ECC RAM vs non-ECC RAM for a weekly cold storage server: Skip ECC, spend on drives or offsite backups instead

ECC RAM protects against bit flips during memory operations, but your cold storage box runs only a few hours weekly, making bit flips vanishingly unlikely. The 20-50% cost premium is better spent on higher-quality drives, more capacity, or an offsite backup—things that guard against real risks like drive failure or disk corruption. For a homelab or personal server, non-ECC is fine.