ECC RAM vs non-ECC RAM: ECC wins for file servers, even with less capacity

16GB ECC is better than 32GB non-ECC for a budget file server because ECC prevents silent data corruption that can ruin stored files. 16GB is plenty for file serving, and the $20-40 price difference is cheap insurance. Non-ECC is fine for gaming or dev machines, but for data you want to keep, ECC wins.