GA-X58A-UD3R Ver 2.0 + XEON W3680 + ECC MEMORY

[d0gleg]

Hello fellow Gigabyters,

I've had this motherboard for 8 years and have been very happy with it. I'm now looking at turning it into a NAS server for my home network, and I've been googling for a couple of weeks now, trying to verify whether I can fit ECC memory. The best I could find so far was a couple leads, however nothing specific. I've just bought a W3680, and I'm hoping that there may be a Gigabyte fan out there who can tell me from personal experience that a specific brand/spec of ECC memory will work with this combination. http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/Smileys/default/smiley.gif

[dmdilks]

By their specs you can use ECC memory sorry. I can't find any where that you can use ECC in the book or bios.

6 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 24 GB of system memory(Note 1)
Dual/3 channel memory architecture
Support for DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules
Support for non-ECC memory modules
Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

[d0gleg]

By their specs you can use ECC memory sorry. I can't find any where that you can use ECC in the book or bios.

6 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 24 GB of system memory(Note 1)
Dual/3 channel memory architecture
Support for DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules
Support for non-ECC memory modules
Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

Hi dmdilks, I agree with you that the specs do clearly say that the motherboard does not support ECC. I was sort of hoping in an experimental spirit that possibly someone out there may have successfully tried ECC mems? Would there be anyone else out there that may be able to share some off label experience? 
 

[dmdilks]

There isn't to many people out there that really use ECC memory. Now a days using non ECC memory basically the standard for most board. Good luck on what you are looking for you might not find it here sorry. Plus that link you put up doesn't really bring you to any thing but a smiley face.

[d0gleg]

Plus that link you put up doesn't really bring you to any thing but a smiley face.

Yeh, I was trying to punctuate my text with a smiley face at the end, but I can't get it to work.

I did find a thread on another forum where 'mcbeth303' claims that it is possible in the 2nd last posting:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/ecc-memory-any-thoughts.120646/

but it was some time ago and I haven't been able to find out any more.

[cmanns]

Plus that link you put up doesn't really bring you to any thing but a smiley face.

Yeh, I was trying to punctuate my text with a smiley face at the end, but I can't get it to work.

I did find a thread on another forum where 'mcbeth303' claims that it is possible in the 2nd last posting:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/ecc-memory-any-thoughts.120646/

but it was some time ago and I haven't been able to find out any more.

I would say theres a great chance it will support.

"The X58 is not a memory controller hub (MCH), because it has no memory interface, so Intel calls it an I/O hub. This should not be confused with the similar term I/O controller hub (ICH) which has traditionally been used to refer to the southbridge chips. Intel documentation now refers to the southbridge as the Legacy I/O Controller Hub."

The gigabyte mainboard you have is same as mine. I plan to run a 6 core xeon- that is not "officially" supported. The xeon's contain MCH that will support ECC.

When I tell people I ran Windows 10 with gpu-passthrough on this mainboard their first response "IT DOESNT SUPPORT VT-d" uh, X58 era is CPU side. I'd imagine ECC is also on that bandwagon.

[d0gleg]

When I tell people I ran Windows 10 with gpu-passthrough on this mainboard their first response "IT DOESNT SUPPORT VT-d" uh, X58 era is CPU side. I'd imagine ECC is also on that bandwagon.

Thanks cmanns for your vote of confidence. I'm going to experiment with some cheaper ECC off eBay. It'll take several weeks turnaround. I'll eventually post my findings.

[cmanns]

When I tell people I ran Windows 10 with gpu-passthrough on this mainboard their first response "IT DOESNT SUPPORT VT-d" uh, X58 era is CPU side. I'd imagine ECC is also on that bandwagon.

Thanks cmanns for your vote of confidence. I'm going to experiment with some cheaper ECC off eBay. It'll take several weeks turnaround. I'll eventually post my findings.

Thanks, your cheap ram experiment wont go without helping others

Lets get it out there once and for all! I'll prob do the same once I know whether my mainboard is damaged or not (cpu pin/memory related)

Edit:

Why W3680- is there a list of unofficially supported xeons with these mainboards?

I was planning on going with X5675/X5650 and overclock to around 3,3ghz. I was told by people this gigabyte mainboard "should" do over 24GB ram with X5650 series 6 cores but I have no need for above 24GB. Seems X5650 series vs W3650 is mostly less TDP/heat and additional QPI's which this mainboard should beable to expose with xeon's.

Edit 2:

Found a local with X5675 and ECC ram, may pickup some myself

[d0gleg]

Why W3680- is there a list of unofficially supported xeons with these mainboards?

I started with this list of supported CPU's:
http://www.gigabyte.com.au/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3449

I'm interested in a Xeon, so I looked on eBay for the best "bang per buck" and I settled on the W3680. That was the easy bit. I've never used ECC ram before so there's a bit of a learning curve. I'm just getting my mind around "rank" and whether I can or should use "registered" rather than "unbuffered" memory. I don't intend to overclock or play with voltages (I'll probable do it initially to try to induce single bit errors to see how the ECC performs). I just have to buy a variety of ECC mems to play with.

Found a local with X5675 and ECC ram, may pickup some myself

I didn't see the X5675 on the list (but that doesn't say much). Good luck with the combination. I'm particularly interested in how the ECC goes on that motherboard.

edit: I had a look at a couple of benchmarks. I would cautiously say that the X5675 is an excellent choice. I agree with your comment about the TDP/heat and additional QPI's. I've got 2 of these motherboards. I might buy a X5675 for the other board if it works out well for you. I think I'll stay with non-ecc unbuffered memory for that one.

[d0gleg]

I was surprised to get a response to a posting I had made on another thread on a different forum:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/ecc-memory-any-thoughts.120646/

....where mcbeth303 is successfully using 24 Gb of Hynix HMT351U7BFR8A-H9T0 ECC unbuffered memory with the motherboard and CPU listed above. Well I decided to also buy 24 Gb of Hynix HMT351U7BFR8A-H9T0. I should have them in 3 weeks. I'll post my findings.