Motherboard with ECC or without

[cwhite3]

This will be used as a server with pled and that is it.  I want a total of 6 drives and this unit will stay on 24/7.  Is ECC worth it?

 

i3-3225 in an Asus P8H77-I motherboard or

Xeon E3-1230 V3 in an Asrock E3C226D2I

[sgibbers17]

I went with ECC memory because my kas uraid server I had memory go bad redulting in data loss.  I only spent $330 for my asrock c226 WS, 4GB of ECC memory, and a 1150 socket pentium g3220.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

 

[garycase]

Clearly ECC adds a significant level of safety to the memory subsystem => the vast majority of memory errors are transient single-bit errors, which ECC will correct and you'll never know about.

 

If you decide you want to go with ECC, be sure that BOTH the motherboard and the CPU support ECC.  Not all of the Intel desktop-based processors support it.  The E3-1230v3 you're thinking about would be an EXCELLENT choice for your system.

 

[c3]

Yes

 

Memory like all the rest of the computer parts will fail. With ECC, you get to know about it. The cost should not be a large increase.

[Helmonder]

Depends on your memory amount though... I am using esxi and moved from 16gigs to 32gigs to accomodate that... The 32gigs of ECC where a lot more expensive then  regular ram and I now have 16gigs of expensive ram in my second server..

 

Compare prices, it really is more expensive ..

[c3]

The basic memory stick is the 240pin DDR3 1333/1600 8GB. Kingston lists the ECC part for $98 and non ECC for $67. Buy four of them and you spend ~$120 more, less than the processor, motherboard, SAS controller, or a single drive. And if you're using lower cost items, you probably don't need 32GB of RAM. The increase is not going to approach 10% of the system. My Norco 4224 builds run ~$4000, using ECC is less than 3% of costs.

[garycase]

Agree that using ECC RAM is a relatively trivial expense compared to the total cost of a system.  If you care enough about your data to build a fault tolerant server for it, it's not exactly a stretch to also protect the integrity of the system with ECC RAM 

 

I think using unbuffered ECC RAM is a reasonable cost/benefit tradeoff relative to the far more expensive route of using a server class motherboard that supports registered or FBDIMM modules -- although the latter would indeed be even more reliable.

 

[maddog808]

How can you tell if the motherboard is compatible with ECC memory, if none of the documents state it one way or the other?

 

I'm thinking about getting this MSI 970A-G43 mobo, but can't find any info about ECC compatibility:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130679&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL112913&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL112913-_-EMC-112913-Index-_-AMDMotherboards-_-13130679-L0H

 

 

[garycase]

How can you tell if the motherboard is compatible with ECC memory, if none of the documents state it one way or the other?

 

It's not definitive, but in general if the specifications don't mention ECC, the board doesn't support it.

 

A roundabout way that's almost always correct is to go to one of the major memory vendor's "Automated Selector" and enter the specifics for your motherboard.    If it supports ECC RAM, then you'll see that in the modules that are offered.  For example, doing that for this board at Crucial's site does NOT show any ECC modules -- which supports what I said above .. i.e. the board does NOT support ECC.

 

 

[maddog808]

Thanks Gary.

 

I'll roll the dice and use non-ECC memory for this build.

 

[garycase]

One bit of advice => if you're using unbuffered RAM without ECC, I'd definitely limit your system to no more than 2 installed modules.    That significantly improves the reliability of the memory subsystem.    The same is true with unbuffered ECC modules ... except that if you have ECC and experience a load-related bit failure it's automatically corrected.

 

[maddog808]

Good to know.

 

I'm starting off with (1) 2GB stick, and if I need to add another 2GB stick later, I'll do that. I shouldn't need more than 4GB anytime soon.

 

Thanks again Gary.

[garycase]

Note that you'll get slightly better performance with two modules, since the memory would then operate in dual channel mode.    Probably not enough difference that you'd notice in UnRAID, but just something to be aware of.

 

The board supports up to 8GB modules, so you can install up to 16GB with 2 modules.

 

I'd be inclined to put 4GB in to start (2 2GB modules) ... and then if you decide you want more swap them for a pair of 8GB modules.    But you can certainly do as you noted => install a single 2GB module; and then later add a 2nd 2GB module if you decide you need more RAM.

 

 

[Ford Prefect]

I'm thinking about getting this MSI 970A-G43 mobo, but can't find any info about ECC compatibility:

 

ASUS is the only manufacturer clearly stating ECC compatibility with almost all of their AM3+ mobos.

I did an inquiry once with Asrock and MSI...support says no support for ECC with *any* of their desktop AM3+ Boards.

 

...I am running an ASUS with ECC without problems.

[dirtysanchez]

Good to know.

 

I'm starting off with (1) 2GB stick, and if I need to add another 2GB stick later, I'll do that. I shouldn't need more than 4GB anytime soon.

 

Thanks again Gary.

 

In the OP you said "this will be a server with pled". Did you mean Plex?  If so I would suggest 4GB RAM absolute minimum.  If you ever plan to run any other plugins in addition to Plex I'd suggest 8GB.