A future post will detail the multitude of considerations to think about when selecting parts for deep learning work.
Disclaimer: These hardware configurations have not been tested. Although I have done ample research on the components and therefore I expect them to work well together, there will likely be variables that I did or could not have taken into consideration. I do not make any guarantees about the selections below. I simply hope that these lists offer a strong starting point for you to do your own research and part selection.
Monthly part selections
June 2025
| Component | Selection | SKU | Link | # | $/Unit | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD EPYC 7502 (32C/64T) | n/a | 1 | $170 | $170 | |
| Mobo | Supermicro H12SSL-NT | n/a | 1 | $670 | $670 | |
| RAM | Crucial Bundle 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR4-2666MHz RDIMM |
| 2 | $90 | $180 | |
| PSU | EVGA Supernova 1600 G+ |
| 1 | $350 | $350 | |
| SSD | Micron 7450 PRO 960 GB |
| 1 | $230 | $230 | |
| CPU cooler | Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 | n/a | 1 | $110 | $110 | |
| Case | Fractal Design Define 7 XL | n/a | 1 | $225 | $225 | |
| Total (without GPUs) | $1935 | |||||
Key features and rationale
- Air-cooled desktop workstation
- 2nd generation AMD EPYC CPU (32 cores, 64 threads) and Supermicro server motherboard
- While the 7002 series of CPUs was released in 2019 with a relatively low clock speed of 2.5 GHz, the huge number of threads make the CPU perfect for data processing workloads.
- Enterprise SSD for high reliability (>10000 TBW lifetime)
- Enough physical slots, space, power, and PCIe slots for 4 dual-slot GPUs
- The large number of PCIe lanes connected directly to the CPU (and physically supported by the motherboard) supports using 4 GPUs at their full capabilities.
- Make sure that your GPU power requirement in the system stays below 1200 W total to avoid overdraw on the PSU and/or tripping your circuit breaker.
TODO and additional notes
- Blower-style GPUs are recommended for optimized case airflow.
- Add more case fans to ensure effective airflow.