F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Daily low-level usage of EPYC processors

Daily low-level usage of EPYC processors

Daily low-level usage of EPYC processors

J
jbavolak
Junior Member
2
11-15-2021, 08:19 AM
#1
I reside in an extremely costly area for electricity while operating a server around the clock. Currently I have a Xeon 2680V4 (14/28) CPU, 128GB RAM, eight hard drives plus a small SSD and 10GBE. It runs on a "Hunanzhi" board, but I'm struggling to achieve the right IOMMU pass-through for my 3060 12GB to transcoding Plex in one of my Proxmox setups. It's exhausting—I’m using most of my available resources because I run five constant VMs and the Truenas model consumes the full 64GB memory. I’ve been searching extensively for affordable 7551P Epyc boards with quality components like Asrock or Gigabyte, but they claim only 100W idle draw. My current setup draws roughly 91-100W when idle with HDDs sleeping. I’m hoping for better efficiency and a RM750 power supply might be the way forward.
J
jbavolak
11-15-2021, 08:19 AM #1

I reside in an extremely costly area for electricity while operating a server around the clock. Currently I have a Xeon 2680V4 (14/28) CPU, 128GB RAM, eight hard drives plus a small SSD and 10GBE. It runs on a "Hunanzhi" board, but I'm struggling to achieve the right IOMMU pass-through for my 3060 12GB to transcoding Plex in one of my Proxmox setups. It's exhausting—I’m using most of my available resources because I run five constant VMs and the Truenas model consumes the full 64GB memory. I’ve been searching extensively for affordable 7551P Epyc boards with quality components like Asrock or Gigabyte, but they claim only 100W idle draw. My current setup draws roughly 91-100W when idle with HDDs sleeping. I’m hoping for better efficiency and a RM750 power supply might be the way forward.

X
xAPPLExPIEx
Senior Member
657
11-15-2021, 09:09 AM
#2
X
xAPPLExPIEx
11-15-2021, 09:09 AM #2

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_M60_
Member
56
11-15-2021, 09:36 AM
#3
I have an EPyc 7313P with 64GB RAM on a Supermicro H12SSL-i, operating at about 80-90 watts when idle, including the two graphics cards and the USB card for IOMMO. Running it in a VM doesn’t really affect its power use. The OP could still pass through the iGPU just fine.
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_M60_
11-15-2021, 09:36 AM #3

I have an EPyc 7313P with 64GB RAM on a Supermicro H12SSL-i, operating at about 80-90 watts when idle, including the two graphics cards and the USB card for IOMMO. Running it in a VM doesn’t really affect its power use. The OP could still pass through the iGPU just fine.

T
ThePuffie
Junior Member
47
11-23-2021, 09:22 AM
#4
In theory it's possible, though you might lack video output for the host OS. It's unclear if the IOMMU is properly set up for this.
T
ThePuffie
11-23-2021, 09:22 AM #4

In theory it's possible, though you might lack video output for the host OS. It's unclear if the IOMMU is properly set up for this.

M
Mr_King13
Member
111
12-07-2021, 05:32 PM
#5
This information came to me recently, and it doesn't require video output for the host OS.
M
Mr_King13
12-07-2021, 05:32 PM #5

This information came to me recently, and it doesn't require video output for the host OS.

D
DrBrokenBones
Senior Member
378
12-07-2021, 07:24 PM
#6
The requirement varies; it may function without one but often complicates urgent fixes unless the system supports hardware remote control. Most high-end servers likely include this feature, whereas standard Ryzen 7000 models usually don’t.
D
DrBrokenBones
12-07-2021, 07:24 PM #6

The requirement varies; it may function without one but often complicates urgent fixes unless the system supports hardware remote control. Most high-end servers likely include this feature, whereas standard Ryzen 7000 models usually don’t.

X
XylixTv
Member
193
12-07-2021, 08:57 PM
#7
You can operate it without a GUI, I use a Proxmox headless setup in that unusual configuration today. Because the Xeon lacks an integrated GPU, but still supports PCI-E expansion and proper passthrough, it’s functioning perfectly. This has been a lifesaver for running several virtual machines at once. My Proxmox environment is quite old, so I prefer keeping things simple and haven’t altered anything. The only VM needing extra performance is a Linux/Plex server. Running multiple 4K streams on GPU-heavy workloads drains power significantly, but the Xeon handles it fine. It suits our home setup well. Home automation consumes less space, while Truenas uses more memory. I’d like to expand it with 1TB of ECC RAM from a data center refurbishment. Right now I’m running just eight DDR4 2666 modules, but if it maintains the same idle performance as my Xeon, that’s fine. The upgrade costs around 300–400 euros—considerable value for the improvement.
X
XylixTv
12-07-2021, 08:57 PM #7

You can operate it without a GUI, I use a Proxmox headless setup in that unusual configuration today. Because the Xeon lacks an integrated GPU, but still supports PCI-E expansion and proper passthrough, it’s functioning perfectly. This has been a lifesaver for running several virtual machines at once. My Proxmox environment is quite old, so I prefer keeping things simple and haven’t altered anything. The only VM needing extra performance is a Linux/Plex server. Running multiple 4K streams on GPU-heavy workloads drains power significantly, but the Xeon handles it fine. It suits our home setup well. Home automation consumes less space, while Truenas uses more memory. I’d like to expand it with 1TB of ECC RAM from a data center refurbishment. Right now I’m running just eight DDR4 2666 modules, but if it maintains the same idle performance as my Xeon, that’s fine. The upgrade costs around 300–400 euros—considerable value for the improvement.