128gb/threadripper 3970x

[robinlawrie]

hi all! as title, im building a new 3d workstation. im getting very confused researching ram. i would like 128gb (im a 3d animator, trust me, ill use it)

so.. there is precious little info online regarding compatibility with threadripper 3rd gen and 128gb+ ram setups. i understand its much better than 2nd gen threadripper, ive seen a few people reporting success with 3200mhz and 128gb .

however looking on the motherboard memory QVL's there is veeeery little choice.. mostly below 3000mhz.

so i have to choose.. i assume there is no point in a proper 3600mhz kit? double the price, worse timings, and i probably wont get anywhere near those speeds with 128gb.

so 3200 mhz.. corsair seems to be the only vendor easily available in the uk...

do i choose 4x32gb (strangely much cheaper, and gives chance to upgrade in future) or 8x16gb?

the 8x16 has better timings but ive no idea what difference it makes.

does the trx40 have any preference between 4x larger sticks and 8x smaller ones.?

according to the qvl for the asrock creator motherboard only 2x 32gb sticks are supported.. which seems very odd.

are there any definite b-die 128gb kits around? is b-die still the one to get?

advice MOST appreciated, ive not done a build for 7 years, im a bit rusty.

 

[robinlawrie]

You can also get the RGB LED variety for a couple of quid more, however in my opinion, LEDS are horrible and I dont spend my time looking in my case wanting it to look like a 80's disco.

best comment of an extremely useful post yeah ill only get led ram if its cheaper.. i believe you can turn them off?!

anyway you basically have the same setup im considering. i really like the asrock board because its "cheap" has room for 4 gpus and is atx instead of tennis court size. however ive seen a few negative comments (without data to back them up) that the 8 phase power is problematic... as far as i can see if it can provide 620 amps it should cover my needs, im not after beastly overclocks.

do you use PBO offset (is that it?) if so what single/ all core boosts do you get?

ive got a meaty external watercooler (2x mora 3 radiators) so temps wont be a problem.

 

[robinlawrie]

so, ive ordered my bits. when i finally get them all and build my machine, we will have to compare notes. i was wobbling horribly about my memory choice, conflicting advice everywhere on wether those 32gb dimms were going to leave loads of performance on the table due to slack timings or wether the difference would even be noticeable.

in the end my boss (who was buying) made my mind up for me by just buying the more expensive kit i was considering.. so i should soon be receiving a nice g-skill 128gb kit -3200 15-15-15-35.

if and when its all working we can do some benchmarks to compare.. see if it makes any real-world difference or not for actual productivity tasks. we can fill a gap in the internet for the next one who comes along.