*BSD News Article 73868


Return to BSD News archive

Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.ysu.edu!news.cps.udayton.edu!news.conterra.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!newsxfer2.itd.umich.edu!news.eecs.umich.edu!gmi.edu!khaley
From: khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.hardware,comp.os.ms-windows.win95.misc,comp.os.os2.setup.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: HELP: Can I mix memory speeds
Date: 15 Jul 96 14:56:47 GMT
Organization: GMI Engineering&Management Institute, Flint, MI
Lines: 22
Message-ID: <khaley.837442607@gmi.edu>
References: <4rbvq2$34i@news.enterprise.net> <4re1ii$14f5@newsgate.sps.mot.com> <31DAA423.75FEABEE@uiuc.edu> <31E07EA8.66E140D7@henge.com> <31E6880E.408D@nome.net> <4s7rae$m3a@symiserver2.symantec.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: nova.gmi.edu
X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5b3.0 #4 (NOV)
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.hardware:44553 comp.os.ms-windows.win95.misc:159954 comp.os.os2.setup.misc:17251 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:23628

tedm@agora.rdrop.com writes:

> EDO memory is non-parity.  If your MB supports parity, it is best
>to buy parity memory.  (unfortunately, the toy versions of the Triton chipset
>don't)

>Stealing Paul Vixie's words:  "Using non-parity memory on a Unix system is
>like hanging a `kick me' sign on your backside"

I see no mention of this in the Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO.  I've
been using non-parity memory with Linux for over a year now and I've never
come across parity errors or even system crashes even when compiling
programs or re-compiling the kernel.  I've had no problems with X,
either (other than being extremely slow on my old 486).

If having parity memory is extremely important, it would be nice to see
this mentioned in the hardware HOWTO.  I'm planning on buying memory for my
new system soon and I hadn't considered the parity memory issue, because
it wasn't listed in the HOWTOs. 

/Kevin