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When I build a PC, the number one feature I want is ECC memory. It can be tricky to find a non-server configuration that supports it (you historically need a "

When I build a PC, the number one feature I want is ECC memory. It can be tricky to find a non-server configuration that supports it (you historically need a "good" bios that is smart enough to enable it for AMD, and you typically need a Xeon flavor CPU + workstation level board for Intel; caveat, it has been 2.5 years since my last build). I was hoping that this tool might make finding non-server parts that support ECC easier, but alas, that does not seem to be the case.

adl 12y ago
I'm genuinely curious, why is it your number one feature? I know that ECC provides error correction, but aside from server use, is it really that critical?
- joosters 12y ago
  Memory errors are a significant cause [citation needed!] of system instability. If you want a reliable machine, even a desktop, that is going to keep working, then ECC is very useful. If you've decided upon ECC as a must, then it would be great for a system builder tool to then show you options based upon that choice.
  - walshemj 12y ago
    And for some high end use case you might want to be looking at xenon's or even dual xenon's. I could see a big data or HPC developer wanting to have a desktop that used the same processor as the cluster they are writing for - mainly in the case where your tuning for max performance and want to able to develop using the same complier flags.
  - Freaky 12y ago
    It's less about the stability and more about data integrity. Crashes suck, but they suck a hell of a lot less than corrupt filesystems and backups.
  - dclowd9901 12y ago
    I think I'm the vein of this product's philosophy, maybe a "stability" or "reliability" metric along with the performance and price metrics.
- dnm 12y ago
  This is an old page, but convinced me years ago to go with ECC memory whenever I build a new machine. http://cr.yp.to/hardware/ecc.html http://cr.yp.to/hardware/ecc.html He hasn't updated is build in a while, though. http://cr.yp.to/hardware/build-20090123.html http://cr.yp.to/hardware/build-20090123.html

adl 12y ago

I'm genuinely curious, why is it your number one feature? I know that ECC provides error correction, but aside from server use, is it really that critical?

joosters 12y ago
Memory errors are a significant cause [citation needed!] of system instability. If you want a reliable machine, even a desktop, that is going to keep working, then ECC is very useful. If you've decided upon ECC as a must, then it would be great for a system builder tool to then show you options based upon that choice.
- walshemj 12y ago
  And for some high end use case you might want to be looking at xenon's or even dual xenon's. I could see a big data or HPC developer wanting to have a desktop that used the same processor as the cluster they are writing for - mainly in the case where your tuning for max performance and want to able to develop using the same complier flags.
- Freaky 12y ago
  It's less about the stability and more about data integrity. Crashes suck, but they suck a hell of a lot less than corrupt filesystems and backups.
- dclowd9901 12y ago
  I think I'm the vein of this product's philosophy, maybe a "stability" or "reliability" metric along with the performance and price metrics.
dnm 12y ago
This is an old page, but convinced me years ago to go with ECC memory whenever I build a new machine. http://cr.yp.to/hardware/ecc.html http://cr.yp.to/hardware/ecc.html He hasn't updated is build in a while, though. http://cr.yp.to/hardware/build-20090123.html http://cr.yp.to/hardware/build-20090123.html