Known AMD CPU/Motherboard/Memory combos which support ECC

Hardware Build a PC
1

I’m thinking about building a new AMD-based system and would like one with ECC memory. So, I’m looking for examples of CPU, motherboard, memory combinations that folks are using day-to-day that meet that criteria.

I’m thinking B550 to save a few bucks, but haven’t ruled out X570. I run Linux exclusively. I’m also thinking Ryzen 5000 series, whatever I can find at the time I buy.

Just FYI, my current desktop is based around Asrock x370 Taichi, Ryzen 7 1800X, (2) Kingston ValueRAM KVR24E17D8/16.

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance.

2

Well, from Linux dmidecode I know this works:

Base Board Information
        Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
        Product Name: PRIME X570-PRO

And it has four of these, which are speed rated at 2,666 but seem to run fine at 3,000 even at 1.2V:

Memory Device
        Array Handle: 0x0037
        Error Information Handle: 0x003E
        Total Width: 72 bits
        Data Width: 64 bits
        Size: 16384 MB
        Form Factor: DIMM
        Set: None
        Locator: DIMM_A1
        Bank Locator: BANK 0
        Type: DDR4
        Type Detail: Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered)
        Speed: 3000 MT/s
        Manufacturer: Micron Technology
        Serial Number: F050221A
        Asset Tag: Not Specified
        Part Number: 18ASF2G72AZ-2G6D1
        Rank: 2
        Configured Memory Speed: 3000 MT/s
        Minimum Voltage: 1.2 V
        Maximum Voltage: 1.2 V
        Configured Voltage: 1.2 V
        Memory Technology: DRAM
        Memory Operating Mode Capability: Volatile memory
        Firmware Version: Unknown
        Module Manufacturer ID: Bank 1, Hex 0x2C
        Module Product ID: Unknown
        Memory Subsystem Controller Manufacturer ID: Unknown
        Memory Subsystem Controller Product ID: Unknown
        Non-Volatile Size: None
        Volatile Size: 16 GB
        Cache Size: None
        Logical Size: None

And on an older x370 system:

Base Board Information
        Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
        Product Name: PRIME X370-PRO

Memory Device
        Array Handle: 0x000A
        Error Information Handle: 0x0012
        Total Width: 128 bits
        Data Width: 64 bits
        Size: 16 GB
        Form Factor: DIMM
        Set: None
        Locator: DIMM_A2
        Bank Locator: BANK 1
        Type: DDR4
        Type Detail: Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered)
        Speed: 2400 MT/s
        Manufacturer: Micron Technology
        Serial Number: 153CADF6
        Asset Tag: Not Specified
        Part Number: 18ASF2G72AZ-2G3B1
        Rank: 2
        Configured Memory Speed: 1200 MT/s
        Minimum Voltage: 1.2 V
        Maximum Voltage: 1.2 V
        Configured Voltage: 1.2 V
3

I feel like this question comes up a lot, and we should probably have a wiki for it at this point :smiley:

But anyway, personally I would stick to motherboards that actually advertise it, as chances are it’ll not be removed by BIOS updates. Non-official ECC support (which of course also depends on the CPU) can be wonky over time depending how much the vendor cares. I’d look through the L1 Motherboard reviews (haven’t gotten to all the B550 boards yet), since wendell usually does ECC testing as well.

@zlynx I’m not sure both those really do support ECC though or what you’re reading that from. I have similar readings and I definitely don’t have ECC memory:

Memory Device
        Array Handle: 0x0027
        Error Information Handle: 0x002F
        Total Width: 64 bits
        Data Width: 64 bits
        Size: 8 GB
        Form Factor: DIMM
        Set: None
        Locator: DIMM 1
        Bank Locator: P0 CHANNEL A
        Type: DDR4
        Type Detail: Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered)
        Speed: 2133 MT/s
        Manufacturer: Unknown
        Serial Number: 00000000
        Asset Tag: Not Specified
        Part Number: CMR16GX4M2C3200C16  
        Rank: 1
        Configured Memory Speed: 2133 MT/s
        Minimum Voltage: 1.2 V
        Maximum Voltage: 1.2 V
        Configured Voltage: 1.2 V

Judging by your readings I would assume the X570 board does support ECC (Total Width 72 bit = 64 bit data + 8 bit ECC), but the X370 doesn’t (Total Width 128 bit = 2x data, presumably because it’s dual rang?).

4

They both definitely do support it. The kernel dmesg log reports configuring ECC and discovering the RAM.

From the x370:

[    7.952704] EDAC amd64: F17h detected (node 0).
[    7.952745] EDAC amd64: Node 0: DRAM ECC enabled.
[    7.952746] EDAC amd64: MCT channel count: 2
[    7.952811] EDAC MC0: Giving out device to module amd64_edac controller F17h: DEV 0000:00:18.3 (INTERRUPT)
[    7.952815] EDAC MC: UMC0 chip selects:
[    7.952816] EDAC amd64: MC: 0:     0MB 1:     0MB
[    7.952818] EDAC amd64: MC: 2:  8192MB 3:  8192MB
[    7.952821] EDAC MC: UMC1 chip selects:
[    7.952821] EDAC amd64: MC: 0:     0MB 1:     0MB
[    7.952823] EDAC amd64: MC: 2:  8192MB 3:  8192MB
[    7.952824] EDAC amd64: using x8 syndromes.
[    7.952832] EDAC PCI0: Giving out device to module amd64_edac controller EDAC PCI controller: DEV 0000:00:18.0 (POLLED)
1 Like
5

Hm interesting… although I’m wondering if that is the explicit ECC we’re talking about or the implicit ECC that is just part of the DDR4 standard… don’t really have a way of testing though.

6

I’m leaning towards the Asus Prime B550-Plus motherboard, a Ryzen 5800X, and two 16gig DDR4-3200 sticks of ECC unbuffered Nemix RAM. This approximates a build Linus (of Linus Tech Tips) did a while back. Any thoughts?

7

Just because a board reports that it has ECC memory installed DOES not mean that the ECC function is actually running and working.

You need to be able to show that errors are being corrected via error insertion or deliberate memory overclocking to force errors.

8

I can report that the Asus Prime B550-Plus motherboard, a Ryzen 9 5900X, and Nemix DDR4-3200 ECC unbuffered seem to support ECC. That’s based on wmic in Windows and dmidecode & edac-ctl in Linux. I have not attempted to force errors by overclocking memory.

1 Like
9

This topic was automatically closed 273 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.