Different between Server RAM and Desktop RAM

The memory in a server is expected to be fast, and is called ECC memory. ECC stands for error correcting code memory. This memory system tests and corrects any errors in memory without the processor or user being aware of it. The error correcting code generates a checksum when data is loaded in memory, and when it unloads, the checksum is recomputed and if an error is detected it is automatically corrected. This ensures that the data passed in the server is correct. 

All desktop, laptops, and tower computers use different types of memory classed on their speed and structure. They are known as SDR, DDR, DDR2, etc, and as the personal computer world has seen the personal computers getting faster and faster, the memory speeds have also been enhanced over time. 

If you put a high-speed memory in a slow speed processor machine, it will probably burn out and the same rule applies vice versa. The memory speed and the processor speed have to be synchronized to work properly. 

In desktop computers, you may have had incidents of a memory chip getting defective, or the computer gives a memory-addressing fault. This never happens in a server machine. Server machines are supposed to be zero-fault tolerance machines. The applications that are supposed to perform cannot afford any downtime. 

High-end servers have a very robust architecture, as they are used to perform very specific jobs. Therefore, they are built such that the possibility of a fault occurring is minimized. In case, a fault does occur, the machine will not crash or the application will not stop. Therefore, a proper server machine does have different memory from a non-server machine. Very few people are aware of this, as the environments in which they work don't use high-end servers.

NOTE- ECC (which stands for Error Correction Code) RAM is very popular in servers or other systems with high-value data as it protects against data corruption by automatically detecting and correcting memory errors. Standard RAM uses banks of eight memory chips in which data is stored and provided to the CPU on demand. ECC RAM is different as it has an additional memory chip which acts as both error detection and correction for the other eight RAM chips.