how can i tell if computer memory is ecc or non ecc?

Question

I bought a 512sdram pc133 168pin for my computer. After trying numorous attempts to install it, i found that my original 256sdram was pc100 168pin. I am however unable to find any indication on it whether it is ecc or non ecc. I've tried other sites but can't find out what ecc stands for. I'm returning memory to ebuyer and am worried that I may receive yet another incorrect one unless I find the answer.

Answer 1

the problem is not if it's ecc or not (mostly it isn't), the problem is that you cannot replace pc100 sdram memory by pc133 because it's incompatible in most cases.

btw, the characteristics of ecc memory modules is that it has a multiple of 9 chips on it (9, 18 or 36), other than non ecc that has a multiple of 8 chips on it (8, 16 or 32, sometimes only 4).

Answer 2

Most machines will be non-ECC. ECC memory actually sores a hash code in some extra memory (which you pay a lot for) .This allows for memory errors to be detected and mostly corrected. As this reliability comes at a cost you will mostly find them in Servers and not in cost sensitive desktops. Check that the size of the memory 256/512MB etc is compatable with what you have also some machines can be fussy with memory and faster stuff can behave badly although you would expect an improvement!!
Try www.crucial.com who have fair prices and a machine based memory selector to find what memory goes in your box!!!!

Answer 3

ECC memory, Error Checking and Correcting Memory, typically used in servers that are on 24/7 because there cannot be any memory errors. In desktops, in ALL desktops, there is non-ecc memory because, one there aren't that many errors that the operating system can't compensate for and there aren't that many errors period.

Also, ECC memory costs more and not just a little. Only mission critical systems will have ECC memory because of its cost.

Answer 4

I think (though am not too sure) ECC memory has an odd (as opposed to even) number of RAM chips on the board, because one chip is used entirely for storing error-correction bits. The error-correction chip may be slightly smaller in dimension than the others.

Answer 5

relies upon on what motherboard you purchased. take a glance on ebay. only had a speedy look on ebay myself and there's a stick going for around £30 that's lifelike. no longer with the help of Samsung.