PRO and CON for ecc ram in mac pro

[Henninges]

i just tested some usual ddr3 bars in my MP...looks like, they doing well...except 2 modules, they are just flashing red...

so what is are the PROs and CONtras for ecc ram ?

this mac is just a "usual" one, no server or anything...

 

[kschendel]

You have to cross a wooden bridge over a sheer chasm many times a day. The bridge is 10 feet long and 18 inches wide, with no handrail. It's generally no problem, but if you have a sudden moment of vertigo, or a bee flies up your nose, or you have an uncontrollable sneezing attack, it will be all over.

ECC puts up one handrail.

 

[AidenShaw]

i just tested some usual ddr3 bars in my MP...looks like, they doing well...except 2 modules, they are just flashing red...

so what is are the PROs and CONtras for ecc ram ?

this mac is just a "usual" one, no server or anything...

With ECC RAM, you don't have to wonder if a crash or instability is due to memory errors. That's good peace of mind for systems with lots of RAM.

 

[h9826790]

You have to cross a wooden bridge over a sheer chasm many times a day. The bridge is 10 feet long and 18 inches wide, with no handrail. It's generally no problem, but if you have a sudden moment of vertigo, or a bee flies up your nose, or you have an uncontrollable sneezing attack, it will be all over.

ECC puts up one handrail.

If your computer works fine, and you only use it for normal daily stuff. ECC just make your computer run tiny bit slower and usually no real benefit.

However, when anything goes wrong, ECC allow you instantly know if the error is coming from the memory. For a non ECC system, it can be a nightmare to diagnosis if there is any memory error.

 

[Henninges]

@kschendel : nice story...i know about the benefits of ecc ram, but this is so much sweet description
@AidenShaw : it's just a bunch of 4x4gig...not that "much" in the end...
@h9826790 : still in use and benchstable with non"ecc"...so i guess there is no problem in daily use...

 

[William_si]

The 4,1+ cMP CPUs (and chipset) support non ECC fine (and should also boot with unbuffered, albeit with no ECC then) OOTB.

DDR3 reg ECC is nowadays way cheaper - new also but especially used - than non-ECC and unbuffered ECC, by this alone it makes zero sense to not use it.

 

[h9826790]

The 4,1+ cMP CPUs (and chipset) support non ECC fine (and should also boot with unbuffered, albeit with no ECC then) OOTB.

DDR3 reg ECC is nowadays way cheaper - new also but especially used - than non-ECC and unbuffered ECC, by this alone it makes zero sense to not use it.

Totally agree, in this specific situation, ECC RAM is cheaper, just can't see why buy the more expensive one to give up such a good protection / function.

 

[Henninges]

well...i just have enough bars here and access to more for nothing more then a call...so before i buy 32gig of used ecc, i rather would get 32gig non-ecc for at least nothing...

 

[William_si]

well...i just have enough bars here and access to more for nothing more then a call...so before i buy 32gig of used ecc, i rather would get 32gig non-ecc for at least nothing...

Depends, considering 32GB used - perfectly working fine, the ECC guarantees this - in the US only cost around 80$ + shipping i would still spend the few bucks to not cut the CPU down (especially as you pay Intel a LOT to get this functionality usually).

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=8GB+DDR3+ECC&_sop=15