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Comment by sph | Hacker News Reader

Please, I'd love someone to tell me how to find and buy computers that support ECC. I am looking to buy a NUC/mini-server, and they basically all sell with non-ECC RAM. Last time I asked on this forum, I was told that on Intel, only Xeon processors support ECC, while all modern (?) AMD CPU support them. Elsewhere I read that was matter is the mobo needs to support it. I have no idea how to go about it.

So, let me ask again. I was to buy a NUC new or off Ebay, how can I be 100% sure it works with ECC RAM without having to spend half a hour researching CPU, mobo and BIOS specs for each single product I come across?

If I had a budget in the thousands, I would go with a Xeon server that comes with ECC pre-installed. I don't and have modest needs. I only want to splurge on ECC RAM to replace the original sticks.

(No "you don't need ECC for a NUC" reply please. That is not the point of my question, yet it is a far too common response)

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I have never seen any true NUC-like computer that supports ECC SODIMMs. Intel has also used the NUC brand for a much larger computer that supported laptop Xeon CPUs, but that line has been abandoned.

There have been some NUC-like computers from ASRock industrial, Supermicro and others, with either Tiger Lake or Elkhart Lake CPUs, where you could enable in BIOS the so-called in-band ECC.

All these models are obsolete. Moreover, in-band ECC is an ugly and inefficient workaround. It can be used with soldered LPDDR memories, which do not have ECC variants, but it has worse performances than standard ECC. It is not cheaper, because it diminishes the memory capacity in the same ratio as any ECC and it requires a greater die area inside the CPU for its implementation (including a dedicated cache memory for the ECC bits).

There are many mini-ITX motherboards that support ECC (but you must check carefully the specifications, even if they are for AMD CPUs). For a smaller size than mini-ITX, there are 2 choices, either expensive industrial single-board computers, which usually have the 3.5" form factor of the PCB, or one of the so-called mobile workstation laptops from Dell, HP or Lenovo, e.g. a Dell Precision mobile workstation, which are also much more expensive than an equivalent NUC-like computer.

So, if a low price is desired and an up-to-date fast CPU, you cannot have ECC in form factors smaller than mini-ITX. If paying double or triple is not a problem, there are solutions.

If you want a preassembled small computer with ECC and a mini-ITX motherboard, there are some at companies like ASRock Rack or Supermicro, but they are much more expensive than if you get the best components and you assemble them yourself.

Recent AMD processors need to be AMD pro series to support ECC. Motherboard support is also required. On intels side I think standard Xeon type commercial boards very often support it. Unfortunately you’ll likely need to ask around when buying to ensure it supports it. If you can, getting a mini ATX known-good mobo in a small case may be easier.

Don't all Ryzen 7000 CPUs support ECC?

At least in the 7x4x series, the pro designation is required. Fortunately amd’s website will mention if Ecc is supported.

I didn't think about laptop CPUs. It looks like 7x4xHS and 7x4xU require the Pro designation but 7x4xH and all others do not.

I was on the NUC search a while ago and I'm not sure you can. Although the AMD motherboards may not support ECC, I haven't heard of any that actually don't. Best bet is probably to buy a recent, barebones AMD NUC, and buy the ECC RAM yourself. Sometimes they'll advertise ECC support as well.

keep reading. books will set you free

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