Ecc Computer Memory Helps Check For ErrorsWhat is ECC computer Memory? ECC computer memory stands for Error Checking and Correction or Error Correcting Code memory. This type of memory ahs a special integrated circuitry that allows the testing of the accuracy of the data that is passed to and from its memory. Todays market ahs both buffered and unbuffered ECC memory, although unbuffered ECC computer memory is harder to find. You can find out if a memory stick can handle ECC by counting the number of DRAM chips. ECC modules generally have 9 chips while other unbuffered non ECC computer memory has 8. The ninth chip is integrated to cover the 8 bits that are needed for error checking and correcting. Memory errors can change a bit from 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 and then change all of your data. How often do Computer Memory Errors Occur? Computer memory errors don't occur very often. In fact computer memory has gotten so much better that they rarely happen. It is estimated that computer errors occur every 750 hours of use. If you are an end user that uses your computer once a day for about two hours a day, that ends up being once a year, but if you use it 24 hours a day that means about once a month. Why use ECC Computer Memory? If you are word processing and sending emails then a crash can be a nuisance, but if you are serving web pages then a crash can be a disaster. If you are running any kind of a server, it is necessary that you have ECC computer memory. ECC Computer Memory for PC Users. Should you use ECC computer memory if you are just using desktop applications. Well it really depends on what you are doing with your desktop. Are you working graphics and website design. Then you would be better off going with ECC memory, although ECC memory is much more expensive than regular SDRAM memory and runs a little slower because of the error verification. In order to run ECC memory you will also have to have a compatible motherboard which could also cost you quite a bit more. It is true that RAM has gotten much better and that you probably have less errors than what you did with the ram of a few years ago. But the error rate is not zero, and one of the ram chips can malfunction at any time, or an electrical problem can negatively affect ram without killing it. So lets say this were to happen, all you would have to do eventually is change the ram and that would be it right? Well to a degree that is right but ram errors can also cause the hard drive to malfunction by making a disaster of its contents. And that is where ECC memory would benefit you, because it would keep the contents of your hard drive in order. |