks

I think 32G RAM being essential for testing Cloud. I'm still searching opinion. I have no preset budget. I won't build new PC each year. I'm expecting using the box for 3~4 years. But I don't expect getting a 12 ton lorry to carry 2 ton goods.

Noted.

I don't game nor overclocking. I build this new box for testing Cloud.

I found:-
ASUS DI-A5450V5 HD5450 PCI-E 512MB DDR3 [Low Profile]
and
ASUS DI-A6450M5 HD6450 PCI-E 512MB DDR3 [Low Profile]

They are cheaper in price BUT with only 512MB memory. Comment would be appreciated. Thanks

Your advice noted. WD Caviar black HDD with 2T storage is quite expensive. I would reconsider.

I have been considering SSD sometimes, waiting its price to drop.

I have been considering Opteron before. Its price is acceptable to me but the cost of motherboard is quite expensive.

B.R.
satimis

Don't forget that the FX CPUs only support 1866 if you only use 2 modules, with 4 modules the RAM automatically clocks down to 1600.

Exactly, no point in spending extra money for unused features.

+1

I prefer to mix that. A SSD for the OS and tasks that have to be very fast (and don't fit into RAM), 2 disks in RAID0 for large tasks that have to be fast, an extra disk for backup (+ a backup in a different machine, just for the case).

if you only run a desktop on it (or no GUI at all) you would be fine with much less. "Only 512MB" is just a marketing thing, if you are not into gaming, you can run the latest 3D desktops in multi-monitor mode with older video cards that have less RAM. nothing to worry about.

Hi all,

Hereinunder is the final config of the new desktop box:

CPU
AMD 8-Core FX-8120 3.1GHz/16M CPU [AM3+] FD8120FRGUBOX


Motherboard
ASUS M5A97 Pro AMD 970,DDR3,USB3.0,SATA3 6Gb/s,ATX M/B HK$ 910
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD...specifications


Display card
ASUS DI-A6450M5 HD6450 PCI-E 512MB DDR3 [Low Profile]


Hard Drive
WD Caviar Black 1502FAEX 1.5TB SATA3/64MB HDD
(I select 1.5TB instead of 2TB. The price of the latter is about 60% more of the former. My current box is installed with WD Caviar Black 1TB, still having 300G spare. Therefore I think 1.5TB storage will be sufficient for my use).


RAM
Corsair Vengeance CMZ32GX3M4X1600C10 DDR3 1600 32G Kit (8Gx4)
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-32g...4x1600c10.html


LAN
D-Link DGE-528T Gigabit Lan Card [support Low Profile]
DGE-528T
http://www.dlink.co.uk/cs/Satellite?...GB%2FDLWrapper
(I need an additional NIC. This NIC matches with that onboard, also 1 Gigabit)


I have spare power supply and I'll buy a new desktop box


Comment and suggestion would be appreciated. TIA

B.R.
satimis

Just a little bit fine-tuning: I would go for a silent aftermarket cooler for that machine, AMD's box cooler is doing the job, but far away from silent.
Other than that, looks like a nice machine, go for it.

Agreed. My AMD boxes are quite noisy. Any cooler can fit on AMD cpu? OR any suggestion? TIA

satimis

I am biased, but I prefer to use coolers from Scythe. But almost any cooler is compatible to socket AM2(+)/AM3(+).

"the FX only supports 1866 if you have 2 RAM slots filled". You might have missed it.

+1. Though I would still consider a single fast SATA drive over RAID0 (seen too many people get burnt with RAID0)

Yep.

Though there are asus 1GB HD5450/6450s if for some reason satimis insists on asus (I actually wouldnt get an asus 5450/6450, they arent any better than the other brands IMO)

'Matches'? DGE-528T is Realtek r8169, the motherboard has realtek Realtek 8111E.

I'd probably get a PCIe gigabit card, and RTL 8111 if possible.

I would try to get memory that is on the supported list for that board. M5A97s are in general very picky with RAM. Or get a different, not so picky with the RAM board (eg GA-970A-UD3)

How noisy they are really depends on how your system is setup, and what stock heatsink you got (there are LOTS of different heatsinks bundled with AMD CPUs).

Coolermaster hyper 212+. Cheap, better than the stock heatsink, 120mm fans so its fairly quiet. If its still nosiy, change the fan for 120mm noctua.

OK. I change the mobo to;
ASUS M5A97 PRO
First on AMD : UEFI BIOS & Digital Power Design on AM3+ Platform
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD...specifications
4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 2133(O.C.)/1866/1800/1600/1333/1066 MHz ECC,
Expansion Slots 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black)
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1
2 x PCI

LAN Realtek® 8111E , 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)

Thanks

I use only 2 brandnames on graphic card, ASUS and Gigabyte. I learned a bitter lesson on Gigabyte graphic card. The graphic card failed to work on the 13th month, warrantee just expired. Thereafter I only set my eyes on ASUS.

I have no specific requirement on graphics. I run commands to config/set up the server.

I found;
GIGABYTE GV-N210D3-1GI GF 210 PCI-E 1GB GDDR3 [Low Profile]
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=3913#sp
Chipset GeForce 210
The price is quite interesting. Maybe I'll try it. In the worst case I can use it for 12 month.

Sorry I can't find Realtek 8111E LAN card.

I found;
TP-Link TG3468 PCI-E Gigabit Lan Card
Chipset: Realtek RTL8168B PCI-E interface
with cheap price, interesting......

Now my newly selected ASUS mobo supports 1600Mhz RAM

I'll come back later on noisy.

Thanks

B.R.
satimis

Regarding CPU Cooler I found;

1)
Xigmatek (CAC-S0HH5-U01 ) Praeton LD964 CPU Cooler

Xigmatek Praeton LD964 Low Profile PWM CPU Cooler : CAC-S0HH5-U01
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/...pid-15068.html
Air Flow 23 CFM Max
Sound Level 22 dBA Max
Fan Dimensions 90 mm
Fan Connector 4 Pin PWM
Fan Speed 1000 to 2800 RPM

2)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065
Model RR-B10-212P-G1
Fan Size 120mm
RPM 600 - 2000 RPM
Air Flow 21.2 - 76.8 CFM
Noise Level 13 - 32 dBA

Price acceptable with reasonable low noisy.

I'll use the cooler supplied with the CPU first to check its noisy before purchasing it.


Actually the noisy is not solely coming from the CPU cooler. Additionally there are 2 other noisy sources, the HD cooler in front of the PC box and the exhausting fan at the box back. I already install the magnetic suspension/levitation fans. But I can't remove the noisy coming from the airblow of the fan.

Comment and suggestion would be appreciated. TIA

Edit:
The cooling fax of the power supply is also noisy.

satimis