20 Core - 40 threads single CPU GTX1080 Hackintosh?

[Panamamax]

Good day!

since about 2 years ago i build my first and only hackintosh into a server case, and a bunch of HDD..s (16 to be precisely)
you can see more for the build here...

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/m...0k-32gb-ram-56tb-raid-6-hdd-770gtx-4g.168610/

the build is working perfectly and i have no real reason to complain. i mainly use it for lightroom and davinci resolve... everything else i do mainly on my original MBP.

I am planing to update my hack with the GTX 1080 once it will become available, however i was checking my hardware usage the last days and i found more my CPU at the limit than my basic 770GTX... i assume once i put the 1080GTX beast inside the GPU is sleeping all the time and the cpu will slow down the system. also in the last month i use much more h264 footage that i convert to proRes (generate optimized media) in DaVinci to have smooth playback etc... all those stuff takes long time and keeps mostly the CPU at the limit with the GPU sleeping, even i only have a 770 installed at the moment.

I was surfing around and found many interesting solutions mainly dual xeon setups that can be found for as low as 110$ for older generation 2x 8-core cpus, including motherboard coolers and Ram you could build some machine for as low as 1000$ without GPU. http://www.techspot.com/review/1155-affordable-dual-xeon-pc/


on the other hand i would prefer a single CPU build cause i saw a lot of problems reported with double CPU´s, also the power usage etc would be quite high i assume. So today i want to ask you for your opinion on the following hardware:

1. CPU = Intel Xeon E5-2698 v4 ES Broadwell-EP CPU 2.0GHz 20-Core currently available for about 700$ on eBay (engineering sample, don't know if thats a deal breaker)
2. MoBo = x10SRA-F 300$ on amazon
3. Ram = 4x 16gb ram from the approved list of the Mobo (about 350$)
4. CPU = GTX1080 700$

HDD, Case, raid Controller, SSD´s etc... i would reuse from my old build mentioned above.

what is your opinion on the above mentioned and how do you see the chances to bring a system like this to run?

...Max

 

[trs96]

Good day!

since about 2 years ago i build my first and only hackintosh into a server case, and a bunch of HDD..s (16 to be precisely)
you can see more for the build here...

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/m...0k-32gb-ram-56tb-raid-6-hdd-770gtx-4g.168610/

the build is working perfectly and i have no real reason to complain. i mainly use it for lightroom and davinci resolve... everything else i do mainly on my original MBP.

I am planing to update my hack with the GTX 1080 once it will become available, however i was checking my hardware usage the last days and i found more my CPU at the limit than my basic 770GTX... i assume once i put the 1080GTX beast inside the GPU is sleeping all the time and the cpu will slow down the system. also in the last month i use much more h264 footage that i convert to proRes (generate optimized media) in DaVinci to have smooth playback etc... all those stuff takes long time and keeps mostly the CPU at the limit with the GPU sleeping, even i only have a 770 installed at the moment.

I was surfing around and found many interesting solutions mainly dual xeon setups that can be found for as low as 110$ for older generation 2x 8-core cpus, including motherboard coolers and Ram you could build some machine for as low as 1000$ without GPU. http://www.techspot.com/review/1155-affordable-dual-xeon-pc/


on the other hand i would prefer a single CPU build cause i saw a lot of problems reported with double CPU´s, also the power usage etc would be quite high i assume. So today i want to ask you for your opinion on the following hardware:

1. CPU = Intel Xeon E5-2698 v4 ES Broadwell-EP CPU 2.0GHz 20-Core currently available for about 700$ on eBay (engineering sample, don't know if thats a deal breaker)
2. MoBo = x10SRA-F 300$ on amazon
3. Ram = 4x 16gb ram from the approved list of the Mobo (about 350$)
4. CPU = GTX1080 700$

HDD, Case, raid Controller, SSD´s etc... i would reuse from my old build mentioned above.

what is your opinion on the above mentioned and how do you see the chances to bring a system like this to run?

...Max

I think that you are way overspending/overbuilding for what you actually need. It's also much easier to get a Z170 Skylake system fully working in contrast to a single or dual Xeon server board system.

The problem with a 20 core Xeon system for Lightroom and Resolve is that most of those cores/threads will not help to speed up your workflow with the first of those two programs. Also, I would stay away from any ES chips. They're a spin of the roulette wheel and not worth the risk. If you build a Skylake I7-6700K system and do a moderate overclock you'll be much better off. You could even save some cash by going with 1070 instead of a 1080 and still have a great system for your specific needs. You can even now go as high as 64 GB of ram on a Skylake motherboard. If you've got a lot of extra cash to spend on this build put it in other places where it will pay off more, not into a 20 Core Xeon and high priced server motherboard.

Here's some testing that was done recently to confirm these ideas. I know that he is testing older Xeon chips. The results though, speak more about how Adobe software utilizes or doesn't utilize multiple cores and threads.
Have a look.

 

[Panamamax]

Thank you for your reply....

i value your opinion and for sure what you say makes totally sense... the thing is i never was really unhappy with my system, i am used to the speed it can deliver if i need to render stuff i mainly make it at night or what so ever so i just dont care how long it takes... i allways had the opinion that the extra performance a Z170 or a X99 with i7's could deliver never justiced the upgrade from my system, maybe i will have double speed at best but to spend 1500$ on it i didnt consider worth the money.

Also i know that with many cores some software gets problems. mostly i am concerned to speed up davinci resolve (its from black magic design, not adobe), i checked their hardware guides for windows systems and Mac Pros... and they actually recommend Double Xeon 14 core builds as their standard, on the mac side they recommend the fully configured trash can. I know there are codecs that work better in multi core applications than others... anyway i thought i will find out if i can beat the challenge... in the worst part i have to use windows , as plan B.

i further dont wanted to build a double CPU build cause i think with that you will get a whole lot of new problems.

NOW...

i pulled the trigger and bought myself the following hardware that is on the way:

1. another empty supermicro 4U 24bay case on ebay .... 200$
2. a Gigabyte GA-X99-SLI for 150$ on amazon (the motherboard supports the cpu according to the support page with the newest Bios)
3. EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2 80+ PLATINUM power supply for 135$
4. Corsair h110i GTX cooler for 100$
5. G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666 for 177$
6. an E5 2698 V4 Engineering sample cpu for 700$ (no risk no fun)


so all in all i invested less than 1500$, this amount for me seamed reasonable for the chance that it could 3x or 4x my system speed.

now i try to study the X99 build descriptions available in the web, to prepare myself for once the parts arrive.
The Xeon i bought is of the same architecture than the current X99 i7 chips. can i therefore reuse the patches availabe for the 3 X99 i7 CPU's ?

or do you need a extra individual patch for each individual CPU...?
Looking forward to your replies and for exiting times

 

[trs96]

An X99 motherboard will likely give you a better chance at running OS X. Not sure about El Capitan though. Most with
the 8 core 5960X have not been able to get El Cap to work. The Xeon you bought may have similar issues. You'll need
to post in threads that feature the Gigabyte X99 boards to get specific help for your build. Best of luck with that.

 

[trs96]

How many CPU cores does OS-X Support ?...

What matters more is the specific program you are running on OS X. If it can't utilize 16-24 cores in a build what
difference does it make if OS X can use that many ? Here's an example of a 16 core build that can't even run
Ableton reliably if at all.
http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/a...3-clover-el-capitan-system-lags-hangs.180510/

Here is the most thorough description I've seen so far about the real world usage issues with OS X and a multi Xeon server motherboard system. Everyone considering one for video, photo or audio work should read this post:

Asus Z10PE-D8 WS - 2x XEON 2680v3 - Clover - El Capitan - System lags/hangs
by pm974 on May 12, 2016

 

[Panamamax]

i have read the threads and well... lets hope i can make it work... regarding the discussion weather or not the cores would be required, i assume they will become handy.

this is the official hardware recommended in the Davinci resolve hardware guide from mid 2015:





Supermicro SuperServer

Black 4RU Rackmountable/Tower
Dual Intel Xeon E5-2697 v3 (dual 14 core; dual 8 core is minimum recommended) 32GB (8x4GB memory sticks) or more ECC DDR4-2133 SDRAM
Use the same size RAM in all eight slots for maximum RAM access speed
lntel SSD530 480GB SSD SATA system drive or larger

 

[trs96]

i have read the threads and well... lets hope i can make it work... regarding the discussion weather or not the cores would be required, i assume they will become handy.

this is the official hardware recommended in the Davinci resolve hardware guide from mid 2015:
Supermicro SuperServer

Black 4RU Rackmountable/Tower
Dual Intel Xeon E5-2697 v3 (dual 14 core; dual 8 core is minimum recommended) 32GB (8x4GB memory sticks) or more ECC DDR4-2133 SDRAM
Use the same size RAM in all eight slots for maximum RAM access speed
lntel SSD530 480GB SSD SATA system drive or larger

That hardware is more of a high end specs build for an unlimited budget Resolve system. You can still work with 4K even with
an X99 I7-5930K system and dual 980s running in SLI. With Windows of course. The GPUs are just as important as the
CPUs are. If you have the budget to spend over 2,700 dollars on just the CPU alone you are a lucky man. I would still
put more money into the GPU side of the build, possibly dual 1070s or even 1080s since those are going to be relatively
inexpensive when they show up this summer. Maybe go with an 8 core Xeon and dual 1070s to have a better balance
between CPU and GPU power. The 1070s look like they will be better bang for your buck as they say in America.

Make sure to write up a User Build when you are done building and configuring your system. Would be neat to see some of the benchmarks on a system like that.

Finally, stay away from the ES chips on Ebay, it's not legal to be selling them there anyway. I wouldn't pay someone, even
for a much lower price than retail to get one, not worth the risk, you'll never get your money back if it's a dud.

Engineering sample CPUs, typically designated by Intel Confidential and ES markings are considered beta versions that are used for in-house testing, compatibility qualification, used as demonstrations or sent to media outlets for evaluation purposes. These processors are often times sent out to various outlets ahead of commercial releases with those on the receiving end having to sign non-disclosure agreements and either return the chip or agree not to sell it after initial testing.

Sample processors usually represent what will eventually come to market but there are some rare exceptions. Furthermore these chips aren’t quite as desirable as they once were. Engineering samples of earlier Intel chips like the Pentium 4 were highly sought after because they featured an unlocked multiplier which made overclocking much easier.

The CIB is urging potential buyers to steer clear of ES processors on eBay and further reminding engineers and those with connections to avoid running similar schemes as they could face up to five years in prison.

from: Techspot.com

 

[sanoayyk]

Broadwell-E and EP need kernel patch. I once had a working hackintosh with Xeon v3 and when I replaced it with a v4, it became unbootable.
I guess kernel patch for haswell extreme was released soon after Haskell-E went on market but there is still no patch for Broadwell-E or even discussion about it
Hackers are not interested in this year's new CPU?

 

[jaraheel]

do I need to edit/remove the VoodooTSCSync.kext when upgrading from 5960X to 2698 v4?

 

[snookie]

Good day!

since about 2 years ago i build my first and only hackintosh into a server case, and a bunch of HDD..s (16 to be precisely)
you can see more for the build here...

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/m...0k-32gb-ram-56tb-raid-6-hdd-770gtx-4g.168610/

the build is working perfectly and i have no real reason to complain. i mainly use it for lightroom and davinci resolve... everything else i do mainly on my original MBP.

I am planing to update my hack with the GTX 1080 once it will become available, however i was checking my hardware usage the last days and i found more my CPU at the limit than my basic 770GTX... i assume once i put the 1080GTX beast inside the GPU is sleeping all the time and the cpu will slow down the system. also in the last month i use much more h264 footage that i convert to proRes (generate optimized media) in DaVinci to have smooth playback etc... all those stuff takes long time and keeps mostly the CPU at the limit with the GPU sleeping, even i only have a 770 installed at the moment.

I was surfing around and found many interesting solutions mainly dual xeon setups that can be found for as low as 110$ for older generation 2x 8-core cpus, including motherboard coolers and Ram you could build some machine for as low as 1000$ without GPU. http://www.techspot.com/review/1155-affordable-dual-xeon-pc/


on the other hand i would prefer a single CPU build cause i saw a lot of problems reported with double CPU´s, also the power usage etc would be quite high i assume. So today i want to ask you for your opinion on the following hardware:

1. CPU = Intel Xeon E5-2698 v4 ES Broadwell-EP CPU 2.0GHz 20-Core currently available for about 700$ on eBay (engineering sample, don't know if thats a deal breaker)
2. MoBo = x10SRA-F 300$ on amazon
3. Ram = 4x 16gb ram from the approved list of the Mobo (about 350$)
4. CPU = GTX1080 700$

HDD, Case, raid Controller, SSD´s etc... i would reuse from my old build mentioned above.

what is your opinion on the above mentioned and how do you see the chances to bring a system like this to run?

...Max

Was wondering if you could help, I've got those CPU's. Did you have to do any patches? Did clover work? Or did you need to customize it?