Linux virtualization + video workstation

[mcljot]

Hi folks, I'm building a home machine to take some workload off my office machine (company owned) and allow me to work from home when I want.

I have a question about CPU vs. vCPU vs threads.

I need to run 8 - 10 VMs for OpenStack and OpenShift deployments (fewer if absolutely necessary). Initially I was speccing an i7 9700k, 8 cores 8 threads. How many CPUs/vCPUs does this give me to assign to VMs? I'm assuming 8, whereas the i9 9900k with 8 cores 16 threads would give me 16 vCPUs for my VMs? Or the i7 8700k with 6 cores 12 threads would give me 12 vCPUs?

I don't want to go Threadripper because I need to dual boot RHEL, and I want the ease of the Intel CPUs for compatibility. But maybe that's not correct?

For anybody interested, here's the plan so far:

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Designare
CPU: i7 9700k or i9 9900k
CPU cooler: Noctua NH-D15
GPU: AMD Radeon RX580 8GB Pulse
Linux boot drive: Samsung 970 EVO 250GB M.2 NVMe
Mac OS boot drive: Samsung 970 EVO 250GB M.2 NVMe
Storage: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SATA
Case: Phanteks Evolv X ATX

Cheers,
Alex

 

[mcljot]

Hi, thanks for the response. RAM is 64GB of something, probably 3000MHz CL 15.

So, for example, with the i7 9700k I could assign 4 vCPUs to each of 10 VMs (total 40 vCPUs) while also running the host machine? How would this differ in performance from doing the same thing with an i9 9900k?

Much appreciated!
Alex

 

[mcljot]

Thanks, yes normally at the moment I'm assigning 2 vCPUs to each VM. Yes they generally sit idle. A typical test environment would be 3 OpenStack controller nodes (VMs), 1 compute node, and 3 storage nodes - total 7 VMs. I said 8 - 10 above to allow for a small OpenShift cluster, or a Red Hat Satellite server, or some other unforeseen requirement.

If the higher thread count of the i9 9900k isn't a concrete requirement for my application, I'm inclined to go with the i7 9700k.

This is a bit off-topic, but do you know if I can use the Samsung M.2 NVMe drive as a boot drive for the Mac OS without first having to install on a SATA drive and clone over onto the M.2? I'm reading conflicting reports on various forums.

Cheers

 

[mcljot]

Cool - for now I think the ~£150 is better spent elsewhere. Thank you!

 

[mcljot]

I can't add to this but just to make you aware that hackintosh is against the forum rules so I would discuss this on here.

Whoops!! Cheers

 

[mcljot]

Cheers ED209 and Journey! I reported myself ... so maybe this thread will just disappear. In the meantime, I have another off-topic question - how does one cool a reference Vega 56? Is that little built-in fan really enough??

 

[mcljot]

Everything is here! Just waiting on the RAM now (should be here on Monday). I'm kind of disappointed I went for the big Noctua - I'm sure it will perform superbly, but the last couple of days I've really liked the clean and empty look of an all-in-one watercooler! Something like the Raijintek Orcus 280