ECC Discussion

[morpheus kain]

Well, I was wondering what the bonuses, and downsides of ECC ram are, and what requirements there are to use ECC ram. I also wanted to hear some testimonials from people and their opinions on ECC ram.

[ConfusedAlien]

Well, I was wondering what the bonuses, and downsides of ECC ram are, and what requirements there are to use ECC ram. I also wanted to hear some testimonials from people and their opinions on ECC ram.

I like ECC ram because it...well error checks. I havent had my system screw up yet. As you read in my post.

Downside, its a little bit slower than regular, as bovon told me, "one cycle slower." )-| )-| )-|
and of course, more expensive.

I switched ECC off once, the system had to adjust to it so it got slower. But afterwards, it was faster. For home uses, ECC isnt really necessary. For servers, it is a must though I must say.

My other 2 comps are sdram and DDR.
the sdram comp freezes oh about 1 in 12? about
ddr freezes 1 in 30. around there.

ECC never freezes. EVER. and this is on 98. Not even win2k.
My compaq on 98se froze every 10 times. (almost)

[Bovon]

I have never used any, those that I know have never used any...From what I have read, its not needed unless the computer is running big business type applications.

From Crucial...the URL was a mile long!!

"What is the difference between ECC and non-parity memory?

Description:

What is the difference between ECC and non-parity memory? Is there a performance difference?

Solution:

If you already have a PC and are unsure which type you have, count the number of small, black, IC chips mounted on one of your existing DIMMs. If the number of chips is evenly divisible by three or five, then you need ECC. If the number of chips is NOT evenly divisible by three or five, you have non-parity memory.

If you are building a PC and deciding which type to use, the following guidelines should help. If you plan to use your system as a server or a similar mission critical type machine, it is to your advantage to use ECC. If you plan to use your PC for regular home, office, or gaming applications, you are better off with non-parity.

ECC (error correcting code) memory performs "double bit detection and single bit correction." This means that if you have a single bit memory error, the chipset and memory will find and repair the error on the fly without you knowing that it happened. If you have a double bit memory error, it will detect and report it. Using ECC decreases your PC's performance by about 2%. Current technology DRAM is very stable and memory errors are rare, so unless you have a need for ECC, you are better served with non-parity SDRAM."

http://www.corsairmicro.com/main/tecc.html

Try that URL from Corsair.

[morpheus kain]

Seems like a waste....

[lito pospos]

Ecc can detect single and multi bit errors. Further more it can correct single bit errors.
Unlike parity ,which creates a single parity bit for every 8 databits, ecc uses a common 8 bit check sum for 64 data bits.the memory controller uses the hamming code algorithm to generate chechsum.this required an extra eight bits for storing checksum information.

[$1500-P4 gamer]

You have to have a ecc supported mobo and mem. thats all. Anyhow I had it on my P3 600 system with 368mb ram ecc pc133. Its would still bsod from time to time. So its not fool proof. I proved it hehe. PUN intended. anyhow its not worth the extra $ for home useage at all. No real benefit as my non ecc systems have always been just as stable. If a prog is written badly no ecc will help "ever". htat includes windows. The only time it would be good is at over 1gig mem and registerd/buffered mem is recomended there too as to help with mem addressing. As said above servers mainly.:t

[morpheus kain]

Thanks fella's I think that answered all my questions!:t