ECC and/or Registered memory modules

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Posted by Slipstream on Jan-19-2004 02:00:

ECC and/or Registered memory modules

Hey

Does anyone knows if using ECC and/or Registered memory modules gives any benefits in a music workstation?

My guess would be that it could have a benefit, since audio applications are quite memory intensive... but I would like your input

Please answer with something to back it up, not just a Yes or a No.

Thanks

Slipstream

Posted by auujay on Jan-19-2004 05:39:

ECC memory is no faster then non-ECC memory, it simply referes to error detection and correction that ECC memory can do and non-ECC memory cannot. So how does that affect the user? You will not get corrupted data from your RAM.

I guess it comes down to cost, but in my opinion there is not much of a need for it. Of course it is better to have it then to not have it. I guess you could think of it like you are buying a new car and you can get it with a 5 disc changer for more money or else just get a 1 disc player. The car will still play your CDs the same but who would not want the extra CD changer? It comes down to cost and if it is worth it to you. If you feel the price difference is not that great then just go for it, personally when I recently got RAM I opted not to get ECC.

PS - As you mentioned audio applications are meory intensive and as I said ECC memory is not faster. If you can only either get a certain amount of ECC memory or get more non-ECC memory, then get more RAM because that WILL help your audio apps.

Posted by Slipstream on Jan-19-2004 05:52:

Yes I know ECC is for error checking, that was exactly my point in my wondering. I should have been more specific.

Since audio apps are memory intensive, I was wondering if memory data errors could cause some glitches in the recorded sound (that could be heard).

As for Registered RAM, from what I understand, because of the Register module who's directing data on the RAM chips would cause less load on the RAM and therefore would be faster. But that's what I undersatnad, I'm no expert in memory...

Slipstream

Posted by auujay on Jan-19-2004 19:24:

It has been awhile since I took computer arch. and I am no EE or CompE which is my excuse for not knowing too much about the real details of modern RAM. I did notice that Tom's Hardware has an article that was posted today that may help you out.

http://www.tomshardware.com/motherb...0119/index.html

From the final conclusion
"The moral of the story is clear: while we still recommend buying brand-name products to ensure compatibility (especially for dual-channel systems), but you don't necessarily need the fastest timings. In today's market, you only need fast modules if your computer will be computing a lot or encoding video. For any other application, slower RAM will definitely cut the mustard."

It seems that CL timings do not make too much of a difference these days (campared to a few years ago) but for compression the faster RAM is noticable.

The article does not go into ECC or registered RAM. From what I remember about RAM is that most errors that will just suddenly happen to a working system (as in not including faulty RAM from the start) is really just cosmic rays. Apparently these cosmic rays come flying from outerspace and slam into your RAM chip and can flip a bit or two (I am seriously not making this shit up). Now normal ram is parity so you still have some error detection, but the cooler RAM can detect more errors and often correct them. From a purly technical standpoint I think you have a valid point about how it could potential affect sound quality. I believe that the chnces of it doing something bad to your song range from up to slim down to none. If you are really warried about it go ahead and get ECC memory.

Posted by Mossy on Jan-19-2004 19:31:

ECC ram is pretty pointless outside of server / high end computing environments. I reckon as long as you have the best RAM your board can support and at least 512mb (its cheap enough these days!) then you will be fine. Also, make sure you buy quality RAM - Kingston, Crucial or Corsair being some good brands.