Are sandy bridge i3's a no-no ?

[Thomas1951]

Noob here, so please feel free to tear my build a new one.

I bought this 1U "supermicro SuperServer 5017C-MTF" and i have only done some initial testing

Motherboard: X9SCL-F
Memory: 4 X 8GB Samsung ECC M391B1G73QH0-YK0 from the Motherboard's Memory List
CPU: Intel Core i3-2100T (i had on hand)
PSU: 350W
Chassis Model: supermicro CSE-813MTQ-350CB
no disk's yet

And it all seems to work great, the BIOS say "Memory Type: UDIMM (ECC mode)"

And Initial memtest show no errors

So my question is, should i be using a i3 at all, or should i go buy a Processor with official ECC support ?

Is there other tests i should run ?

Edit: i meant to post this under Hardware, sorry.

 

[Mirfster]

So my question is, should i be using a i3 at all, or should i go buy a Processor with official ECC support ?

As far as I can tell, that CPU doesn't support ECC. If that is the case, then "Yep, you need to get a CPU that supports ECC". :)

Update: Specs show that your system should support Intel® Xeon® processor E3-1200 & v2 series; so those should support ECC.

 

[DrKK]

Actually, I would expect that CPU (and i3 on the 1155 socket) to support ECC. Intel's ark pages don't indicate one way or another, but I would say the probability that that CPU supports ECC is 92%. The entire line of i3's on the 1150 socket, for example, are known 100% to support ECC.

 

[Mirfster]

Yeah, it is a bit confusing. This is all I was able to find:

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/processors/000005717.html#10btn

Does the Intel® Core™ i3 Processor support Error Correction Code (ECC) memory?

The Intel® Core™ i3 Desktop Processors and the desktop boards that support these processors typically do not support ECC memory. ECC memory is usually used on servers and workstations, rather than on desktop platforms. This is mainly due to the price premium of ECC memory. Check with your desktop board manufacturer to see if ECC memory is enabled on your board.

But, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core#Core_i3:

The Core i3-3xxM processors are based on Arrandale, the mobile version of the Clarkdale desktop processor. They are similar to the Core i5-4xx series but running at lower clock speeds and without Turbo Boost.[24] According to an Intel FAQ they do not support Error Correction Code (ECC) memory.[25] According to motherboard manufacturer Supermicro, if a Core i3 processor is used with a server chipset platform such as Intel 3400/3420/3450, the CPU supports ECC with UDIMM.[26] When asked, Intel confirmed that, although the Intel 5 series chipset supports non-ECC memory only with the Core i5 or i3 processors, using those processors on a motherboard with 3400 series chipsets it supports the ECC function of ECC memory.[27] A limited number of motherboards by other companies also support ECC with Intel Core ix processors; the Asus P8B WS is an example, but it does not support ECC memory under Windows non-server operating systems.[28]

Now the X9SCL-F has an Intel C202 PCH chipset; but is a LGA 1155 socket, does support ECC and also accepts Xeons...

Still leaning towards the answer being that the i3 is not going to support ECC in this setup.

Of course, I may just be all kinds of wrong here. :)

 

[Mirfster]

Well, maybe I am wrong... looked at http://www.supermicro.com/support/faqs/faq.cfm?faq=10712 and they state:

Intel is using the same Core i3 processor at both Desktop as server platforms
So when Core i3 processor is inserted in to a server chipset platform, like with intel 3400/3420/3450 chipset,then the CPU will support ECC with UDIMM.
On the other hand if Core i3 is pluged into a Desktop chipset mainboard, like with P55, H55… chipset, then CPU won’t have ECC support function.
So with X8SIL-F using Server 3420 chipset,you need to install unbuffered ECC memory in combination with Core I3 processor.

What has got me is that SuperMicro is not really saying it is limited to 3400/3420/3450 chipset; they are saying it more as an example. So reading this, it seems like if it a Server type board then it will support ECC?

/Ugh... I punt... :p

 

[Thomas1951]

First thank you Mirfster and Drkk for your input, it's appreciated.
In my BIOS it says "Memory Type: UDIMM (ECC mode)" Indicating that my Memory is running in ECC mode.

And my motherboard says it supports "Intel 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Core i3" and doesn't mention non-ECC support, so Support for a Processor that doesn't Support the only type of memory the motherboard will run on, doesn't make sense to me.
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C202_C204/X9SCL-F.cfm
It Indicates ECC is working, but it's all a bit Convoluted.

 

[Mirfster]

Yeah, but for ECC to actually work the it has to be supported by the components. So I would think that it is possible (though unlikely) to have a motherboard that supports ECC and still run a CPU that doesn't. Which would result in not really using ECC.

Sorry if I confused the situation more. I just don't want to tell you everything is okay and then you come back blaming me for giving you bad advice.
The only real answer I am comfortable with is to get a Xeon CPU and be done with it... :P

Maybe others will provide more insight or you might want to ask SuperMicro directly...

 

[danb35]

When I bought an i3 to go in an X9SCL-F for another server, ark.intel.com said that it supported ECC. Now, it says it doesn't. The ecc_check.py script reports that it does support ECC. I suspect the chip does actually do ECC, but the official answer from Intel seems to be that it doesn't.

 

[Ericloewe]

We know that Intel messed up and had to correct ark to say that Ivy Bridge i3s do not support ECC. I wouldn't be surprised if Sandy i3s didn't, either.

It can be that they included ECC but never validated it, explaining the massive confusion even they had internally.