ECC RAM with i7-860

[James Mason]

Hi. I'm new to the forum here so hello!

I have recently purchased a used server to install FreeNas on with what I think seems like an odd configuration but it runs Windows 7 just fine. This is an operating system I am familiar with so I've used this as a test OS.

The configuration is as follows:
Supermicro X8SIL motherboard
Intel Core i7-860 CPU
16GB Kingston DDR3 ECC memory (KVR1333D3E9S/4G)

Having failed to find any reliable information online, I'm asking if ECC RAM can operate in a non-ECC mode if the CPU doesn't support ECC. Intel ARK states that the use case for this CPU is Server/Enterprise but it also states that it does not support ECC RAM. Since it is running in this configuration does this mean that this CPU can in fact use ECC RAM, or that ECC is disabled?

I would not be against trading in this CPU for a Xeon X3450 or similar but if this can be avoided then it will certainly save some hassle. After reading about ECC on the FreeNAS documentation I am persuaded that this is a feature I need to have.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Yorick]

Run the free version of Memtest86 (Edit: Or plus, seems it learned about ECC) and see whether it says ECC enabled, or not. I expect "not", and: Verify.

 

[rvassar]

Per Intel, the i7-860 does not support ECC. Generally the i5 & i7 doesn't support ECC. The i3 usually does, if the chip set it's paired with supports it.

i7-860 Intel spec sheet

 

[James Mason]

Thanks for the replies. I'm currently running the Memtest86+ as I type so I'll update when I have the results. Regarding the spec, I read on the CPU spec sheet that ECC is not supported but I also know that sometimes these are to be taken with a pinch of salt. As it happens, my motherboard doesn't support the CPU that is happily running as expected. I do expect that it won't work though since, as I now understand it, it is possible for ECC memory to run without the ECC function enabled.

 

[James Mason]

Well, that took a while. I somehow missed that the latest version of Memtest86+ doesn't show whether ECC is enabled so I allowed the test to complete and then started again with version 4.2, which did indeed show that ECC is disabled with my setup. So I'll be ordering an X3450/60 to allow for a fully compatible parts list.

Thanks again for the help.