Virtualisation PC Spec advice

[andrewhawkins986]

Hi all,

Looking to replace my VM host (running xcp-ng) and considering something with an AMD Processor. Looking to keep costs down if at all possible. Main spec wishlist:

32 Gig RAM
Small (128 Gig?) SSD (pref M2) as boot drive
2 x 1TB 7200rpm disks as VM storage
No graphics adapter required (do AMD have them on-chip?)
As many cores as possible
Case with good ventilation, but not too large / heavy
Efficient power supply with enough headroom to power the above and potentially a little expansion (perhaps another 2xHDD in future?)
1 Gig network ports, ideally multiple

Any suggestions as to a spec? Really don't know where to start with AMD processors / GPU etc.

Thanks

Andy

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Hi,

Ideally I'd like to keep it around the £500 - 600 mark, but realise I'd probably need to spend a bit more than this. Would like to keep it as far below £1000 as possible.

I currently have around 7 or 8 Linux VMs running on my existing host. That's way over specced though (a dual hex Xeon machine), and I'm looking to reduce the heat footprint and probably electricity costs of the existing machine.

xcp-ng is a bare bones hypervisor, similar to VMWare ESxi or similar. As you say, a CPU with as many cores and threads as possible is preferred.

Understood about the lack of inbuilt graphics so I'd need an add-on GPU. Ideally prefer a VGA output if at all possible, as I already have a USB / VGA KVM switch that I'd like to use.

Thanks

Andy

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Thanks for that. I can drop the Wireless and Windows OS, which knocks about £120 off that. Could use that to beef up the processor a bit perhaps?

Do the 6 core Ryzen processors actually have 12 threads much like the Intel processors with Hyperthreading?

Thanks

Andy

 

[andrewhawkins986]

The main reason for 2x1TB is to have them configured as a RAID1 pair for a bit of protection against drive issues.

Andy

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Hi,

I understand that RAID is not backup, and I have off-site backups as well to cover this. I have had drives fail in the past, and being able to leave the system running until the failed drive can be replaced has been very useful.

Appreciate you considering it though.

Andy

 

[SpyderTracks]

For VM, you NEED them on a SATA SSD, they’re painfully slow on an HDD.

 

[andrewhawkins986]

For VM, you NEED them on a SATA SSD, they’re painfully slow on an HDD.

That's an interesting perspective. I'm running them just fine on two 7200 spinning rust disks at the moment (in a Dell Workstation with hardware RAID).

The VMs are all Linux remember, not Windows

Andy

 

[SpyderTracks]

That's an interesting perspective. I'm running them just fine on two 7200 spinning rust disks at the moment (in a Dell Workstation with hardware RAID).

The VMs are all Linux remember, not Windows

Andy

Ah, ok, if they’re Linux that’s a different story Carry on, as you were

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Couple more questions:

1. Thinking of swapping the 1TB Seagate drives for 2TB IronWolf Pros (realised I need more space, and as the machine is on 24/7 it might be worth paying a bit extra for the drives
2. In terms of future expansion, thinking of swapping the case to the 'CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE'. It's basically the same price, but has more drive bays so if I needed to I could add in another pair of drives later.

Looks like the motherboard has 6 SATA ports and an M2 slot, so plenty of room for expansion drive wise.

Thoughts?

Thanks

Andy

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Ah, appears that other case can't support the cooling radiator that has been chosen. Appreciate any advice.

Andy

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Hi,

Both of those cases only have 3 internal 3.5" bays don't they? That would let me add another mirrored pair of disks at a later date.

Or am I missing something?

Andy

 

[Scott]

Hi,

Both of those cases only have 3 internal 3.5" bays don't they? That would let me add another mirrored pair of disks at a later date.

Or am I missing something?

Andy

I was comparing to the 200R that you had suggested was suitable earlier.

As above, if you want THAT much 3.5" storage you're looking at the big boy cases.

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Thanks guys, will take a look.

It's not a question of 'need' really, just considering my options for allowing some future expansion.

Probably easiest just to replace the 2x2TB with (say) 2x4TB later should I need more storage.

Thanks again, appreciate the advice.

Andy

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Ok, so I think this is the final spec. Can someone just check it over to make sure I haven't made any glaring errors?

Case
CORSAIR 275R AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE 710 - DVI, HDMI, VGA
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (1900 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
Price: £1,094.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/uk9cVJr0yb/

Thanks.

Andy

 

[Scott]

Looks pretty good to me

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Anyone comment on this?

Cooling is important, as the system will run 24/7 in my loft.

Andy

 

[Scott]

The 275 Airflow edition is fantastic for cooling, especially at this level of components. If it's in your loft you could even run the fans a little higher than normal as they won't annoy you

 

[andrewhawkins986]

Order placed. The waiting begins!

Thanks a lot for all the advice guys.

Andy