[Truenas build] 5700x with functioning ECC

[JackOfSomeTrades]

Speculating a 5700x truenas build with 128 GB of ECC 3200 ram that will actually operate in ECC mode. Am I insane or is this completely feasible?

I’m struggling to figure out if the Asus prime x570-p (or any board that isn’t an asrock rack) will work with this, even running the ram at lower speeds.

[Dutch_Master]

I may have missed something, but AFAIK there’s no DDR4 3200MHz ECC RAM.

Also, ECC is not made for speed, it’s designed and intended use is about reliability and predictability, detecting and if possible correcting memory errors occurring during read/write operations. If you use ECC, you don’t want speed, you want to make sure data integrity is secured during the entire process of processing said data. (that’s EULA speak, sorry)

Ask Asus about ECC support for their mainboards, surely they’ll know!

[AbsolutelyFree]

It’s definitely feasible. I know you said no AsRock Rack boards, but the X570D4U definitely can do it. You just need to make sure you get UDIMMs. Not sure about other boards that can though.

@Dutch_Master

AFAIK there’s no DDR4 3200MHz ECC RAM.

There is.

[JackOfSomeTrades]

@Dutch_Master

Ask Asus about ECC support for their mainboards, surely they’ll know!

It’s not a bad idea to ask them so I did. Wonder how long it’s gonna take.

@AbsolutelyFree

It’s definitely feasible. I know you said no AsRock Rack boards, but the X570D4U definitely can do it. You just need to make sure you get UDIMMs. Not sure about other boards that can though.

it can, it’s just almost 4x the price. the x470D4U is limited to 64GB of ram and I want a bit more for my 150TB. I’ll see what ASUS replies with and then I might have to bite the bullet. eating in to my gaming rig upgrade for sure

[AbsolutelyFree]

The X470D4U can do 128GB, just at DDR4-2400 with dual-rank DIMMs. Are you absolutely sure that your use case requires faster RAM? Usually more RAM is more important than fast RAM for a storage server. If cost is a factor, you can save even more money buying the DDR4-2400 DIMMs.

[JackOfSomeTrades]

[quote=“AbsolutelyFree, post:5, topic:193212”]
The X470D4U can do 128GB
[/quote] You’re right. The store I was using to browse listed it as 64GB. Looking at their website and ignoring the meager QVL list it does seem to just work fine with ECC at 3200.

The wording is surprisingly similar to ASUS wording on their own website for the Prime x570-P that also leaves the impression it will run ECC mode just fine.

ASUS
4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4 5100(O.C)/5000(O.C)/4800(O.C.)/4600(O.C)/4400(O.C)/4266(O.C.)/4133(O.C.)/4000(O.C.)/3866(O.C.)/3733(O.C.)/3600(O.C.)/3466(O.C.)/3400(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2933/2800/2666/2400/2133 MHz Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
ECC Memory (ECC mode) support varies by CPU.

The lack of ECC in the QVL and no success stories on the web made me doubt it was actually functional. I am tempted to just buy it and test it and if it doesn’t work return it.

@AbsolutelyFree

If cost is a factor, you can save even more money buying the DDR4-2400 DIMMs.

the MTA18ASF4G72AZ-3G2R is super affordable for some reason.

[AbsolutelyFree]

@JackOfSomeTrades

You’re right. The store I was using to browse listed it as 64GB. Looking at their website and ignoring the meager QVL list it does seem to just work fine with ECC at 3200.

It will do DDR4-3200, but only with 2 of the DIMM slots populated on a Matisse and up CPU. From the manual:

Again though, if this is just a NAS then RAM speed doesn’t really matter since your network speed is likely a much bigger limiter than the RAM speed.

Also QVLs don’t mean much unless you are a corporate customer buying in large volumes. As long as the RAM you purchase has the same specs as what is in the QVL, it will probably work fine. Do always buy from a seller that offers returns though, and run a round of Memtest as soon as you get it to verify the RAM is functioning properly.

[JackOfSomeTrades]

So I got ECC working on the Asus prime x570-p.
not really tweaking anything just powered it on saw it didn’t work then did the following and just booted into it working.

1.updated to bios version 4408.
2.disabled fTPM
3.Disabled auto overclocking
4. set ram speed to 2666
5. set ECC mode to enabled from auto

root@truenas[~]# dmidecode -t memory
# dmidecode 3.3
# SMBIOS entry point at 0xcb9f3000
Found SMBIOS entry point in EFI, reading table from /dev/mem.
SMBIOS 3.3 present.

Handle 0x0030, DMI type 16, 23 bytes
Physical Memory Array
        Location: System Board Or Motherboard
        Use: System Memory
        Error Correction Type: Multi-bit ECC
        Maximum Capacity: 128 GB
        Error Information Handle: 0x002F
        Number Of Devices: 4

Handle 0x0038, DMI type 17, 92 bytes
Memory Device
        Array Handle: 0x0030
        Error Information Handle: 0x0037
        Total Width: 72 bits
        Data Width: 64 bits
        Size: 32 GB
        Form Factor: DIMM
        Set: None
        Locator: DIMM_A1
        Bank Locator: BANK 0
        Type: DDR4
        Type Detail: Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered)
        Speed: 2666 MT/s
        Manufacturer: Micron Technology
        Serial Number: (removed because why not)
        Asset Tag: Not Specified
        Part Number: 18ASF4G72AZ-3G2B1
        Rank: 2
        Configured Memory Speed: 2666 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: 32 GB
        Cache Size: None
        Logical Size: None

[JackOfSomeTrades]

Just wanted to update: ECC is still working with Ryzen perfectly fine. No issues and no unintentional downtime. (though that is probably only because of the UPS )