NEW: ECC Memory question

[Kenazo]

CORSAIR CMX512RE-3200LL Can this stuff run in dual channel? it's 512 megs, ECC. I'd be putting it in an Abit IC7-G.

 

[jjyiz28]

y won't it??

 

[Kenazo]

of ECC ram I am knowledgeless. just needed to know if ECC could run in dual channel.

 

[jjyiz28]

yes, and if your mobo can't support ECC, the ECC ram will still work, but just won't run with ECC on.
if its registered, and your mobo can't support it, the ram will not work at all

 

[Kenazo]

so.. Corsair CMX512RE-3200LL which is ECC Registered... Would it work in an Abit IC7-G, which supports ECC ram. What is the difference between ECC and Registered?

 

[jjyiz28]

if that board is canterwood (875P), no it won't work because its registered.

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=5

exhange your ram for ECC unbuffered.

 

[Kenazo]

I think the reason I was having trouble figuring this ram thing out, was b/c the suppliers I normally use don't seem to advertise their ram very well. NCIX, whom I do most of my purchasing through (Canadian), has only one or two ECC (non buffered) chips available that I could find. It seems most of the ECC stuff is registered.

 

[Peter]

That's because ECC is hardly ever used outside servers, and on the other hand most server chipsets require registered DIMMs. So effectively, we get unbuffered/non-ECC for commodity systems, and registered/ECC for servers. There is a rise in the use of registered/non-ECC currently, because that's what the Athlon 64-FX likes best.

 

[Kenazo]

then why the heck does the IC7-G support ECC but not Registered? Sounds like some advertising hype and that's all.

Yes... our motherboard supports ECC... you won't find any, but we support it.

 

[jjyiz28]

ecc unbuffered is gonna be cheaper than ecc registered. you know, you don't NEED to buy ECC ram, just buy non ecc unbuffered if your mobo supports ECC unbuffered. ECC unbuffered exists, not that hard too find even though ECC buffered may be more common.

 

[Peter]

"Buffered" does not equal "Registered". The former is even more rare, as it is completely uncommon everywhere.

For the technically interested, Registered DIMMs have driver chips for the address and clock lines on. Fully buffered DIMMs also have drivers in the data lines.