Is there a visual way to tell the difference between desktop RAM and server RAM? - I have to sort by hand a whole load of RAM.

[Miller64]

I have to sort by hand a large quantity of RAM Into server and pc ram. Is there a visual check I can do to tell the difference between the two? I would welcome any advice on how to do this.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

There isn't really such a thing as 'server RAM'. The closest would probably be ECC RAM, but you can use that in some workstations, and normal RAM can be used in servers usually - but people tend to use ECC for reliability reasons.

ECC RAM tends to have a multiple of 9 memory chips on it, whereas non-ECC RAM will have a multiple of 8.

 

[molletts]

As Someone Somewhere says, non-ECC RAM usually has a multiple of 8 memory chips (for 64-bit bus width) whereas ECC normally has a multiple of 9 (for 72-bit width). Sometimes there will be something on the label saying "256Mx64" or "128Mx72" which can give a hint to this effect.

You could also look at the "PCxxxx" rating on the labels - that normally includes clues to the type of memory.

Examples:
PC2-5300 - probably just bog-standard unbuffered non-ECC RAM

PC2-5300U - definitely unbuffered memory, unlikely to be ECC (I've never seen ECC RAM with the U designation)

PC2-5300E - the E denotes ECC, but not all ECC RAM has this on the label. It'll be unbuffered ECC so it will also work in ECC-capable desktop systems (most AMD Athlon/Phenom/FX-based systems) and may work (in non-ECC mode) in non-ECC systems, depending on the BIOS

PC2-5300R - the R denotes "Registered" so it's "server RAM" (P is also sometimes used instead of R)

PC2-5300F - the F indicates that it's fully-buffered memory so definitely "server RAM". FB-DIMMs almost always have heat-spreaders fitted.

Hope this helps

Stephen