At 13:02 -0400 04/27/2002, Alan Kim wrote: >I haven't figured out at which point is acceptible to get an error message. >Not getting any at all would be preferrable and many folks stopped >the test after >so many thousands without getting any error messages. >The three of the eight sticks I got from Velocity (during last year's heated >discussion on them and the tests) started showing error messages after 10-15 >iterations. Sometimes it would not show up until several hundred. They were >exchanged by Velocity.
No errors are acceptable. A computer program may run through a loop millions of times in just a few seconds. If the data it gets isn't accurate every time the program isn't going to run correctly. Nancy, your earlier description of the RAM Sandwich is accurate, with one addition. All three (or four) DIMMs need to be in a single bank, either bank A or Bank B on the S900/J700 (the C series only has one bank). So what is usually described is to put a good DIMM in A1, another good DIMM in A4 and one or two DIMMs to be tested in A2 and/or A3. You could do the test in bank B instead of A. Experience seems to show that about 1500 iterations is sufficient. I don't think anyone has gotten a failure above 1500 without having a failure sooner. However, some of us have received failures at about 1200 - 1300, so it is important to do that many iterations. It's time consuming, which is why several list members suggest just buying from someone with better quality control. Personally, I think it's a good idea to test your RAM no matter who you buy it from, but it does seem that you're more likely to do the RMA shuffle if you buy from Velocity. Jeff Walther -- SuperMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | Service & Replacement Parts [EMAIL PROTECTED] | & CDRWs on Sale! | SPECIAL SM LIST PRICES - 24x Bootable SCSI CDROM $39.99, Umax Processors $19.99 PowerSupplies from C500/C600 $49.99 J700/S900 $79.99 <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> SuperMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/supermacs/list.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/supermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
