48GB of DDR2 Registered\ECC Memory? What to do??

[ShiroDX]

Does anyone know of any AMD CPU's\Motherboards that support registered ECC memory?
Also looking for an older board that supports DDR2.

Looking to build a FreeNAS server cheaply.

Thank in advance.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

You'd be looking for older Socket F and thereabouts Opteron hardware.

Something like this would be deliciously overkill.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tyan-S2912G...07-AMD-Motherboard-Extended-ATX-/251641305630

There are used boards available cheaper.

"Barcelona" series quad core Opterons are selling on eBay for between $5 and $15. Just get two of the same model, drop 'em into one of those dual socket motherboards, and you should be able to get a CPU/Motherboard setup to go with your RAM for under $100.

Damn. Now I kinda want to build a legacy server for fun.

 

[tcsenter]

It will need to be a server or workstation board that supports the older AMD Opterons in Socket F/1207. I doubt it's worth it.

 

[imagoon]

Barcelona? Geez. You are also building a space heater. You can basically pick up a newer processor today that has about 4-5x the performance per CPU at about 40% the power. Sure that FreeNAS server will be cheap to build but ~220watts per CPU isn't exactly cheap in the power department / monthly bill.

 

[redzo]

If I were you I would ditch/sell that RAM. Your options are very limited due to the fact that the RAM is ECC and registered. You could buy a dedicated highly efficient home/small business NAS solution, I'm guessing, for almost the same price as a ddr2 registered compatible mobo + cpu mini nuclear reactor.
Here you go: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-085-_-Product

 

[tcsenter]

Barcelona? Geez. You are also building a space heater.

There are 45nm Shanghai and Istanbul Opteron models that support Registered DDR2. Not sure what they are fetching these days for used/refurbs, but much better than Barcelona in TDP.

 

[redzo]

Even a sandy bridge desktop setup will wipe the floor with anything socket f related(being 45nm or xeon from same generation included) in terms of performance and efficiency. That's why I do not support his decision of building a setup around that registered ddr2 RAM. Mobo's can be pretty expensive due to their exotic nature and overall system performance and efficiency goes down the toilet.

 

[Red Squirrel]

If you can get the parts for really cheap I'd say go for it, but otherwise I would not bother.

Is a processor of that vintage going to even have VT? My guess is not so that much ram wont really have much use unless there is a specific application you want to use the server for outside of virtualization.

That's a lot of ram though, for DDR2. Did not know they even had DDR2 motherboards that could handle that much ram. If I had that much on my hands I'd probably want to find a use for it too.

 

[XavierMace]

That's a lot of ram though, for DDR2. Did not know they even had DDR2 motherboards that could handle that much ram. If I had that much on my hands I'd probably want to find a use for it too.

I'm pretty all my DDR2 servers support at least 64Gb, the quad sockets more.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Is a processor of that vintage going to even have VT? My guess is not so that much ram wont really have much use unless there is a specific application you want to use the server for outside of virtualization.

OP states FreeNAS, which runs on bare metal and eats RAM.

 

[GoodEnough]

Sell the RAM and move on with your life

Oh, and learn this
http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/03/25/the-sunk-cost-fallacy/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs#Loss_aversion_and_the_sunk_cost_fallacy

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Sell the RAM and move on with your life

Oh, and learn this
http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/03/25/the-sunk-cost-fallacy/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs#Loss_aversion_and_the_sunk_cost_fallacy

I checked. The RAM is only worth a few bucks, too. Probably would be more valuable sold as keychains on etsy.

 

[GoodEnough]

Even better. Toss in garbage and move on with life. End thread.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Even better. Toss in garbage and move on with life. End thread.

The problem is that if you want to use FreeNAS, and you go to the FreeNAS forum for advice on an inexpensive system build for home use, you will be publicly raked over the coals unless you swear a blood oath to use ECC RAM and ZFS.

@OP start with this:

http://askubuntu.com/questions/1266/how-to-set-up-ubuntu-server-as-a-nas

As far as your system build goes, just get any old $200 desktop machine and pop in some extra hard drives. It'll be fine.

 

[ShiroDX]

Thank you for all the suggestions guys.
I guess I'm going to have to loose out on the RAM....

 

[Topweasel]

Thank you for all the suggestions guys.
I guess I'm going to have to loose out on the RAM....

Yeah probably a good move. I know the capacity and the job you wanted to use it for (though 48GB is way to much for a file server imho). The CPU's that used DDR2 were the most inefficient processors ever. They used up more power, did little work compared to now, and they had little power management. Not saying you would spend more on power than the cost of the new systems but it would be a pretty futile effort to get a setup that will use the memory when you can invest that money in a more modern setup that won't drive up your electricity costs.

 

[tweakboy]

Very nice, good find. gl

 

[ShiroDX]

Yeah probably a good move. I know the capacity and the job you wanted to use it for (though 48GB is way to much for a file server imho). The CPU's that used DDR2 were the most inefficient processors ever. They used up more power, did little work compared to now, and they had little power management. Not saying you would spend more on power than the cost of the new systems but it would be a pretty futile effort to get a setup that will use the memory when you can invest that money in a more modern setup that won't drive up your electricity costs.

True, Thanks everyone.

BTW, it's a $70 loss

 

[Red Squirrel]

See if you can sell it. There are probably lot of companies out there running old servers wanting to upgrade the ram and having trouble finding ram.

I bet Windows 2000 server would FLY with that much ram!

 

[imagoon]

See if you can sell it. There are probably lot of companies out there running old servers wanting to upgrade the ram and having trouble finding ram.

I bet Windows 2000 server would FLY with that much ram!

It wouldn't even be able to use it all. 32GB max for "data center."

 

[imagoon]

Yeah probably a good move. I know the capacity and the job you wanted to use it for (though 48GB is way to much for a file server imho). The CPU's that used DDR2 were the most inefficient processors ever. They used up more power, did little work compared to now, and they had little power management. Not saying you would spend more on power than the cost of the new systems but it would be a pretty futile effort to get a setup that will use the memory when you can invest that money in a more modern setup that won't drive up your electricity costs.

I would add in that if it is the "newer" FBDIMM DDR2, the RAM was crazy power and heat also.

 

[ArisVer]

Windows Home Server 2011 only accepts up to 8GB of RAM and is basically a file/backup server. 48GB is an overkill for this use.

Temps in my system are just under 60 C (DDR2 ECC Reg). I bought 4x2GB DIMMS for 16 euro about a month ago.

 

[tcsenter]

Thank you for all the suggestions guys.
I guess I'm going to have to loose out on the RAM....

Wait! May I presume the reason that you are inquiring about AMD platform for using that Registered ECC DDR2 is because you think all the Intel platforms for DDR2 required FB-DIMMs (Fully-Buffered)? Wrong!

The "San Clemente" Intel 5100 chipset server platform supported "Core2" generation Clovertown/Harpertown (65nm/45nm) Quad-Core Xeons and Woodcrest/Wolfdale (65nm/45nm) Dual-Core Xeons in LGA771 along with Registered ECC DDR2 DIMMs like you have.

If you can find the boards and processors, would be much better than AMD Opterons of this generation. Here is SuperMicro's list of Intel 5100 boards:

5100 San Clemente Socket LGA 771

Having said that, I don't know why a NAS file server needs 48GB RAM unless you intend to support like 1000 users?

 

[ArisVer]

Unless the OP is looking for a server, another option is a workstation like mine in the sig which has 8 memory slots at a maximum configuration of 8x4GB (ECC FB Reg) DIMMS. It will cost 100-200$ so a newer system might be more beneficial.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

You guys who think a file server couldn't benefit from 48GB of ram haven't ever used freenas, have you?

Default config uses any available memory as a ram disk / cache to speed up reads/writes. Even as an individual user, you can benefit from that.