ECC or non-ECC

W

Westkhan

New Member
Hi guys...First time post here!

I am about to purchase a Sony Vaio laptop and the very first upgraded I'll be needing is RAM expansion from 512Mb to 1 Gb.

Sony states that PC2-3200 (DDR2-400 CL=3) is the one needed for my model.

A quick search with an on-line vendor showed some 512 modules for sale.

But, for a particular brand (Transcend) the very same module with ECC is about twice the price as one without that spec (75 vs. 135 Euros)!

Is ECC worth the price difference? What, exactly, is the benefit?

Thanks for any replies.

WK
 
ECC is an error checking type of RAM, but like amd64 said, you won't benefit from it. It's mainly used on workstations and servers.
 
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you lose performance when you use ecc memory, its only useful in server and workstation environments where absolute stability is required. not necessary in desktop environments
 
Wow...!

...3 fast, concurring and to the point replies...It seems I stumbled across a great forum.

Is there anything else I should pay attention to, regarding the described upgrade?

Are the specs I referenced (...straight from the Sony site) enough? Are there any RAM sub-types from the described specs that I should choose from?

Thanks!

WK
 
You should have a read through the RAM 101, it tells you about ECC and the benefits from it.
 
The Plot Thickens (as usual...)

OK...

Today I open the RAM bay on my new Vaio and checked that there was an empty slot for additional RAM.

However, although the Sony site states that PC2-3200 (DDR2-400 CL=3) is the required RAM for my machine, what I found there was Samsung RAM with the following stamped on top:

512Mb 2Rx16 PC2-4200S-444-12-A3

It does not seem to be what is mentioned in the specs...Can you guys shed some light on this?

Thanks.

WK
 
Hmmm...

A quick check with an online vendor showed that there are either DDR2-400 (PC2-3200) or DDR2-533 (PC2-4300) modules.

No mention of 4200 or 4200S spec...could this be an "in-house" Samsung designation for the second one?

The Sony Vaio support line is down for more then 24 hours now...:mad:

WK
 
i would suggest you download and install everest.
http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en

when you run it, select the overclock section.
and then look for the SPD memory modules. ( not 100% shure if its called that way, since i have the duch version installed)

there it should give the timeings of your module at its stock speed. ( 200 MHz DDR) for example, on my RAM it says, (2,5-3-3-8 @ 200MHz )
the 2,5 is the CL of my RAM, that one should be 3 on your pc.
then, all you need to do, is fina a RAM mmodule with the same timings, and it should work.

and, this ebay link says pc4200 is 533MHz
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6806751824&category=80201
so, have a look for the 3200 series ;)
 
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