> > There is Parity memory and there is ECC memory, > > but when the buyers always want the cheapest ... > > You don't really expect a 500$ PC to have all the stuff > > that is built into a 5000$ machine, do you ?
I expect reliability from everything I buy, no matter how cheap or expensive it is. > machine support ECC not parity. Also ECC is not using software to mask > hardware faults, it is using hardware to correct hardware faults. Parity in > PCs, on the other hand, used software to stop the machine after a hardware > fault. I think what the original poster was implying is a shifting of blame, not a prevention. If the software crashes, whatever the reason, people tend to blame software first. This tendency to shift blame to software can be exploited by "ethically challenged" hardware vendors to mask faults in hardware. > Today's memory is much more reliable than it was 15 or 20 years ago so > advantage of ECC to the home user is not worth the cost. I check any new > memory and than I don't worry about it. I did not check once on a non-ECC > memory DIMM and had the memory work fine until I switched to Win2K. > Investigating, I found that there was an unsoldered pin on one of the > chips. Obviously Win 95 didn't actually use that memory, and Win2k/WinNT Perhaps, but as you have documented, the most reliable non-ECC memory chips in the cosmos can't make up for a bad solder connection, broken track, etc. And don't forget the Single Event Upset phenomena, which will become ever more pervasive as geometries shrink. If all memory was ECC, it would no longer be a specialty item, and therefore enjoy the same cutthroat volume pricing that non-ECC memory does now. And that would be a good thing. I refute the notion that home users don't deserve reliability - most home users don't know how to recover their machines after a major system crash. This is like saying that only auto mechanics need reliable cars - everyone else can use lemons. Every "non-techie" I know who has a computer is really frustrated with it. And guess who they call for help? Hint: not Compaq, not Microsoft. If the PC industry wants to revive their sales, they need to start making better machines with better software on them. So far the only advantage I see to the GHz wars is that you can execute your way to the next crash faster than before ;-) Best regards, Ivan Baggett Bagotronix Inc. website: www.bagotronix.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post a message: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * To leave this list visit: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/leave.html * * Contact the list manager: * mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Forum Guidelines Rules: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/forumrules.html * * Browse or Search previous postings: * http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
