[Deedledot]

I am building a workstation to run primarily OpenFOAM. I would like to have the capability of running a broad range of problem sizes, up to maybe 100M cells. My budget is roughly $5000-$6000. I live in the United States.

Motherboard: H12DSi-NT6
CPU: 2x EPYC 7313
RAM: 16x 16GB DDR4-3200 Registered ECC, Dual Rank
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1660
SSD: SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB
PSU: Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum 750W
Cooling: 2x NH-U14S TR4/SP3
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro

Would this machine meet all of my expectations? Critique is welcome.

I am pretty clueless about procuring the server parts. Google turns up a few sites selling the CPU, but it seems they all have it on backorder. Is it wise to preorder from these sites, or should I wait until they are in stock? Is there any expectation of availability over the next 3 months?

This community has already been a tremendous help to me, and I really appreciate it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[flotus1]

Parts list looks fine.
Availability of many PC components in general, and Epyc Milan CPUs+boards in particular, will remain difficult. I have heard that it's even more of a problem in the US. One of the better options there seems to be Provantage. They don't have stock of these CPUs, but people have reported getting their orders shipped recently.

[Deedledot]

Originally Posted by flotus1

One of the better options there seems to be Provantage. They don't have stock of these CPUs, but people have reported getting their orders shipped recently.

Interesting. The listed price of $1328 is a bit more than I was hoping to pay, but considering the scarcity, I think it would be worth it to me. They claim the average processing time for this item is 20 business days. I am sure this gets skewed by the large number of sales when they initially become available, but it sounds promising.

Does anyone have experience with shopBLT.com?
They have a better price for me. They also provide the current number of preorders, number of units ordered, and earliest ETA. It looks like if I preorder now, I will be well within the next shipment, which is expected to arrive at the end of the year. I recognize these things aren't always that simple though. Am I interpreting this correctly or should I have any reason to doubt their claims?

[Deedledot]

I noticed that many of the EPYC distributors and resellers will have listings with a "for Lenovo" or "for HPE" at the end. These are typically labeled "Processor Upgrade", and it seems their prices are quite a bit higher than the base AMD MSRP in many cases.

I apologize if this is naive question, but will these "branded" CPUs still work in a homebuilt system? Why does the MSRP vary so much?

[flotus1]

A few thoughts on this...
1) Similar to graphics cards, albeit to a lesser extent, it is rather difficult to find these CPUs around MSRP these days. The market "decided" that they cost more than that currently.
2) "Branding" PC hardware has always been a popular tool to drive up prices. The two extremes of this practice are A: the parts actually went through testing and validation in order to ensure compatibility. Not generally something you need for a CPU. B: selling old DDR3 RDIMM? Slap a "for Mac Pro" to the title in order to charge 100% more.
3) The nasty part: vendor locking https://www.servethehome.com/amd-psb...ity-at-a-cost/
Now to be clear: if you buy a new CPU, it can not be vendor locked. That only happens once you put it in a system of a brand that participates in these shenanigans, and power it on. So whether this applies depends on where you buy. These "HPE upgrade kits" sold e.g. by Provantage are safe according to buyer feedback. If you go to the reseller side of ebay, it is a good idea to contact the seller first, before you buy an Epyc CPU that mentions any server brand. Or in general if it is a used part, and the ad doesn't mention which servers they came from.

[Deedledot]

1.
I am trying to get a good deal on 16x16GB Registered ECC DDR4-3200MHz Dual Rank RAM. I have found a HYNIX model for $100 per stick and a Samsung model for $115 per stick. Supermicro directly sells a Hynix model that is validated for my motherboard (H12DSi-N6T) as well for $120 per stick. Is there any reason why I wouldn't go with the cheapest? What other factors go into RAM selection that I might not be aware of?

2.
I noticed that many retailers list the H12DSi-N6T with an extra dash number, some with a "-O" and some with a "-B". Is there any difference between these two that I should consider?

3.
Most places have a 30 day limit on returns. Since many of my parts are on backorder, I will likely be receiving them on different dates and I am worried I won't be able to test some of my parts in time. What can I do to ensure I don't get stuck with any defective parts while waiting for everything to come in?

[flotus1]

I merged these threads, since they seem to belong to the same build. Having all information in the same place, rather than scattered throughout the forum, seems better to me.

Now about memory:
I never had any problems with buying the cheapest (from a reputable brand like Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron...) memory that was not on the QVL for the motherboard, but otherwise had the right specs. There is not much more to it than that.
QVLs are created when the board gets released, and rarely updated. If the memory hits the market later than that, it is not on the list. If the board manufacturer did not test the memory, it is not on the list. This does not imply in any way that it won't work.
It is not risk-free, but I consider the risk to be manageable.

For Supermicro boards, "O" denotes the retail version. You should get a nicer box, and maybe a few more accessories like cables. Depends on the board, not sure what's extra for the H12DSi.
"B" is the bulk version. Should come in a brown box with not much in terms of accessories.
Not sure right now if Supermicro makes any distinction between the two when it comes to warranties. But what you probably want is the retail version if there is a choice. I ordered a retail version of my H11DSi, and got shipped the bulk version instead. The seller agreed to ship the rest of the accessories, and I left it at that.

Lastly, the 30-day return window. If a part is DOA, you still have the manufacturer warranty for retail parts. Sure, that process is usually more involved than sending it back to the seller, and might take a long time. But you aren't stuck with a dead part just because you missed the return window from the retailer.
Not much else you can do about it, that's one of the risks of building your own PC. It's easier where I live, because the retailer has to accept returns of dead parts for at least 6 months. Up to 2 years in fact, but then the buyer would need to prove that the part arrived with a defect. You could try to order parts that are readily available "just in time", when you have confirmation for shipment of the other parts. And for orders of multiple parts from the same retailer, you can tell them to ship it all at the same time.

[Deedledot]

Does anyone have any thoughts about a UPS for this kind of system?

The 900W line interactive modified sine seems to be a popular set of specs, so I was thinking of going with one of those. APC in particular has free software for automatic shutdowns on Linux. Would there be any reason to go with a pure sine model instead?

Also, it seems like there is some debate about whether or not it's a good idea to plug a UPS into a separate surge protector. The UPS doesn't provide nearly as much protection as a standalone surge protector, but some say the UPS is best plugged directly into the wall. Any thoughts on this?