Linus Torvalds Likes His New AMD Threadripper System

erek

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Dec 19, 2005
Messages
10,786
Wonder if Carmack will relent and build an AMD rig too?

"Torvalds trusts this new build. Indeed, he ran his end of the videoconference from his new developer machine running the first release candidate of 5.8.

Thinking of his new AMD Threadripper 3970x-based processor-powered developer desktop, Torvalds later added that, although he had been concerned about its fan noise it actually works well for him. Torvalds moved to this new homebrew computer because he needed the speed. "My 'allmodconfig' test builds are now three times faster than they used to be." That's important because Torvalds "strives to do about 20 to 30 [pull requests] a day, which is above my limit, ... [but] in order to do that, [he needs] a lot of computing power."


https://linux.slashdot.org/story/20...orvalds-likes-his-new-amd-threadripper-system
 
I want a 3970x, but I want it as an mATX. My desk can’t fit a full ATX or god forbid what ever bastardized EATX format half the boards claim to follow.
 
Yeah, if you conbin e that with a beefy video card, you're looking at over 500w. You need full ATX to handle thtat amont of power.
I’ve got a 3900x, and a 2080TI both overclocked on a custom lcl all crammed into a mITX and it’s happy. I don’t need the pcie lanes, beyond what a B550 could provide, but I need the core counts. A solid GPU just lets me game on the side.
 
I’ve got a 3900x, and a 2080TI both overclocked on a custom lcl all crammed into a mITX and it’s happy. I don’t need the pcie lanes, beyond what a B550 could provide, but I need the core counts. A solid GPU just lets me game on the side.


You get 2.5x the power consumption with 2.5x the cores. The thing is rated for 280w.

3970X%20Power%20Graph_575px.png
 
You get 2.5x the power consumption with 2.5x the cores. The thing is rated for 280w.

View attachment 259289
Maybe, I still think it could be built happily into something that small. But I suppose I could build a new desk. Just takes me forever to actually get around to building one. By the time I have that done the 4970X will probably be a thing at least.
 
Isn't there like.. one mATX or mITX set of Threadripper kit somewhere? Or wait, that may have ended with X399. I'm not sure I've ever seen one with TRX40 chipset Zen2 Threadripper.
 
Isn't there like.. one mATX or mITX set of Threadripper kit somewhere? Or wait, that may have ended with X399. I'm not sure I've ever seen one with TRX40 chipset Zen2 Threadripper.
ASRock has a mATX using the old TRX socket but not the new sTRX one, but nothing for the new Threadripper parts. Going through a list of "Small" ATX cases I think I can make the Corsair Carbide Air 540 fit, would be snug. But the real question is could I fit the required cooling components into it to keep that beast happy. And given the upcomming AMD and nVidia card launches I'll probably wait a bit and see what those look like for power and temperature requirements.
 
ASRock has a mATX using the old TRX socket but not the new sTRX one, but nothing for the new Threadripper parts. Going through a list of "Small" ATX cases I think I can make the Corsair Carbide Air 540 fit, would be snug. But the real question is could I fit the required cooling components into it to keep that beast happy. And given the upcomming AMD and nVidia card launches I'll probably wait a bit and see what those look like for power and temperature requirements.

You've got five 140mm fan mounts. That should be plenty for exhausting 600w.

The reason I say ITX is out, because (for not ludicrously-oversized cases like the Prodigy) It's impossible to fit more than three 140mm fans in a box case. This is that beast:

https://www.newegg.com/black-fractal-design-core-500-mini-itx/p/N82E16811352060

You can exhaust 200-250w on the default single 140mm fan or jump up to 400-450w with all three fans. But a 3970X plus powerful GPU is out of the question on the platform.
 
You've got five 140mm fan mounts. That should be plenty for exhausting 600w.

The reason I say ITX is out, because (for not ludicrously-oversized cases like the Prodigy) It's impossible to fit more than three 140mm fans in a box case. This is that beast:

https://www.newegg.com/black-fractal-design-core-500-mini-itx/p/N82E16811352060

You can exhaust 200-250w on the default single 140mm fan or jump up to 400-450w with all three fans. But a 3970X plus powerful GPU is out of the question on the platform.
That and the sTRX socket is basically the size of an ITX board alone let alone any components. Turns out I have a Corsair 220T in the basement so I guess I build a desk that can at least that.
 
"Linus Torvalds Likes X", maybe we should contact the Reuters?
 
This isn't news. Post stuff like this in the cpu subforum.

This is news, in my opinion, since he has switched to AMD. :) There is also a video that shows Linus from tech tips built the machine and tested it. Before this, it had been Intel all the way.
 
"Linus Torvalds Likes X", maybe we should contact the Reuters?

I am offended, you must be a Linux hater. :D ;) I wish I had that build that was built for him, although I would never make full use of it.
 
I am offended, you must be a Linux hater. :D ;) I wish I had that build that was built for him, although I would never make full use of it.

Right,

When you're the maintainer of the Linux Kernel, you have to approve changes (or make alternative suggestions).

linux.png


If you're tweaking and testing code all day, you're going to be doing this operation hundreds of times, and that needs at least 12 cores to get you under the minute mark! Add debug build time overhead, and now you're well over a minute on that 3900X!

He's just jumping up to Threadripper to give himself some growing room / let him handle multiple projects open in memory at-once (you typically need to compile other drivers or libraries when working with Kernel code, and those can take several minutes on this very system!)
 
Last edited:
Nah, it isn't.
There is nothing news about this.
It's just some guy liking his new system.
Might as well write about everyone known or not getting a new system and their opinion about this.
This belongs to a personal blog, not hardware news category.
This isn't some guy...
The reason this is Tech News is because Linus is THE maintainer of the Linux Kernel and known around the world.
Everything he does is basically news because he is such a high profile person.
Its like saying Jim Keller leaving Intel isn't "Tech News" because its just "some guy" leaving his job...

If you did the same things, it wouldn't be tech news...
 
Nah, it isn't.
There is nothing news about this.
It's just some guy liking his new system.
Might as well write about everyone known or not getting a new system and their opinion about this.
This belongs to a personal blog, not hardware news category.

This is not just some guy, LOL! That would be like saying Bill Gates was just some guy at Microsoft.
 
And also, didn't he take a break from Linux?

Er, you do know who we’re talking about here? Linus Torvalds, the guy who created and maintains the Linux kernel?

to be clear he is not the same guy who is in the LinusTechTips videos. That is Linus Sebastian.

Just seems like you’re confused since you don’t understand why Torvald’s opinion (on this at least) is actually worth discussing.
 
Wonder if Carmack will relent and build an AMD rig too?

"Torvalds trusts this new build. Indeed, he ran his end of the videoconference from his new developer machine running the first release candidate of 5.8.

Thinking of his new AMD Threadripper 3970x-based processor-powered developer desktop, Torvalds later added that, although he had been concerned about its fan noise it actually works well for him. Torvalds moved to this new homebrew computer because he needed the speed. "My 'allmodconfig' test builds are now three times faster than they used to be." That's important because Torvalds "strives to do about 20 to 30 [pull requests] a day, which is above my limit, ... [but] in order to do that, [he needs] a lot of computing power."


https://linux.slashdot.org/story/20...orvalds-likes-his-new-amd-threadripper-system
Carmack is already running a Threadripper system. He posted about getting a 3990X back in April.
https://twitter.com/id_aa_carmack/status/1248426555094609924?lang=en

Doesn't matter to me what these people use because their use cases are far different from mine. If I ever regularly start doing things for which I need a 64-core processor with 128 threads I would certainly look at a Threadripper. But since I still primarily game on my PC I'll stick with the CPU that gives the best gaming performance.
 
This is not software news.
This is not news at all.
It would maybe be news if the topic was about him buying a new setup.

But last time I checked, there was a thread about that.
And also, didn't he take a break from Linux?
Yeah, this is actually pretty major news.
This isn't just "some guy", much as everyone else in this thread keeps telling you.
 
I saw a picture of LT wearing sandals with socks, so I dont trust his opinion about anything at all.

How incredibly close minded of you!

Socks were invented to be worn with Sandals

The earliest known surviving pair of socks, created by naalbinding. Dating from 300–500, these were excavated from Oxyrhynchus on the Nile in Egypt. The split toes were designed for use with sandals. On display in the Victoria and Albert museum, reference 2085&A-1900.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock#:~:text=Socks have evolved over the,made from matted animal hair.

OMG Linus S doesn't need to know that.
 
Painter switches to a different brand of paint roller.

The excitement cannot be contained.
 
Not only is he using a 3970X system, which is very fast but, a new Threadripper chip will be coming out with 8 channel memory, the 3995X. Me want but, me cannot afford nor need. :( :D
 
What kind of good things could come from Linus' switch? I genuinely don't know and would like to hear more.
Faster builds would be the main positive. In turn, that would mean faster testing of approved pulls and patches, and potentially more fixes in each release. Of course, Linus IS just one linux dev, so it won't effect every part of Linux, but he does oversee a lot of the development.
 
What kind of good things could come from Linus' switch? I genuinely don't know and would like to hear more.
"…the biggest excitement this week for me was just that I upgraded my main machine, and for the first time in about 15 years, my desktop isn’t Intel-based,” said Torvalds. “No, I didn’t switch to ARM yet, but I’m now rocking an AMD Threadripper 3970x. My ‘allmodconfig’ test builds are now three times faster than they used to be, which doesn’t matter so much right now during the calming down period, but I will most definitely notice the upgrade during the next merge window.”

-Linus Torvold
 
Faster builds would be the main positive. In turn, that would mean faster testing of approved pulls and patches, and potentially more fixes in each release. Of course, Linus IS just one linux dev, so it won't effect every part of Linux, but he does oversee a lot of the development.
"…the biggest excitement this week for me was just that I upgraded my main machine, and for the first time in about 15 years, my desktop isn’t Intel-based,” said Torvalds. “No, I didn’t switch to ARM yet, but I’m now rocking an AMD Threadripper 3970x. My ‘allmodconfig’ test builds are now three times faster than they used to be, which doesn’t matter so much right now during the calming down period, but I will most definitely notice the upgrade during the next merge window.”

-Linus Torvold
Ah, I was thinking in the context of the end user, not from a development standpoint. If nothing else, this is good advertisement for AMD's current state of affairs with their CPU offerings!
 
Back
Top