NON ECC vs ECC

is non-ecc memory better then ecc memory...and whats the diff

well??? anyone???

ECC = Error Correction and Control...or something to that effect.

It means that it will check to see if while the data went through the ram, if it got corrupt somehow. So basically its for servers where you can not have ANY errors, and must have an uptime of months.

Most motherboards don't even support ECC memory, because it isn't that big of a deal. I couldn't care a less if my Ram made 1 mistake after a week of uptime, odds are it won't effect me.

There is also CPU Cache Level 2 (L2) ECC. That's just like your RAM, but closer to the actual processor....actually, its IN the processor. Meaning that the on-die cache(L2) is a lot faster than the RAM. ECC is nice to have on there also, but not needed.

And of course if the processor can not find the data in the L2 cache, or the RAM, it has to resort to looking on the SLOW hard drive for the information, which is so incredibly slow. That's why people like having a lot of RAM, so that they dont have to spin up those slow HDs.

Does that help? Thirsty for more?

Do I need ECC memory?
ECC is normally only necessary in servers and other computers where computer uptime and data integrity is important enought that a "one in a million" chance of being affected by a single bit memory error could be disastrous. If the downtime caused by a reboot or the lost data from having to recover a corrupted file or database from last nights tape backup is inexcusable, then ECC memory is for you.

However when making this decision, keep in mind that backups are your first line of defense, and ECC should be thought of as insurance against that "one in a million" chance that a single bit memory error will occur. Also keep in mind that ECC memory is more expensive and with some lower end northbridge chipsets that support ECC, it can decrease memory performance. ECC memory also has to be supported by your northbridge chipset, otherwise the ECC capability of the memory module will go unused.

From mushkin.com

Odds are much less likely than one in a million. If you take that statement literal. Remember what MHZ means, MILLIONS of operations per second.

I believe that ECC covers more than 1 bit errors. But then again, I know nothing about ECC, or memory for that matter.

L2 ECC decreases performance around 2% usually. I don't think I can notice a 2% difference, so I have it enabled. I wouldn't put ECC RAM into any system unless if it was a high quality system. If you care that much to put ECC into a computer, then you should care enough to upgrade the rest of it.

does it really make a difference?

Does ECC make a difference?

In home computing, like most of us here, no it doesn't. My computer will crash from something else before a memory error, or I will just restart for another reason, or even turn it off.

You only need it if you NEED a workstation, or server with 100% error free for months of uptime. Basically.