Solved Recommendations for new workstation

achix

achix

Hi to all loyal FreeBSD friends who are still on the boat! My old workstation has started to give problems, mem went bad, graphics card died, now I cant seem to be able to pkg update. Anyway, I'd like a list of basic components (CPU, SSD disks) that my new workstation would have in order to be supported by FreeBSD. Is SSD writes still a problem?

I want a fast and big machine! I dont care Intel vs AMD, however, nVidia has proven nice to my FreeBSDs over the time.

Thank you!
 
achix said:
Is SSD writes still a problem?
Click to expand...
That never was a problem.

achix said:
I want a fast and big machine!
Click to expand...
System I recently built, runs FreeBSD amazingly fast. Initially had some issues with the 2.5Gbit ethernet but support for it was added not long after I bought the system.

Core i7-11700K 3.6GHz
Asus Prime Z590-A
32 GB (4x8 GB) Corsair Vengeance Pro
Samsung SSD 980 Pro 2TB NVMe
Toshiba HDWR21C 12TB harddisk
Asus ROG Strix RTX-3080 OC White edition
Lian-Li Galahad 360mm AIO
9 Lian-Li AL120 fans (they're gorgeous but bloody expensive)


I dual boot Windows 10 and FreeBSD 13-STABLE. I haven't found a way to control all the LEDs from FreeBSD yet though.
 
Well since you want fast and BIG, here we gooo...

AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper Pro 3995WX 64 core CPU: 5700 EUR
Gigabyte MC62-G40 SWRX8 Mainboard: 900 EUR
512 GB ECC DDR4 Ram: 2464 EUR
Cooler: 100 EUR
Nvidia Geforce RTX 3090 24 GB GPU: 2200 EUR
4 TB SSD NVMe/M.2: 900 EUR
Power supply 1.5 KW: 400 EUR

Total amount: 12.700 EUR

Is that fast and BIG enough?
 
hardworkingnewbie said:
Well since you want fast and BIG, here we gooo...

AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper Pro 3995WX 64 core CPU: 5700 EUR
Gigabyte MC62-G40 SWRX8 Mainboard: 900 EUR
512 GB ECC DDR4 Ram: 2464 EUR
Cooler: 100 EUR
Nvidia Geforce RTX 3090 24 GB GPU: 2200 EUR
4 TB SSD NVMe/M.2: 900 EUR
Power supply 1.5 KW: 400 EUR

Total amount: 12.700 EUR

Is that fast and BIG enough?
Click to expand...

Anything in the 2000 EUR range pls?
 
About SSD, I lost my live PostgreSQL due to a crappy samsung SSD back in 2016, so yes, it used to be a problem, writes or not.
 
Thank you guys! So those by HP seem to do the trick and are within my boss's budget, but I'd like something that can be built in the shop down the street, due to availability of parts, etc
 
achix said:
Thank you guys! So those by HP seem to do the trick and are within my boss's budget, but I'd like something that can be built in the shop down the street, due to availability of parts, etc
Click to expand...
You really need to pay more attention about the details you're giving in your questions; hence why I came up with this BIG and FAST machine because you mentioned no budget. BIG and FAST without budget does not mean much.

Again here: shop down the street? What type of shop is this? Some hobbyist putting stuff together, or a professional company with experience in creating build to order computers? A hobbyist shop for sure cannot do all stuff a professional shop could pull off, so "shop down the street" is not enough meaningful information again to give you a good answer to your question.

So please - clarify.
 
achix said:
Anything in the 2000 EUR range pls?
Click to expand...
My system is in that ballpark figure. But I spent quite a lot on fancy RGB fans ($30 a piece, and I have 9 of them :eek:), you can shave off quite a bit by getting cheaper fans. The biggest expense was the graphics card though, that was roughly $1100,- for the card alone, that's about half of the total cost.

If you take my parts, without the expensive fans, and get a RTX-3070 instead of a 3080 you can probably build it for less than 2000,-.
 
drhowarddrfine said:
Sounds like a Samsung SSD problem, not a FreeBSD one.
Click to expand...
Or just a bad drive (most Samsung SSDs are good quality).

Oldest SSD I have:
Code: 
Model Family:     SandForce Driven SSDs
Device Model:     KINGSTON SV300S37A60G

   9 Power_On_Hours_and_Msec 0x0032   015   015   000    Old_age   Always       -       74949h+09m+52.690s

231 SSD_Life_Left           0x0013   080   080   010    Pre-fail  Always       -       0

241 Lifetime_Writes_GiB     0x0032   000   000   000    Old_age   Always       -       34599
242 Lifetime_Reads_GiB      0x0032   000   000   000    Old_age   Always       -       123
Even though "life_left" has been sitting at 0 for a quite some time now, it still works just fine.
(74949h is roughly 8.5 years)
 
The problem with said SSD was simply that it was not meant to be server-class AKA enterprise-level, so a power loss was catastrophic for PostgreSQL's WAL file integrity. It resulted in loss of the DB system and subsequent joggler actions from my part to make it live again, during vacations. I have seen el-cheapo magnetic drives work for decades. So it was a bad decision from my part not to veto against this disk from the start.

Regarding my question, thank you all for your kind answers!
 
For postgresql as sync method you want:
Code: 
wal_sync_method = fsync

You can decrease checkpoint_timeout:
Code: 
checkpoint_timeout=30s

You might use different tuning if the database is on a zfs versus ufs filesystem.
 
Oh, jeez, this is going to be anybody posting it's hardware,...
but round about 2k my config could be interesting start:

Tip: Compromise. Look at second places, and you'll receive of course not the max peak, but still a lot power, for a payable price.

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core 3,7GHz
on MSI MEG X570 UNIFY
64GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050

Be Quiet! Powersupply and CPU-Fan (Watch out when buying RAM, the cooler may come in the way, when RAM is too high (passive coolers, or this LED-lightning bs.
With a watercooler you don't get this problem. But either you really need a very powerful one, or you'll pay about 150,- more just for show.
So I'Ve chosen a classic fan, but more RAM :cool:

Two 256GB Samsung M.2 nvds for the OS, plus other disks (SSDs and HDDs ["turning rust" 😁]) for the rest, home, downloads, etc.... - you'll get it.
You may experience a lot more speed on M.2 SSDs, but as for me this technology was also new until a couple of months,... I will not say "problems", but there are two or three things you need to learn about them.
No question: With common HDDs you will get a lot more storage for the same money, and since you're experienced in them, face fewer challenges to get them work the way you trust.
...but having two M.2 nvd in mirror config is something you may call fast 😁


Tip: For Graka chose Nvidia. You may run into probs getting a multihead X-server run and 3D with a very new Radeon.

Tip: Don't chose the cheapest housing. You start swearing and regret not to pay 40...60 bucks more for something more solid.
(Be Quiet! also do good housings.)
 
achix said:
The problem with said SSD was simply that it was not meant to be server-class AKA enterprise-level, so a power loss was catastrophic for PostgreSQL's WAL file integrity. It resulted in loss of the DB system and subsequent joggler actions from my part to make it live again, during vacations. I have seen el-cheapo magnetic drives work for decades. So it was a bad decision from my part not to veto against this disk from the start.
Click to expand...
Hopefully you had a good backup strategy.
 
hardworkingnewbie said:
AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper Pro 64 core CPU 512 GB ECC DDR4 Ram Nvidia Geforce RTX 3090 24 GB GPU
4 TB SSD NVMe/M.2 Power supply 1.5 KW
Click to expand...
:oops:... damnd! What are you doing with this monster?! Trying to crack NSA's keys ? 😄
At least in winter you don't need pay extra for heating in its room.
😂
 
achix said:
About SSD, I lost my live PostgreSQL due to a crappy samsung SSD back in 2016, so yes, it used to be a problem, writes or not.
Click to expand...
Samsung makes some of the best SSD's out there. All different models from consumer to server.
So for a database server I would step it up to PM983 or deluxe PM1723 U.2 drives.
PCIe4 drives are out there PM9A1 and PM1733 and worth it if you have PCIe4 bus.
www.servethehome.com

Samsung PM1733 and PM1735 PCIe Gen4 SSDs

The Samsung PM1733 and PM1735 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSDs are a distinctively first-generation PCIe Gen4 SSD effort from the company showcasing new technologies
www.servethehome.com www.servethehome.com

I also think database tuning would be required for a busy system.
Take advantage of tempfs and memdisks to save your disk writes.

Anybody can buy hardware. Tuning it for the purpose is the trick.
 
I think its important to look at the DWPD stat.
Drive writes per day.
So 1 DWPD means you can write the entire drives size every day for 5 years under warranty on enterprise drives.
So the 3 DWPD drives would be considered 'mixed use' drives. (Write Intensive drives are 10 DWPD)
Much costlier but super heavy duty.
As DWPD declines with density they change the game.
blocksandfiles.com

Samsung: Drive writes per day is not where SSD endurance is at – Blocks and Files

Samsung thinks drive writes per day (DWPD) is no longer fit for purpose as a useful measure of SSD endurance – in other words how long the SSD lasts before wearing out. DWPD is widely accepted as an endurance measure but as SSD capacities increase, DWPD requirements decrease, Samsung said. The...
blocksandfiles.com blocksandfiles.com
 
If you care about your databases, then consider:
  • a UPS (e.g. APC);
  • a well engineered case that supports superior cooling options (e.g. Fractal Design);
  • a gold or platinum class quality PSU (e.g. Seasonic);
  • a quality motherboard that supports ECC memory;
  • the ECC memory itself;
  • quality 4-pin PWM fans (e.g. Noctua);
  • enterprise class SSDs that offer low latency, heavy duty cycle, and guarantee end-to-end data protection;
  • enterprise class spinning disks that will perform and endure; and
  • storage redundancy that will easily survive the loss of individual components (because, as you discovered, they will fail).
These days, the good power supplies generally don't start their fans at less than 50% load, so if you over-provision a little, the PSU will run silent (and probably more efficiently too).

If you purchase a PCIe multi-port SATA controller, you can run mirror'd storage with one side connected to motherboard SATA and the mirrors on the PCIe controller.

There's nothing wrong with cosmetic bling. But my dollars go first to reliability...
 
Alain De Vos said:
For postgresql as sync method you want:
Code: 
wal_sync_method = fsync

You can decrease checkpoint_timeout:
Code: 
checkpoint_timeout=30s

You might use different tuning if the database is on a zfs versus ufs filesystem.
Click to expand...

I am into PgSQL 22 years, I have worked as a DBA for an ex-major PgSQL-centered company. This is not a pgsql forum/list. Said system was linux with XFS (against bad decision to accept this one as well). If the disk lies to the controller which lies to the OS which lies to PostgreSQL no fsync setting will keep your DB alive.
 
Hey this is the order :

1 x Erebus II Midi Tower
74.90€

1 x PSU GPB-500S
46.90€

1 x AMD CPU Ryzen 7 5800X (AM4/3.8
GHz/36 MB)
369.00€

1 x Fan 120mm RGB For Erebus II
15.90€
Motherboard
1 x Gigabyte Motherboard B450M DS3H
(B450/AM4/DDR4)
74.90€

1 x Corsair Desktop RAM Vengeance RGB
PRO 32GB Kit 3200MHz TUF DDR4
199.90€

1 x Zotac VGA GeForce GT 730 Zone Edition
4 GB
139.90€

2 x WD Blue Desktop HDD 2TB
129.80€

1 x WD SSD SN850 NVMe 1TB Black
239.90€

total = 1291.10€

plus two 24" samsung monitors!

looks good?
 
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