ECC Memory on Z170

[TSL]

If i buy a ddr4-2133Mhz 16gb ram kit that supports ECC. can i run it in non ECC mode on my asus z170-ar motherboard?

[ARikozuM]

Yes. ECC memory on non-ECC boards will run the ninth RAM chip without functionality.

 

Just make sure that it isn't registered or buffered. 

[TSL]

1 minute ago, ARikozuM said:

Yes. ECC memory on non-ECC boards will run the ninth RAM chip without functionality.

 

Just make sure that it isn't registered or buffered. 

what does registered or buffered mean?

[Oshino Shinobu]

1 minute ago, TSL said:

what does registered or buffered mean?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registered_memory

 

Literally has a buffer/register between the RAM and the memory controller. The system needs to be able to use that in order for it to work, which Z170 can't. 

[TSL]

1 minute ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registered_memory

 

Literally has a buffer/register between the RAM and the memory controller. The system needs to be able to use that in order for it to work, which Z170 can't. 

OK thanks

[ARikozuM]

2 minutes ago, TSL said:

what does registered or buffered mean?

Oshino has given one reason and the other is the pinout. Not every board can accept buffered and unbuffered RAM and, outside of server boards, it's very rare to find one that does. 

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

7 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

Yes. ECC memory on non-ECC boards will run the ninth RAM chip without functionality.

 

Just make sure that it isn't registered or buffered. 

almost all the ecc kits come as registered ecc :v its rare to find non registered ecc kits these days

[TSL]

Just now, ARikozuM said:

Oshino has given one reason and the other is the pinout. Not every board can accept buffered and unbuffered RAM and, outside of server boards, it's very rare to find one that does. 

OK thank you

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

almost all the ecc kits come as registered ecc :v its rare to find non registered ecc kits these days

Kingston makes plenty of them and Corsair makes them as well. No point looking for ECC that has a fancy heat spreader when RAM only gives 2W of heat. 

 

Also, PCPP. 

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

9 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

Kingston makes plenty of them and Corsair makes them as well. No point looking for ECC that has a fancy heat spreader when RAM only gives 2W of heat. 

 

Also, PCPP. 

those heatspreaders are just for looks for the average ppl, but for extreme ram tweakers its to actually survive 2.1v runs ect ( ddr3 ) , yeah ive ran 2.1v with extreme tight cas latencies never seen a pc with such low response times n loading speeds, sadly cant run it 24/7 haha rip mem controller if u do

 

( short said the ram heat spreaders is just for overvoltage to maintain stability or to survive extreme runs , but average ppl went like woow those look cool and bought them for looks only so they became a thing )

 

 

 

the problem is, even if ecc memory would work on the board it is that consumer grade cpus doesnt support ecc at all and it wont run at ecc, yet the cas latencies / performance is lower due to the ecc platform ram stickies :v ( of the ram itself )

 

 

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

those heatspreaders are just for looks for the average ppl, but for extreme ram tweakers its to actually survive 2.1v runs ect ( ddr3 ) , yeah ive ran 2.1v with extreme tight cas latencies never seen a pc with such low response times n loading speeds, sadly cant run it 24/7 haha rip mem controller if u do

Not relevant to the discussion, so here's another derail.

1 minute ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

the problem is, even if ecc memory would work on the board it is that consumer grade cpus doesnt support ecc at all and it wont run at ecc, yet the cas latencies / performance is lower due to the ecc platform ram stickies :v ( of the ram itself )

First post says it. 

18 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

Yes. ECC memory on non-ECC boards will run the ninth RAM chip without functionality.

[TSL]

2 minutes ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

those heatspreaders are just for looks for the average ppl, but for extreme ram tweakers its to actually survive 2.1v runs ect ( ddr3 ) , yeah ive ran 2.1v with extreme tight cas latencies never seen a pc with such low response times n loading speeds, sadly cant run it 24/7 haha rip mem controller if u do

 

( short said the ram heat spreaders is just for overvoltage to maintain stability or to survive extreme runs , but average ppl went like woow those look cool and bought them for looks only so they became a thing )

 

 

 

the problem is, even if ecc memory would work on the board it is that consumer grade cpus doesnt support ecc at all and it wont run at ecc, yet the cas latencies / performance is lower due to the ecc platform ram stickies :v ( of the ram itself )

 

 

I'm not concerned about heat spreaders. I was looking for cheap second hand ddr4 memory so i can get 16gb instead of 8gb. RAM is so expensive new. I saw an ecc 16gb for 100NZD (about 70 USD) and wanted to get it but was unsure of compatibility with my z170 platform. looks like i can't get it. I'll just keep looking. Thanks

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, TSL said:

I'm not concerned about heat spreaders. I was looking for cheap second hand ddr4 memory so i can get 16gb instead of 8gb. RAM is so expensive new. I saw an ecc 16gb for 100NZD (about 70 USD) and wanted to get it but was unsure of compatibility with my z170 platform. looks like i can't get it. I'll just keep looking. Thanks

You can unless it's registered. Do you have a link to the kit?

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

18 minutes ago, TSL said:

I'm not concerned about heat spreaders. I was looking for cheap second hand ddr4 memory so i can get 16gb instead of 8gb. RAM is so expensive new. I saw an ecc 16gb for 100NZD (about 70 USD) and wanted to get it but was unsure of compatibility with my z170 platform. looks like i can't get it. I'll just keep looking. Thanks

 

the problem is, even if ecc memory would work on the board it is that consumer grade cpus doesnt support ecc at all and it wont run at ecc, yet the cas latencies / performance is lower due to the ecc platform ram stickies :v ( of the ram itself )

 

 

they will perform quite a bit slower then non ecc ram :v if used for gaming or just as workstation its not worth it, because u cant use the ecc feature anyway unless u go xeon

[TSL]

15 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

You can unless it's registered. Do you have a link to the kit?

I checked and it was registered ECC

[ARikozuM]

2 minutes ago, TSL said:

I checked and it was registered ECC

Then you'll have to keep shopping. Have you checked PCPP for NZ?

[TSL]

Just now, ARikozuM said:

Then you'll have to keep shopping. Have you checked PCPP for NZ?

I don't want to buy new ram as it's just too expensive. I'm looking around for second hand 16gb kits just to tide me over until sometime 2018 when manufacturing for ddr4 ram should improve and I can buy a decent 16gb kit.