AMD Phenom II + ECC RAM - experiences?

Started by Kithop, April 15, 2010, 06:45:17 PM

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Kithop

So, I'm planning on likely selling my Mac Pro, due to the way Apple has been acting in the marketplace lately - I strongly, vehemently disagree with their policies as of late and can't see myself continuing to support their business practices.

That said, I'd like to build myself an AMD/ATI Linux-or-BSD box to replace it, but I really really want ECC RAM for the system.  Problem is, apparently the registered, buffered server RAM out there doesn't work on these boards; I need unbuffered/unregistered ECC DIMMs.  Apparently Crucial sells some, and they even say it will work with the specific motherboard I've chosen, but I don't have any experience with this - has anyone gone down this route with a new system, and do you know if it will work in a modern socket AM2+/AM3 board?

See: http://kithop.livejournal.com/181014.html for full details and my part list (obviously waiting for the upcoming Phenom II X6 due out in a few weeks).

Also, yes, I understand Intel CPUs are faster; they are also much more expensive, and I have my reasons for not wanting to support Intel financially (and by extension, nVidia).  I'm leaning towards the possibility of watercooling this system some time afterwards (hence the Antec 1200 for room to fit a radiator, pump, reservoir, etc.), so with the possibility of overclocking it should be more than fast enough for my needs.

Tai

Well the case you are looking to get will fit with the card you are looking at, my friend has the same card and it fits with room to spare, even the older 3870 x2 fits and I am pretty sure your card is smaller. As for OC with the AMD phenom, yeah it is okay, I know you don't want to get a I7. Though I will tell you this, you will need to water cool it if you want to push it too the max, those high watt CPU's are hot. The case isn't that bad either. The air filter system could be better. Though since you might water cool it, and with the card that you are getting, the noise should be quite low, though you will have to have the fans set to a low RPM, though it is easy with the nobs and the switches on the front and back of the case. You will have no problems with space inside the case, thought just remember it is a bottom mount PSU so just make sure the 8 pin for the CPU is long enough. Though I am a person who has to have everything tied and neat. I like the choice for 3D card, though I don't like the Mini DisplayPort, though I am guessing you already have the monitor or just going to get a adapter. I really haven't the need to get ECC RAM so I can't really help you there.

Kithop

Really it's more for the fact that the 6 port cards have 2GB of RAM. :p  I'd just get an adapter to DVI-D, though I really should look at getting a new monitor at some point anyway.

It's good to know about the case; I'll have to look into the cable length on the power supply.  I'm still planning on going stock speeds on air to begin with, and looking into watercooling it a few months down the line if I feel like I really want to overclock it.  I have a feeling the system'll feel plenty fast enough stock, though. :p

Thanks for the input!

mediar

May I ask why you want ECC ram so badly?
There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those that don't.

Arooo!

Kithop

I think the question should be - why aren't we all using ECC RAM?

As much as I'd love an uber screaming fast insane machine, my #1 priority is stability.  It will be a part-time fileserver and music source for the house, and I don't need RAM errors causing filesystem corruption, basically.

Ideally I'd run FreeBSD and have my data stored on a nice ZFS partition, but it needs to be flexible as a desktop, too.

mediar

Quote from: Kithop on April 21, 2010, 11:29:54 PM
I think the question should be - why aren't we all using ECC RAM?

As much as I'd love an uber screaming fast insane machine, my #1 priority is stability.  It will be a part-time fileserver and music source for the house, and I don't need RAM errors causing filesystem corruption, basically.

Ideally I'd run FreeBSD and have my data stored on a nice ZFS partition, but it needs to be flexible as a desktop, too.


I've been building my own PCs for 10 years now. I've never had issues with file systems being corrupted due to ram errors.. Only viruses and jealous Ex-Girlfriends with metal bars have caused me any PC issues. I feel that using ECC ram for home PCs is a waste of money.. even with home servers... Besides if you have a corruption, you can restore from your backup, you just need to make sure it's up-to-date.
There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those that don't.

Arooo!

Kithop

I have a definite non-zero portion of my music library damaged from old machines that didn't have ECC RAM, running over the course of several years.  MP3 files especially tend to suffer bit rot and glitch; stuff that I've had since the days of the original Winamp now has what sounds like digital 'scratches' in the file, after being copied from system to system, to backup, etc.

I generally agree with what this guy says when it comes to ECC - as silly as it sounds, things like cosmic rays can and do cause issues with RAM and mass storage.  If we didn't need it, why is it pretty much standard on all higher-end workstations and all servers, where data integrity and accuracy is critical?  Why did Sun feel the need to write ZFS with its (over)active data scrubbing features to ensure integrity?

http://lambda-diode.com/opinion/ecc-memory
with some corrections at: http://lambda-diode.com/opinion/ecc-memory-2

I totally understand that if you just want the PC equivalent of a gaming console with some light-duty stuff on the side, then ECC is probably overkill.  If you have to do any audio work, scientific calculations, or generally make money from the accuracy of your data, you should be running ECC just like you should be running a high quality power supply and higher-quality components (e.g. capacitors especially).

Either way, though, with recent developments I think this whole thing is moot - I can't get Ardour to do what I want, and it sounds like I'm going to need to keep a decent DAW available, so I'm going to have to keep my Mac Pro and Logic Express for the forseeable future.  Ardour's guitar amp/cab simulation, while free, just doesn't cut it compared to the one built into Logic. :p

mediar

Quote from: Kithop on May 02, 2010, 01:59:09 PM
If you have to do any audio work, scientific calculations, or generally make money from the accuracy of your data, you should be running ECC just like you should be running a high quality power supply and higher-quality components (e.g. capacitors especially).

That I agree with, but again you need a bullet-proof backup system too.
There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those that don't.

Arooo!

Kithop

Of course. :p  But backups won't help if you get bit rot on a file and then back up the damaged file without knowing it until after you've rotated through the original.

mediar

Quote from: Kithop on May 02, 2010, 03:13:57 PM
Of course. :p  But backups won't help if you get bit rot on a file and then back up the damaged file without knowing it until after you've rotated through the original.

This is true too. I've never had such issue before with files, though. Guess I must be lucky. :)
There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those that don't.

Arooo!