For such high capacity DIMMs, I'd be uncomfortable not having ECC even for a desktop. At least for now. 4 of them = 16GB, 6of them = 24GB.. That's huge stress on IMC and DIMMs themselves..
Granted I'd be curious to see how the following setup would perform.
- Windows 7
- 24 GB of RAM
- X25-E (32GB)
:laugh:
n7: Memory stability should be much better as Nehalem matures. Don't forget that IMC now resides in CPU. The burden is now largely on CPU rather than motherboards/chipsets, and the quality/performance of IMC is vastly superior to MCH approach.
Still, since its Intel's first attempt at IMC, it'll improve very quickly in time. Waiting to see isn't a bad idea (which is what you and I are doing).
Ideally I'd like to do a complete new build when:
Windows 7 SP1 out
Nehalem 32nm version (forgot what it's called)
Reliable 4GB modules for 16~24GB total
250GB+ SSDs in reasonable prices and consistent performance
Second-gen DX11 GPU (so that'd be GT300b/RV8x0)