Scientific calc, over 95% thread utilization

[Ellingboe]

High-utilization, quiet, scientific computing. (Details vs existing system at the bottom.)
typical operation: 16-thread per calculation, 4-8 GB ram per calculation, run lasts 1-3months continuous.
Principal concern is keeping CPU cool (and quiet). Motherboard and Fan and Case comments please!

-->Case
FRACTAL POP SILENT CASE TG (BLACK)
-->Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16 Core CPU (4.5GHz-5.7GHz/80MB CACHE/AM5)
-->Motherboard
GIGABYTE B650 AORUS ELITE AX: (WIFI 6E, DDR5, USB 3.2) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 - DVI, HDMI
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMe SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
-->Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (AMD)
-->Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND


Computationally intensive modelling: 16-threads per calc, 2-calcs at a time.
Using dual Intel XEON E5-2670 using 8-core/16-thread per calc takes ±80-days.
Data-dump every 3-days is 300MB per core. (so not high-demand for 'disk access')
View data (Graphics) every 3-days. 2-D plots, very minimal. (FullHD display. Want the option to use 4k.)
for typical 16-core run: 12-cores run near 100% load, 4 cores run at ~90% load.
CPUBenchmark rates New system at near 3x faster single thread, and 2.5x faster for CPU (comparing 16-thread numbers) .
Lots of RAM-memory calls, so moving from 1600MHz to 5200MHz and larger caches should also be a boost.
So I think new calculations drop from 80-days, to 30-days.

 

[Steveyg]

Would the 7950X3D be of benefit for this kind of work, not sure how the 3D cache would affect this application it's a little over my head

Just basic notes on the build above however, I personally don't recommend Gigabyte motherboards anymore their build quality isn't on par with the competition and the features namely error detection is abysmal so really difficult to diagnose any issues the hardware may be having. I'd go with a X670 TUF from ASUS

When it comes to "Quiet" cases the Fractal Define 7 is the go to recommendation. I'm not sure how the Fractal Pop Silent performs but I know the Define 7 is excellent for noise dampening

Ryzen CPU's want the fastest RAM you can throw at them to perform at the optimal capabilities. I'd recommend a minimum of 5600Mhz but I'd want 6000Mhz or even 6400Mhz but you'd have to source those yourself. You're hamstringing the CPU with the slower RAM

I'm not sure I'd put a HDD in any modern system but I guess it depends on what it would be used for? Ideally you want a super fast M.2 SSD for the OS/Boot usually about 500GB is the recommendation then a second M.2 SSD for general storage of at least a 1TB but 2TB is a good shout for more storage for not much more cost over a 1TB

PSU is a good shout for this level especially if you're not putting any sort of powerful GPU in there, it should run nice and quiet

You've gone for one of the best CPU's on the market then paired it with a very cheap budget end cooler, this will end in tears especially for the uses you describe. That CPU will get WORKED and it'll get hot pulling a lot of Voltage. I personally wouldn't want less than a H115i as my minimum but I'd be putting a H150i on there from Corsair to ensure the temps are under control, no need for the extra thermal paste with the Corsair coolers they come with their own paste pre applied

 

[Ellingboe]

Thanks SteveyG,
On cooler: this was my principle concern, and you have (rightly!) smacked me down! Wasn't sure if the '250W' spec was 'always good enough' or if there was really an advantage.
Fractal-7 also enables the bigger H150i cooler.
On Ram: good call. I'll source myself. So easy to install, I was surprised a 6000MHz was not available ...
The Gigabyte MB's were getting good thermal reviews on release, but build quality will benefit the stability, thanks for the insight.
On *X3D I don't think it helps based on reading, as boosted cache only for half the cores and maybe more heat-resistance as they are stacked; *X version is marginally faster thread speed; but details also over my head.
Thanks again!