Should I use ECC RAM in my system?

[Deathwing1983]

I have a new AMD quad-core gaming machine and an Asus M4A79T Deluxe motherboard.

I mainly use the system for gaming but have had trouble with miscellaneous error messages and system errors in the past - nothing is more irritating than when a game you have been playing for 8 hours decides to crash (yes, I know, I should get a life or press "save" more often).

The motherboard uses DDR3 RAM, so I bought 8Mb of Corsair 1333Mhz ECC RAM. I have a vague idea that ECC RAM is the type of thing used in servers and has error correction capabilities, i.e. theoretically I should have fewer errors, right?

I spoke to Corsair about it and they seem to think that it's not right for my system and that I need to replace it with non-ECC RAM. They have not explained why this is the case, so I wondered if someone could enlighten me?

Thanks!

 

[Deathwing1983]

I should add that I currently run Windows XP operating system (though will upgrade to Windows 7 when I receive it later this month).

 

[sminlal]

Personally, I wouldn't bother with ECC RAM if it's just to improve uptime. RAM is pretty reliable as it is.

But if you're concerned about data integrity then ECC RAM is a very good layer of protection, IHMO. RAM memory is the ONLY component in most desktop computers that has NO form or error DETECTION, let alone correction. I use ECC RAM in my system because I've had issues in the past with intermittent memory problems and I value my data too much to risk having it corrupted without my knowledge.

I'm not familiar with AMD processors in general or with your motherboard in particular, but you should be aware that at least in the Intel world most desktop CPUs and motherboards won't accept ECC RAM. The ASUS page for your motherboard says that it supports ECC memory, so I don't why there would be a problem unless there's some issue with the CPU itself.

 

[Deathwing1983]

The CPU is an AMD Phenom Quad Core...

 

[sminlal]

Sorry, not familiar enough with the AMD processors... But if the motherboard supports the CPU and it also supports ECC memory then it would be surprising to me if there would be a problem with using it.

 

[Deathwing1983]

Thanks, so I wonder why Corsair said it was not right for my system?

If anyone has any further thoughts, please post and let me know.

 

[Mongox]

Corsair likely said you shouldn't use ECC because they know it's slower - the error correction takes a few extra ticks to complete its check - and more time if it finds an error. And of course it will fix any error, even one due to be wiped out in a micro-second.

Your system does support ECC and it should work fine. Don't later buy non-ECC and mix it, that's a no-no.

Server hardware is often a poor choice for PCs, from what I've seen. What's good in a server harddrive isn't necessarily what you want in your own system. Generally, server hardware is slower, more expensive and last longer.

 

[Deathwing1983]

Thanks mongox, as long as there is no conflict or any reason why I shouldn't use it I'm more than happy to stick with ECC. I could have bought 1800 MHz DXH non-ECC for the same price, but error correction sounds good to me, even if it's a little slower in performance.

 

[paranoidmage]

You should run Prime95 or another program to find out the source of your stability problems. You may just need to increase voltages or lower speeds slightly.

 

[Mongox]

paranoid, my impression was that the stability problems were "in the past" - on his previous computer. And that this one was working just fine. Nonetheless, it's always a good idea to run memtest86 to test the memory.

But not sure that Prime95 is a great program for all systems. With my stock CPU cooler, running at non-OC speed, I wouldn't want to let it run for more than a few minutes because the CPU temps rose to un-healthly levels. My CPU with the stock fan would hit close to 75C running Prime95 - with cooler the most is 62.

For sure if running Prime95, you should have a HW monitoring program up during the tests.