ECC Registered questions about unbuffered Xeon and Ryzen processors.
ECC Registered questions about unbuffered Xeon and Ryzen processors.
I'm evaluating a switch for my home server. I have a Thinkstation P720 paired with a Xeon Gold 5118 TLDR. My needs are solid: I require a minimum of 64 GB RAM, as TrueNAS runs in a VM under my hypervisor which suggests ECC memory and at least 32 GB. I'm also thinking about an AM4 board, possibly a 3950x model at a low price. Ideally, I want memory that works with both platforms. There seems to be confusion about buffered vs registered ECC support—some sources indicate AM4 only supports unbuffered ECC, while the Thinkstation claims it supports registered memory. I haven't found much detail on this yet, so I'm unsure before purchasing. Does anyone know if unbuffered ECC memory is compatible with the Xeon Gold 5118 in this setup?
Truenas probably doesn't require a lot of RAM for home use. It functions mainly as a disk cache, so it's fine if you don't have high-speed networks or heavy random I/O. It also doesn't need an ECC chip like many other systems. The AM4 socket is only unbuffered, so you'd need to use different RAM types. If you have a P720, stick with it for the home server and consider selling the 3950x or repurposing it. It should work with unbuffered RAM, but mixing it with registered RAM isn't recommended. You can add registered modules if needed.
For TrueNAS I have five 6TB drives and my idea is that the guideline is roughly one GB per TB, and ECC is advised for Raid configurations. Meanwhile I’m considering moving to Unraid which would eliminate these storage limits. I also explored a second CPU; an Xeon Gold model would cost around $400 plus about $80 for the heatsink. By the way, I run game servers that tend to perform better with single-threaded tasks. Here’s a summary of what’s installed on the hardware: Hypervisor - Win Server 2016 (Hyper V) | Two Xeon E5-2680, 128GB DDR3 ECC RDIMMs Guest 1 - TrueNAS (Each disk sent to the VM in Raidz+1) - 32GB Guest 2 - Plex Server - 4GB Guest 3 - Valheim Server - 8GB Guest 4 - 7D2D Server - 8GB Guest 5 - Ark Server - 8GB Guest 6 - General Purpose Sandbox VM1 - 8GB Guest 7 - General Purpose Sandbox VM2 - 8GB Guest 8 - Manage Engine Desktop Central (WIP) - 4GB ThinkStation - Win Server 2019 - 1x Xeon Gold 5118, currently running at 32GB DDR4 ECC RDIMMs I’m planning to switch to AMD in the long run because overall speed is outstanding and even faster per core, which would enhance gaming and likely Plex transcoding. I’m considering buying two or four 32GB ECC UDIMM modules now, either for the ThinkStation or to fit into a new AM4 motherboard if I upgrade my 3950x. My next upgrade goal is a rack-mounted AM4 build using the same chip, offering much better performance for both single-thread and multi-thread tasks. For memory, I think UDIMMs will be more beneficial over time. I found a 32GB UDIMM on Amazon and plan to test it on both systems.
This guideline is quite flexible, it mainly depends on your specific requirements. You likely won't need much less for home use. Since you're running Windows Server, focus on storage space and file sharing. Avoid Truenas or RAID configurations—stick with standard filesystems. Your current SSDs are fine, but you can upgrade to a more powerful CPU for this workstation. Your current RAM usage should be manageable, and enabling memory sharing in Hyper-V can significantly reduce it by allocating only what each VM requires. Don't mix buffer sizes and registered types; choose the right one based on your setup. If you're using AMD, opt for unbuffered RAM; otherwise, registered RAM is better. This setup looks much more suitable for your needs.