I am using a R9 5950x on a ASUS Pro WS x570-ACE motherboard for a linux host which runs a media server and multiple virtual machines.
Currently I have a 4x16gb 3200 ram kit. I am in need of more memory, however, and have decided to upgrade to a 128gb kit.
Since I am using zfs, I am going to go with a 4x32 ecc kit.
I am less familiar with server hardware, however, so I am looking for recommendations on brands or SKUs.
I have noticed quite the price jump from 2666 to 3200 dims. So I would also like some advice on whether I should invest in the better speeds as well (and any insite on if I would notice the performance drop with my workload going down from my current ram speeds)
Go for generic ECC (UDIMM) modules by Kingston, Micron etc
Do note that this combination is somewhat supported officially but I wouldn’t much in terms of support regarding support from either Asus or AMD on the matter.
Asus lists 2933 memory as the fastest tested memory speed regarding ECC but Ryzen’s does love memory bandwidth so 3200Mhz wouldn’t hurt at all however it may also not work.
Do I need to be concerned about cooling since these dimms don’t have a heatsink, and they are going in a workstation chassis and not a server?
My case has great airflow,the Meshify XL, but that’s still not quite the same as a server rack with blowers going right over them.
Heat shouldnt be an issue, these usually run at lower volatages. 1.25… if it is 1.35 even then it should be fine. These arent “overclocked” like consumer dimms. Server ram isnt ran as high usually for longevity cooling reasons so you shoukd be fine. I had no issues in my consumer box as a server with ecc sticks.
If I turn all case fans off in my micro-ITX case, then I can see 60-65C on full memory load. Kingston says everything up to 85C is fine. Don’t worry. With some degree of airflow I get like mid 40s.
But be aware that 3200 is technically an overclock as far as AMD specs are concerned. 4x dual rank DIMMs are officially supported with 2667MT/s. Most run with 3200, but it’s not guaranteed. Memory controller of Ryzen and the lack of RDIMMs take their toll when using 2DPC and high capacity memory.
I have Kingston 2666 ECC server memory in three systems and they’ve been incredible for the past ~2 years now.
All are Micron rev.E/E-die (…ME at the end of the part number). Works with 1st gen Threadripper (4x16GB 2666), Zen2 (2x8GB 4133) and Zen 3 (2x16GB 3600) Asrock and Gigabyte mobos. I left the home lab 4x16GB speeds alone, because it took ages to test 32GB OC for stability as it is. Testing 128GB would probably take 2 days to complete.
