32GB ECC RAM on Socket 1155 System?

[DarkNovaNick]

I'm looking at building an ESXi all-in-one box using the Intel Xeon E3-1230 processor, which uses a Socket 1155 motherboard. It looks like this processor is very fast and reasonably priced.

I'd like to be able to outfit it with 32GB of RAM, for use with virtual machines. I'm not sure if I'm confused, or what, but every Socket 1155 motherboard I can find seems to require Unbuffered ECC RAM, but all the 8GB ECC sticks I can find are registered!

So I either need a Socket 1155 motherboard that can use Registered ECC, or some (not crazy expensive) 4x8 GB Unbuffered ECC sticks.

I'm sure other people have faced this same issue -- am I missing something?

 

[Konowl]

I'm in the same boat. 8 gig udimms are ridiculous expensive compared to 4.

 

[RESTfulADI]

I was in this same boat when I was building my all-in-one box.

The problem is not the motherboard, it's the cpu. The memory controller in 1155 Xeons can't use registered memory, probably done to protect sales of the higher end 2P models. You either have to buy extremely expensive unbuffered 8GB ECC sticks or use socket 1156 like me.

 

[Dalfo002]

on my system using unbuffered ECC DDR2 the best i could do was 4x2GB modules; DDR3 should effectively double that. Barring some very rare/specific modules (very expensive and likely to run the risk of compatibility issues with some equipment) the best you can likely hope for for a reasonable price would be 4x4GB, 16GB total.

reference Newegg item #s N82E16820139565 and N82E16820148382 (remember to use commissioned buying link)

 

[DarkNovaNick]

I was in this same boat when I was building my all-in-one box.

The problem is not the motherboard, it's the cpu. The memory controller in 1155 Xeons can't use registered memory, probably done to protect sales of the higher end 2P models. You either have to buy extremely expensive unbuffered 8GB ECC sticks or use socket 1156 like me.

Hmm, thanks, that's what I was afraid of. When I look at CPU benchmarks, the Xeon E3 series is so much faster than the other ones that it just makes a lot of sense to run it in order to give plenty of CPU power, but it only works with socket 1155. If I go down to socket 1156 I could get more RAM but it requires a slower processor.

 

[Konowl]

I'm going the E3 route and will max out at 16 for now and hopefully upgrade to 32 when the cost comes down OR I need the space.

 

[TechIsCool]

Hmm, thanks, that's what I was afraid of. When I look at CPU benchmarks, the Xeon E3 series is so much faster than the other ones that it just makes a lot of sense to run it in order to give plenty of CPU power, but it only works with socket 1155. If I go down to socket 1156 I could get more RAM but it requires a slower processor.

The E5 will launch soon and it will support more DIMM slots check out the LGA2011 specs.

 

[pjkenned]

As TechIsCool mentioned, Xeon E5 series is promised in Q1 2012. It will support registered DIMMs and up to 1600MHz DDR3. the E5-2400 series is most commonly going to be 6 DIMMs/ socket and the E5-2600 series is going to most commonly be 8 DIMMs/ socket.

Here is a little blurb on the dual socket capable Xeon E5 processors. The Xeon E5-1600 series will basically be the single-processor Xeon version of the Core i7 line.


The LGA 1155 E3-1200 series, right now, is probably best paired with 16GB until prices come down. The 1156 socket is actually a pretty darn good platform still, especially if you don't need AES-NI. Still low power consumption, reasonable speeds and a bit less expensive.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

As TechIsCool mentioned, Xeon E5 series is promised in Q1 2012. It will support registered DIMMs and up to 1600MHz DDR3. the E5-2400 series is most commonly going to be 6 DIMMs/ socket and the E5-2600 series is going to most commonly be 8 DIMMs/ socket.

Here is a little blurb on the dual socket capable Xeon E5 processors. The Xeon E5-1600 series will basically be the single-processor Xeon version of the Core i7 line.


The LGA 1155 E3-1200 series, right now, is probably best paired with 16GB until prices come down. The 1156 socket is actually a pretty darn good platform still, especially if you don't need AES-NI. Still low power consumption, reasonable speeds and a bit less expensive.

Consider that the anticipated cost per system of an E5 setup is a little over twice what an equivalent E3 system is. If you don't really NEED the extra 16GB of RAM in one box, it might be more worthwhile to create a second 16GB E3 system.

 

[RESTfulADI]

Consider that the anticipated cost per system of an E5 setup is a little over twice what an equivalent E3 system is. If you don't really NEED the extra 16GB of RAM in one box, it might be more worthwhile to create a second 16GB E3 system.

Not a bad idea at all, then you can play with all the cluster stuff without nesting. If you decide not to go the all-in-one route then you don't need VT-d and you can use Core i3s, quad core for 16GB ram is probably overkill.

 

[TCM]

Consider that the anticipated cost per system of an E5 setup is a little over twice what an equivalent E3 system is.

How so? The cheapest E5-26xx is listed at $202, RAM is cheaper and I don't think boards are going triple the price.

 

[RESTfulADI]

How so? The cheapest E5-26xx is listed at $202, RAM is cheaper and I don't think boards are going triple the price.

that cpu is only 1.8ghz and doesn't have hyper-threading.

 

[TCM]

that cpu is only 1.8ghz and doesn't have hyper-threading.

RAM > CPU, for me and the OP apparently.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

How so? The cheapest E5-26xx is listed at $202, RAM is cheaper and I don't think boards are going triple the price.

Might want to take another look at the boards. E5s are socket 2011. The cheapest socket 2011 board I can find right now is $209, and that's for a single-socket non-server board, compared to the $170 for a low-end server-grade 1155 board. I'd expect the 2011 server boards to be around $250-$300 for a single-socket, and about $400 for a dual. On top of that, the processor itself is about $900 for an E3-1230(v2?) equivalent.

 

[Konowl]

How so? The cheapest E5-26xx is listed at $202, RAM is cheaper and I don't think boards are going triple the price.

E3-1230 looks to be a much better value (4c/8t) than the low end E5.

 

[DarkNovaNick]

As I look at things, it seems like the E5-2xxx are going to be very expensive for the equivalent speed of the E3-1230. But there is the E5-1620, which is just single-socket compatible, which looks pretty fast and will probably be available in the next few weeks for somewhere in the $300s. I think its basically the same processor as the i7-3820, which is out already. I'm assuming this will support registered ECC? But I haven't seen any confirmation of that. One big negative for me is that the power draw is significantly higher. I still haven't decided what to do -- I'm thinking right now I might just go with the E3-1230 and 16GB unbuffered ECC, and I may end up upgrading the RAM later if I need it and 8GB unbuffered ECC modules come down in price significantly.

 

[TCM]

E3-1230 looks to be a much better value (4c/8t) than the low end E5.

$202 as the lowest projected price by Intel probably means they'll be even cheaper. An E3-1230 is $240 now. So you'll probably pay some premium for a dual-socket board, but still end up way below twice what an E3 system is now. Plus you'll get upgradability from two sockets and reg ECC support. So even if the smallest E5 is slower than an E3, you potentially get twice as many cores and at least four times the RAM (twice the sockets, same $/GB as unbuffered modules but twice the capacity).

I'll wait.