Philip Robar
Contributor
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2014
- Messages
- 116
If you've been shopping for ECC DDR3 memory recently you've probably noticed that new sticks are selling for much more than the 20-30% premium over non-ECC memory that is common with DDR2 memory. The prices that I've found for memory that is specified to work on a particular board or that meets the listed specs for that board are more like double that of non-ECC memory: around $50 for 4GB of memory that meets the specs given for my Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 (or a TS440). (Both of which use the Intel C226 chipset.)
I hadn't had any luck searching for better prices on eBay since a search which includes "ECC" also finds all of the listing that say that the memory isn't ECC. ( I readily admit that I'm not an expert at eBay searching.)
Fortunately I got lucky and stumbled across a discussion on Slick Deals about the TS440. After slogging through many pages of comments I found this gem: People who are smart enough to not pay Apple's ridiculous memory prices are buying minimally configured Mac Pros and selling the 4GB sticks they get with it on eBay for around $20 to $30 each—usually in bundles of 3 or 4 sticks. While they are spec'd higher than what the Lenovo's need a couple of people have reported that they work just fine in the TS140 and TS440.
Search on "Mac Pro DDR3" or "Mac Pro DDR3 ECC" to find them.
Caveat: Server motherboards tend to be more picky about the memory that they work with than desktop boards but generally higher spec'd memory should work. Of course your mileage will vary depending on the board you have.
One thing to be aware of: Mac Pro memory can be either unbuffered or buffered/registered. Most FreeNAS users will be looking for unbuffered. Fortunately most eBay listings include a picture that you can read the part number from or they include the part number in the description.
I purchased 3 x 4GB for my TS140 for $60 with shipping a couple of days ago. I'll post an update after they arrive early next week.
Side note: The last time I checked on eBay, DDR2 ECC memory was so cheap that sellers are basically giving it away. Stock up while you can if your motherboard can use it.
I hadn't had any luck searching for better prices on eBay since a search which includes "ECC" also finds all of the listing that say that the memory isn't ECC. ( I readily admit that I'm not an expert at eBay searching.)
Fortunately I got lucky and stumbled across a discussion on Slick Deals about the TS440. After slogging through many pages of comments I found this gem: People who are smart enough to not pay Apple's ridiculous memory prices are buying minimally configured Mac Pros and selling the 4GB sticks they get with it on eBay for around $20 to $30 each—usually in bundles of 3 or 4 sticks. While they are spec'd higher than what the Lenovo's need a couple of people have reported that they work just fine in the TS140 and TS440.
Search on "Mac Pro DDR3" or "Mac Pro DDR3 ECC" to find them.
Caveat: Server motherboards tend to be more picky about the memory that they work with than desktop boards but generally higher spec'd memory should work. Of course your mileage will vary depending on the board you have.
One thing to be aware of: Mac Pro memory can be either unbuffered or buffered/registered. Most FreeNAS users will be looking for unbuffered. Fortunately most eBay listings include a picture that you can read the part number from or they include the part number in the description.
I purchased 3 x 4GB for my TS140 for $60 with shipping a couple of days ago. I'll post an update after they arrive early next week.
Side note: The last time I checked on eBay, DDR2 ECC memory was so cheap that sellers are basically giving it away. Stock up while you can if your motherboard can use it.