board recommendations for registered RAM?

[odoyle]

I have some leftover registered RAM from another system and I'd like to use to build a NAS. I'm having trouble trying to find an inexpensive motherboard that supports it. I have two of these (forget the manufacturer and don't have it in front of me.. I think it is Crucial):

8GB DDR3-1600 ECC Registered 2R DIMMs) Operating at 1600 MT/s

I tried to look through the supermicro site, but I can't browse by unbuffered vs buffered. Ideally, I'd want something like the supermicro X9SC so I could pick up an inexpensive core i3. It looks like the supermicro X8SIL would work.. but could I find a cheap CPU for that?

Thanks!

 

[cyberjock]

Registered and 'inexpensive' are pretty much exclusive of each other. Only the expensive boards and expensive processors support registered since registered is only preferred for high density. You are also instantly talking Xeons. ;)

 

[odoyle]

Ok, so say that I eliminate "inexpensive" from my requirements.. what are good boards that can handle registered RAM?
Thanks!

 

[odoyle]

wouldn't this i3 work with the X8SIL ?
http://www.supermicro.com/xeon_3400/Motherboard/X8SIL.cfm?IPMI=Y

View: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-530-Processor-Socket-LGA1156/dp/B0030DN1GO/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1409691751&sr=1-7&keywords=1156+cpu

or maybe this i5?
View: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Processor-3-33GHz-LGA1156-BX80616I5661/dp/B0031M9QXQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1409691751&sr=1-2&keywords=1156+cpu

but maybe there is a better supermicro board with registered RAM support?

 

[jgreco]

wouldn't this i3 work with the X8SIL ?
http://www.supermicro.com/xeon_3400/Motherboard/X8SIL.cfm?IPMI=Y

View: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-530-Processor-Socket-LGA1156/dp/B0030DN1GO/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1409691751&sr=1-7&keywords=1156+cpu

or maybe this i5?
View: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Processor-3-33GHz-LGA1156-BX80616I5661/dp/B0031M9QXQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1409691751&sr=1-2&keywords=1156+cpu

but maybe there is a better supermicro board with registered RAM support?

Indeed some i3's and i5's will work with the X8SIL but those processors do not support registered memory, so this fails to address the OP's question.

 

[odoyle]

Oh ok, is there a way to figure out which CPUs support registered RAM?

 

[jgreco]

Yes, check out the Intel ARK. Basically no consumer CPU's or low end Xeons support it. I just saved you half an hour of time.

 

[odoyle]

Cool, I was checking that out, but am I just searching by this:
ECC Memory Supported ‡
Because that doesn't seem to differentiate between unbuffered & buffered ECC, unless I am missing something. When I search with ECC "yes", I still get a bunch of i3 and i5 results.

http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced?s=t&ECCMemory=true

Thanks for the help!

 

[cyberjock]

ECC is NOT the same as buffered... ;)

 

[odoyle]

I understand... but how do I search ARK for buffered compatible CPU? That is my question, all I can see is "ECC Memory" not "registered" or "buffered"

 

[mjws00]

I don't think you can. The spec isn't listed on the ARK that I could see. Just memory max dependant on type (no type details) and of course ecc. Search box returns no results as well. If there is somewhere I missed, awesome... and where?

If you hit the server motherboards on newegg.com. You can filter for registered memory. From there you'll have an idea or two where to look.

Good Luck,

 

[jgreco]

I don't think you can. The spec isn't listed on the ARK that I could see.

The specs are certainly there, but you have to individually go into each processor and then pull up the relevant datasheets. That's why I summarized the results for him and said I just saved him a half an hour of time.

 

[mjws00]

Yeah, I ended up on the datasheets eventually. Would have been nice for Intel to let the spec show up in a search. Even 'rdimm' returns little. Normally my Google foo is pretty strong.

Think I spent more than a half hour trying to figure out why I was a dumbass using ARK. ;)

 

[odoyle]

Wow, thanks guys! I never would have figured that out. So what are "low end Xeons"?

 

[jgreco]

Wow, thanks guys! I never would have figured that out. So what are "low end Xeons"?

The current low end are the E3's. The E5's can go either way. The UDIMM's are essentially lower density parts that in theory cost less. Those of us who want larger memory Xeon platforms (say for example, for an ESXi host) typically find that the best price point is something like the 16GB registered DIMM's because many applications for E5 require "as much memory as practical" so some chumps out there will always be upgrading to 32GB or 64GB modules, so 16's are actually very cost effective and 8's are frequently "available for free/PLEASE take them."