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From: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: Packard Bell doesn't really exist (long)
Message-ID: <8076@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>
Date: 10 Sep 90 15:24:41 GMT
References: <1990Sep6.154721.12322@iwarp.intel.com> <35112@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU>
Reply-To: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 30

In article <35112@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> v116kzmd@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Dave Archer) writes:
[Packard Bell solders in RAM chips rather than using sockets]
>As for why they'd do it..  Probably has to do with cost.  They might claim it
>makes for a more reliable system, but that's fairly silly.  Even the cost issue
>is silly, since sockets are not exactly that expensive.  I've never even heard
>of a modern clone that had non-socketed ram chips in it.  This is perhaps
>another sign of why people keep telling me Packard Bell is not the greatest of
>companys.  

There's more at work here than manufacturing vs repair cost tradeoffs.

Soldering in the chips is certainly more reliable, and if the board
manufacturing costs are low enough they might not bother with board repairs
and just scrap the board.

Here are the problems with sockets:

1. Parts can vibrate loose in shipment, causeing DOAs.

2. Heat cycling (from powering up and down every day) can cause parts to
   walk out of the sockets.

3. Unless hermetically sealed (not likely) or gold contacts are used (rare
   these days, and expensive) connections can corrode.

I've seen all three of these happen, and it's not rare at all.

Tom Almy
toma@tekgvs.labs.tek.com
Standard Disclaimers Apply