Do any laptops support ECC memory?

It seems that even mobile workstations like EliteBooks and Precisions don't...

 

I seen it used more in Servers and Desktop workstations. Unless you need error checks ECC memory are and can be more expensive then standard memory.

 

Usually CPU manufacturers disable or do not include ECC in their dies. It has nothing to do with the memory itself. Intel only includes ECC support into their server CPUs. If you look at Intel's ARK website, a lot of lower/mid level Xeon CPUs are comparable to desktop and even laptop i7s. If ECC was included into all CPUs then few would purchase Xeons. Only the higher end Xeon CPUs would see demand. Almost all companies require servers. Few actually buy huge banks of high end Xeons. Most purchase the mid tier Xeon CPUs and they would gladly purchase the cheaper desktop i7s if they could. But the local bank in here in my town requires ECC. So do other financial institutions and my university. So they need Xeon CPUs.

 

I just find it weird that the high-end mobile Quadro GPUs have ECC GDDR5, but the system memory isn't ECC. Doesn't that defeat the whole point? I mean, the final results of a CUDA/OpenCL calculation have to be transferred to main memory at some point...

Most of the Xeon E3s are sold at roughly the same prices as their Core i5/i7 cousins. Likewise, most of the uniprocessor Xeon E5s are sold for roughly the same price as their Sandy Bridge E cousins. Oh, and if a business wants to be really cheap, they can get a Pentium or a Core i3 - yes, desktop Pentiums and Core i3s officially support ECC when paired with a server chipset/mobo.

Intel does indeed charge an arm and a leg for the octocore and the dual/quad socket Xeons, but those are indisputably high end. Businesses have plenty of affordable options if all they want is ECC - some of those options are much cheaper than a desktop i7.

Still, I don't see how any of this relates to my question.

 

Sandy Bridge E i7 is an exception and the only exception. What stops businesses from purchasing two i7 3960X CPUs and pairing them up as opposed to purchasing one of these? The former configuration costs under 2 grand. ONE of the latter which gives you 8 fewer threads (or half a CPU) costs over 3 grand.

And no. Non ECC CPUs paired with ECC motherboards do not provide ECC support. I would like to see some credible links on that.

As for relating to your question, you asked do laptops support ECC memory. The simple answer is no. I suppose you wanted to know why. I told you why. Why do you think only server CPUs have ECC support? It doesn't cost Intel money to include ECC support for their desktop and laptop systems. So why do you think they do it? If you have a more logical reason than mine, please present it. Or you could use the fancy schmancy search engine called Google which will probably tell you something similar to what I said.

Also, regarding your vRAM argument, Teslas and Quadros are also used in server systems (which happen to contain ECC supported CPUs) and much more frequently than in the desktop and laptop market.

 

The answer to your question is that the i7 3960X doesn't have QPI. That has nothing to do with ECC support and everything to do with Intel's labyrinth segmentation - the server edition of the 3960X, the Xeon E5-1660 which costs $1083, supports ECC yet it also lacks QPI and therefore can't be paired up either. Those businesses that "purchase the mid tier Xeon CPUs and they would gladly purchase the cheaper desktop i7s if they could" should be buying the E5-1660 if ECC (and not performance) is truly what's stopping them from doing so.

Or are you arguing that the E5-1660's $84 premium over the 3960X is an unreasonably high markup? That all of those poor businesses that are forced to purchase Xeons would love to save an entire $84 by getting a $999 3960X instead?

I never claimed that non-ECC CPUs paired with ECC motherboards provide ECC support. What I claimed was that Pentiums and i3s officially support ECC memory. If you look at the Intel ARK page for the i3-3210, you'll notice that in the "ECC Memory Supported" row, it clearly says "Yes".

In comparison, the i7-3770's Intel ARK page says "No" in its "ECC Memory Supported" row.

Your claim that only server CPUs have ECC support is incorrect - mobile chips which support ECC do exist, such as the i7-3615QE.

This question was always more about the OEMs than about Intel. The way I see it, the OEMs could either use the i7-3615QE, or they could go the Clevo route and custom design a mobo that supports LGA 1155 Xeons.

I have never heard of any server or desktop workstation using a Quadro 5000 M. Nvidia clearly isn't targeting servers with their mobile GPUs (anybody with a server would be much better off getting a Quadro 5000, without the M suffix), yet they still included ECC in the Quadro 5000M.

 

you would need one of those Clevo lappies that can run desktop CPUs and then get a Xeon.

 

the chipset would still need the proper wiring for ECC.

 

The kind of work that would require ECC memory is not suited for laptops due to various (numerous) reasons, so there's no real market for it to be in a laptop.

 

Kuu has it right. There is no market for it.

 

I think that Clevo P570WM supports it when paired with a Xeon.

 

Like the above person said, a computer that has a desktop xeon CPU could use ECC ram.

Though, these laptops are anything but portable.

 

It also depends on the laptop itself. Just because it can take a processor that supports ECC memory doesn't mean that the motherboard supports it.