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Path: utzoo!mnetor!yetti!geac!daveb
From: daveb@geac.UUCP (Brown)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Double-bit errors and ECC memory
Message-ID: <1429@geac.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 21-Sep-87 08:11:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: geac.1429
Posted: Mon Sep 21 08:11:50 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 22-Sep-87 00:41:46 EDT
References: <686@obiwan.UUCP> <8587@utzoo.UUCP> <208@slxsys.UUCP>
Reply-To: daveb@geac.UUCP (Dave Collier-Brown)
Organization: The little blue rock next to that twinkly star.
Lines: 25
Keywords: ram ecc

In article <208@slxsys.UUCP> jpp@slxsys.UUCP (John Pettitt) writes:
>In article <686@obiwan.UUCP> mark@mips.UUCP (Mark G. Johnson) writes:
>>Micron Technology's 256Kbit dynamic RAM has on-chip ECC.  And customers
>>just frigging HATE the idea.  . . . 
>>The gripes against ECC are (1) it's "dishonest" because it lets mfrs
>>sell defective chips.  {This was also heard three years previously
>>when redundant memories were first discussed.}  

  It strikes me that the place I heard about ECC-equipped RAMs was in
a journal article on fault and radiation-resistant hardware for
military and sattelite usage.  Since I wouldn't want my Comsat[1] to
suddenly go wonky because an energetic particle happened to wander by, 
much less my battle station (:-}), this is probably the area where the
customers wouldn't complain about dishonesty.

  I suspect *those* customers would welcome John Pettts's ECC_FAULT pin.

--dave

[1] Comsat is a trademark, presumably of the Comsat Company.
-- 
 David Collier-Brown.                 {mnetor|yetti|utgpu}!geac!daveb
 Geac Computers International Inc.,   |  Computer Science loses its
 350 Steelcase Road,Markham, Ontario, |  memory (if not its mind)
 CANADA, L3R 1B3 (416) 475-0525 x3279 |  every 6 months.