Need a Socket A motherboard that supports ECC

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Spyre

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I just got three Micron 1gb PC2100 DDR 266mhz ECC RAM sticks, and I realized that my current motherboard (A7V8X-X) doesn't work with ECC RAM.

So I would like to know what motherboards will work with ECC (the ecc function can be disabled, I just want to use the ram). I'd prefer not upgrading my CPU (AMD Athlon XP 2100+) along with my motherboard.

Does such a motherboard exist?
 
You mean official support? I'd look into boards using the AMD 760 chipset.

As I understand it, many boards unofficially support ECC RAM. Plugging it in probably won't break anything :D
 
Either official or unofficial. I just want my ram to work, and I don't want to have to buy a new CPU :(
 
Most Dual processor motherboards will support ECC, you could get one and just use your single processor.
 
All dual-socket A boards will since they're based on the 760MP or 760MPX chipset. But even the plain 760 chipset will support what you want.
 
Is it registered or not? If not, just try it. I've even put registered mem in a machine needing unbuffered before, and nothing bad happened. It just wouldn't start up until I took out the ram it didn't like.

Of course, that was SDRAM in a shiny new Sun workstation (ok, it was the cheap model, but still). We were trying to get around Sun's insane memory prices and ordered some Crucial for it. We should have just waited till the machine arrived. What did we find when we opened it up? A stick of crucial ram w/ a Sun sticker stuck on next to it. So we put the registered stuff in another machine & ordered up some unbuffered mem for the workstation. No problems.

edit: Be sure to try the new mem alone first. Mixing ECC & non ECC may not work.
 
I tried the memory alone and it just makes the mobo beep.

Can someone recommend a good AMD 460 chipset motherboard? I did a search and the only one I found was Tyan's K7 Thunder. Surely there are others.... right?
 
Unfortunately, you may be out of luck - short of upgrading your CPU and motherboard. The AMD workstation world had already switched to the A64 FX series CPUs. Unfortunately, they require registered RAM - ECC or non-ECC - in order to work at all.

Among all of the current desktop (as opposed to workstation/server) motherboards and chipsets, non-registered ECC RAM will only work with the Intel 875P chipset. But that chipset is only for Intel P4 CPUs. And with that PC2100 non-registered ECC memory, you'll have to get a 533MHz FSB P4 CPU, such as a 2.4A Prescott.
 
It'll work in Athlon MP boards, but they only take 2 sticks of unbuffered mem.
I'm still wondering whether or not that stuff is registered. I don't see any 1GB PC2100 unbuffered ECC modules at crucial.com, so I'm guessing Micron doesn't make them. That means your ram is probably registered, which is why it won't work at all.
If you're not sure post the part number.

Assuming it is registered, there are 2 things you can do:
1. Get an Athlon MP board. You'll have to put up with an annoying warning every time you reboot, but Athlon MP boards can run a single Athlon XP. Maybe later you could pick up a couple of MPs and join the SMP club.
2. Get a new mobo and cpu(s). Athlon MP, Xeon, and any socket 940 board will take reg'd ECC mem. If you don't want to go dual you can get a single proc socket 940 and run an Opteron (the 1-series will work) or (if you really wanted to go all out) an Athlon FX.
 
I don't know of any systems that accept PC2100 registered ECC memory besides the AMD-760MP/760MPX chipset for Socket A processors, the AMD chipset for Opteron 64-bit processors (the Athlon64 FX series require PC3200 registered memory), or the Intel E7205 chipset for Intel P4/Xeon processors.

In your situation, you'll have to hunt for a dual-processor motherboard based on the AMD 760MP or AMD 760MPX chipset. Be advised that your maximum AGP speed will be limited to AGP 4x with those chipsets - and you cannot use Barton- or Thorton-core CPUs on any motherboard based on either of those chipsets. (And yes, you can run one or two Athlon MP processors, or a single Athlon XP processor, with such a chipset.)
 
Spyre said:
So my ram is indeed registered. This severely limits my options doesnt it?
Click to expand...

Yep, you're basically limited to all the good options. Well, except for the single socket 940 or single proc on a duallie board.
Time to be dragged kicking and screaming into the wonderful world of dual CPUs by $800-1000 worth of ram. Don't worry, you'll like it here. :cool:
 
Well, here's a few cheaper options for ya for new mobos:

Tyan Tiger MPX (S2466) - Dual MP mobo, supports your shiny new RAM, should be found for about 2 Ben Franklins

Giga-byte GA-7DPXDW-P - 'bout the same as the Tyan, but from Giga-byte should be found for an Andrew Jackson less than Tyan's offering- includes audio and Intel 10/100 LAN (lol.... intel lan chip on a dual AMD board.... ) and RAID 0,1,0+1 provided by a promise chip

I've used both of these boards with postitive results.. but I happen to be a Tyan junkie, so I'd vote for that.
 
The MSI K7D is another option. There are 2 versions- one with integrated Intel 10/100 lan (kinda wierd on an AMD board), one without.
I've had the version w/ the lan chip for about a year, and so far it's been rock solid.
There's not a huge difference between the three, aside from the tyan probably being the best made and the MSI having the best OC options (has vcore adjustment) and being red.
 
The MSI board was discontinued over a year ago, along with Asus's board, which is why I did not mention them. :eek:
 
I hadn't realized that. You can still find the MSI board around though (pricewatch).
The Asus and Iwill (best MP overclocker of them all I hear) are pretty much impossible to get though unless you hunt down a used one.
 
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