Big snip.In recent months, some Asian DRAM memory manufacturers have been getting way with selling untested ("UTT") DRAMs. Disturbingly, the practice seems to be getting traction at the lower portion of the module business.
This is being done mostly by Taiwanese DRAM makers, who are undercutting the tier-1 guys by selling untested and unmarked parts. The untested yield is high enough that Asian houses are putting them straight into modules and selling them. . .
What happens when a batch of UTTs gets into a major user?Read this interesting article here.
The major risk as I see it is a batch of modules gets into a major user (think IBM, H-P, and/or Dell) and fails (probably in Asia). The user goes publicly ballistic over the combination of faulty material and the supplier's inability to control the quality of its material. The press runs with it and the unlucky DRAM supplier's stock gets hammered. Some time afterward, it emerges that all the DRAM suppliers have this risk and then they all go down.
Hat tip to anandtech.com.
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2 comments:
Just like all the shampoos and cosmetics in my house, all memory chips are tested. The only question is whether it happens before or after I buy it.
Sounds like it's time to test memory after buying it. Unfortunately, most people won't have the ability to test their memory at various supply voltages and temperatures...
More product failure . . . more unhappy customers . . .
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