ECC Memory questions

[zeffog]

So im looking to build a new Skylake based pc, but i have a tight budget. I found some really cheap ECC memory compared to normal DDR4 sticks as of right now.
The single ECC module would set me back 70 euro's for 32GB of DDR4 ECC @ 2400 MHz.
The motherboard i will be paring with it either the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming K3-EU
or the MSI Z170A-Pro/ PC Mate. I'm also wonder if Asrocks new Hyper line up of motherboards support ECC, i was originally interested in those boards due to the fact they have a separate BCLK Engine. the question now is will it run fine? and will it affect performance.
On the gigabyte website it states "Support for ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)'', but on the MSI page it only states that it supports ECC un-buffered. So i'm also wondering if they run in ECC mode or not, i'm asuming they don't but just for clarification.

Thanks a lot!

 

[jdcranke07]

So im looking to build a new Skylake based pc, but i have a tight budget. I found some really cheap ECC memory compared to normal DDR4 sticks as of right now.
The single ECC module would set me back 70 euro's for 32GB of DDR4 ECC @ 2400 MHz.
The motherboard i will be paring with it either the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming K3-EU
or the MSI Z170A-Pro/ PC Mate. I'm also wonder if Asrocks new Hyper line up of motherboards support ECC, i was originally interested in those boards due to the fact they have a separate BCLK Engine. the question now is will it run fine? and will it affect performance.
On the gigabyte website it states "Support for ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)'', but on the MSI page it only states that it supports ECC un-buffered. So i'm also wondering if they run in ECC mode or not, i'm asuming they don't but just for clarification.

Thanks a lot!

Okay, so I'm just going to assume that you might be a bit spotty on ECC memory compatibility. Please take no offense, if this is true or not.

There are three types of ECC memory, Unbuffered (UDIMM), Registered (RDIMM), and Load-Reduced (LRDIMM). Non-ECC memory only comes in UDIMM.

So, if the mobo in question can use any type of UDIMM, then you buying ECC UDIMM will be fine. The difference though is that if you use ECC UDIMM and the mobo defaults it to non-ECC UDIMM, you are losing out on a very nice feature. Now if you don't use the PC for professional work or mission critical operations, then you really don't need to worry about using the ECC portion of the memory in question. However, this is all irrelevant, if the mobo in question does not say it supports ECC. In that case, like the MSI board you mentioned, will only run non-ECC UDIMM memory.

Typically any motherboard that uses an extreme i7 or lower, i.e. non-extreme i7, i5, or i3, will not be able to use ECC DIMMs of any type. This is mainly because these chips are geared for consumers and not professionals. However, when you start dabbling into the i7 extreme mobos that can utilize Xeon CPUs or full on workstation/server, Xeon based mobos, you will see that ECC is pretty common.

One thing to take away, is that non-ECC UDIMM is actually very secure and hardly has any issues. But, for mission critical applications, i.e. businesses and research, ECC is a must. If you have the capability through your components and you find a good deal, get the ECC if you want a really rock solid setup. Also, there is a slight performance loss with ECC, but nothing that you will ever actually notice.

 

[zeffog]

So im looking to build a new Skylake based pc, but i have a tight budget. I found some really cheap ECC memory compared to normal DDR4 sticks as of right now.
The single ECC module would set me back 70 euro's for 32GB of DDR4 ECC @ 2400 MHz.
The motherboard i will be paring with it either the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming K3-EU
or the MSI Z170A-Pro/ PC Mate. I'm also wonder if Asrocks new Hyper line up of motherboards support ECC, i was originally interested in those boards due to the fact they have a separate BCLK Engine. the question now is will it run fine? and will it affect performance.
On the gigabyte website it states "Support for ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)'', but on the MSI page it only states that it supports ECC un-buffered. So i'm also wondering if they run in ECC mode or not, i'm asuming they don't but just for clarification.

Thanks a lot!

Okay, so I'm just going to assume that you might be a bit spotty on ECC memory compatibility. Please take no offense, if this is true or not.

There are three types of ECC memory, Unbuffered (UDIMM), Registered (RDIMM), and Load-Reduced (LRDIMM). Non-ECC memory only comes in UDIMM.

So, if the mobo in question can use any type of UDIMM, then you buying ECC UDIMM will be fine. The difference though is that if you use ECC UDIMM and the mobo defaults it to non-ECC UDIMM, you are losing out on a very nice feature. Now if you don't use the PC for professional work or mission critical operations, then you really don't need to worry about using the ECC portion of the memory in question. However, this is all irrelevant, if the mobo in question does not say it supports ECC. In that case, like the MSI board you mentioned, will only run non-ECC UDIMM memory.

Typically any motherboard that uses an extreme i7 or lower, i.e. non-extreme i7, i5, or i3, will not be able to use ECC DIMMs of any type. This is mainly because these chips are geared for consumers and not professionals. However, when you start dabbling into the i7 extreme mobos that can utilize Xeon CPUs or full on workstation/server, Xeon based mobos, you will see that ECC is pretty common.

One thing to take away, is that non-ECC UDIMM is actually very secure and hardly has any issues. But, for mission critical applications, i.e. businesses and research, ECC is a must. If you have the capability through your components and you find a good deal, get the ECC if you want a really rock solid setup. Also, there is a slight performance loss with ECC, but nothing that you will ever actually notice.

After looking around a bit i found out that the I3 6100 does support ECC but the i5 6400(the one i'm getting) does not, does this mean ECC is out of the question? Or is it dependant on the motherboard? Also the ram stick is listed as DIMM not much more info is given.

 

[jdcranke07]

So im looking to build a new Skylake based pc, but i have a tight budget. I found some really cheap ECC memory compared to normal DDR4 sticks as of right now.
The single ECC module would set me back 70 euro's for 32GB of DDR4 ECC @ 2400 MHz.
The motherboard i will be paring with it either the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming K3-EU
or the MSI Z170A-Pro/ PC Mate. I'm also wonder if Asrocks new Hyper line up of motherboards support ECC, i was originally interested in those boards due to the fact they have a separate BCLK Engine. the question now is will it run fine? and will it affect performance.
On the gigabyte website it states "Support for ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)'', but on the MSI page it only states that it supports ECC un-buffered. So i'm also wondering if they run in ECC mode or not, i'm asuming they don't but just for clarification.

Thanks a lot!

Okay, so I'm just going to assume that you might be a bit spotty on ECC memory compatibility. Please take no offense, if this is true or not.

There are three types of ECC memory, Unbuffered (UDIMM), Registered (RDIMM), and Load-Reduced (LRDIMM). Non-ECC memory only comes in UDIMM.

So, if the mobo in question can use any type of UDIMM, then you buying ECC UDIMM will be fine. The difference though is that if you use ECC UDIMM and the mobo defaults it to non-ECC UDIMM, you are losing out on a very nice feature. Now if you don't use the PC for professional work or mission critical operations, then you really don't need to worry about using the ECC portion of the memory in question. However, this is all irrelevant, if the mobo in question does not say it supports ECC. In that case, like the MSI board you mentioned, will only run non-ECC UDIMM memory.

Typically any motherboard that uses an extreme i7 or lower, i.e. non-extreme i7, i5, or i3, will not be able to use ECC DIMMs of any type. This is mainly because these chips are geared for consumers and not professionals. However, when you start dabbling into the i7 extreme mobos that can utilize Xeon CPUs or full on workstation/server, Xeon based mobos, you will see that ECC is pretty common.

One thing to take away, is that non-ECC UDIMM is actually very secure and hardly has any issues. But, for mission critical applications, i.e. businesses and research, ECC is a must. If you have the capability through your components and you find a good deal, get the ECC if you want a really rock solid setup. Also, there is a slight performance loss with ECC, but nothing that you will ever actually notice.

After looking around a bit i found out that the I3 6100 does support ECC but the i5 6400(the one i'm getting) does not, does this mean ECC is out of the question?

I was unaware of the i3, that's interesting. And yes, if you plan to go with that i5 and it says that it cannot support ECC, then you will have to go with a CPU that does or not get that type of memory.

 

[mjslakeridge]

Based on the advice you received from JDcranke, it sounds like the ability to use ECC memory is both motherboard and CPU dependent. I wouldn't risk it myself. Is the ECC memory you saw at a good price new or used? That could point to yet another risk.

 

[zeffog]

Based on the advice you received from JDcranke, it sounds like the ability to use ECC memory is both motherboard and CPU dependent. I wouldn't risk it myself. Is the ECC memory you saw at a good price new or used? That could point to yet another risk.

70 euro for 32 GB, new from a reputable company in The Netherlands

 

[mjslakeridge]

I read a thread here on Tom's earlier today about how and why SSD's and RAM are considerably more expensive now than they were earlier in the year (supply and demand). If you can wait, I would expect for prices to come down sometime in the future. I would also guess the ECC ram you found was a good deal is due to a relative lack of demand for it from the general public.