Would you use ECC RAM in a workstation?

Is ECC RAM recommended for use in workstations, or is it something that only gets used in servers? If non-ECC RAM works in PCs, why would we need ECC RAM at all?

Solution 1:

As stuff is stored into, left, and eventually pulled out of RAM, some corruption naturally occurs (theories vary, but the one with the most weight right now is EMI from the computer itself). ECC is a feature of RAM and motherboards that allows detection and correction of this corruption.

The corruption is usually pretty minor (ECC can usually detect and fix 1-2 bits per 64 bit "word" - and that's waaaaay beyond the typical error rates), but increases in frequency with the density of the RAM. Your average workstation/PC will never notice it. On a server where you're running high density RAM 24/7 in a high-demand environment serving critical services, you take every step you possibly can to prevent stuff from breaking.

Also note that ECC RAM must be supported by your motherboard, and the average workstation/PC does not support it.

ECC RAM is more expensive than non-ECC, is much more sensitive to clock speeds, and can incur a small (1-2%) performance hit. If it helps, an analogy that works is RAM to RAID controllers. On your PC, that hardware-assisted software RAID built into your chipset is great protection against single disk failures. On a server, that would never be enough. You need high-end, battery-backed fully hardware RAID with onboard RAM to ensure that you don't lose data due to a power outage, disk failure, or whatever.

So no, you don't really need ECC RAM in your workstation. The benefit simply will not justify the price.

Solution 2:

If this article is anything to go by, then you should use ECC RAM.

It's not just a matter of "I don't run a server, so I don't need it". It depends how much you value your data. It's not just a matter of occasional crashes - the problem is you could get corruption and have no way of knowing that it's going on.