Mixing Non-ECC and ECC memory

[bishi]

Surprisingly, my local store sells DDR ECC reg. memory for half the cost of regular DDR memory. It seems to be a quick cheap upgrade.

Question:
My existing system is a KT266A board with regular non-ECC PC2100.
Is it possible and safe to mix the ECC w/ non-ECC in this configuration?
If so, can the ECC memory run in non-ECC mode?

 

[etp777]

ECC and non ECC might not be a problem, but registered and unbuffered ram will be I believe. Don't think ECC registered ram will work with your current ram, and also pretty sure it won't work with your board even by itself, though I won't swear to that.

 

[jammydodger]

Only certain boards support ECC RAM, Im pretty sure yours doesnt.

<font color=blue>P4c 2.6@3.25
512Mb PC4000
2x120Gb 7200.7 in RAID0
Waterchill KT12-L30
Abit AI7
Radeon 9800Pro
</font color=blue>

 

[confoundicator]

Depends on the specific board. I have an Abit KR7A with a Via KT266A chipset, and the board supports ECC. I've never tried mixing ECC and non-ECC RAM though.

He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it, hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart. -C.S. Lewis

 

[Obtuse]

It will slow your system down, because regardless of compatibility, I know ECC RAM is slower than similarly clocked non-ECC ram.

"The only way to overcome temptation is to yield to it" - Oscar Wilde

 

[CrucialLabs]

You can mix ECC and non-ECC in most boards and not have a problem. You system will not run registered memory though so do not get the memory you seen. The system would run slower if it can handle the ecc memory but since yours does not have the capabilities to use the ECC memory it will be seen as non-ECC and the performance will not be hampered.

Crucial Performance Lab

www.crucial.com
The Memory Experts(SM) at Crucial Technology is now on board to give you straight answers to your memory-related questions.
cpl@micron.com

 

[bishi]

I bought the ecc reg. ram.
It appears that it will not work in my system.
Strange though, in my bios/boot up cannot detect the new module; however when I used Sandra Software in windows, the ram IS identified (manufacturer, memory size, etc.).
Of course at this point, I have non-ecc and ecc in the ram slots to make it run windows. I cannot run the system on the ecc ram alone.


Could this be a bios related issue......If I update to the latest Bios, it can be supported?

Motherboard: epox 8kha+ , revision 1.x