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The RAM shortage comes for us all

jeffgeerling.com

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Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#401

Post by rasz »

Aurornis wrote: post #398
rasz wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has on-die ECC _because_ it is so unreliable. ECC is there to fix its terribleness from factory.

So? If the net result is more reliable memory, it doesn't matter. Many things in electrical engineering use ECC on top of less reliable processes to produce a net result that is more reliable on the whole. Everything from hard drives to wireless communication. It's normal.

ECC doesnt completely fix it, it only masks problems for most common use patterns. Rowhammer is a huge problem.

Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#402

Post by astrange »

tavavex wrote: post #399
astrange wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I'm talking about window buffers. This is about memory not disk space.

I was talking about RAM - in that running Chromium on its own already has a preset RAM penalty due to how complicated it must be. But window buffers are usually in VRAM, not regular RAM, right? And I assume that their size would be relatively fixed in system and depend on your resolution (though I don't know precisely how they work). I would think that the total memory taken up by window buffers would be relatively c…

Well, you see, there's a popular brand of computers that don't have separate VRAM and have twice the display resolution of everyone else.

Luckily, windows aren't always fullscreen and so the memory usage is somewhat up to the user. Unluckily, you often need redundant buffers for parts of the UI tree, even if they're offscreen, eg because of blending or because we want scrolling to work without hitches.

Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#403

Post by ahartmetz »

rasz wrote: post #401
Aurornis wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So? If the net result is more reliable memory, it doesn't matter. Many things in electrical engineering use ECC on top of less reliable processes to produce a net result that is more reliable on the whole. Everything from hard drives to wireless communication. It's normal.

ECC doesnt completely fix it, it only masks problems for most common use patterns. Rowhammer is a huge problem.

Just like increasing the structure size "only" decreases the likelihood of bit flips. Correcting physical unreliability with more logic may feel flimsy, but in the end, probabilities are probabilities.

Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#404

Post by rolandog »

petre wrote: post #107
rolandog wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not disproving OP's comment; OpenAI is, in my opinion, making it untenable for a regular Joe to build a PC capable of running local LLM model. It's an attack on all our wallets.

Why do you need a LLM running locally so much that's the inflated RAM prices are an attack on your wallet? One can always opt not to play this losing game. I remember when the crypto miners rented a plane to deliver their precious GPUs.

Some models are useful; using whisper.cpp comes to mind to create subtitles for, for example, family videos or a lecture you attended without sending your data to an untrusted or unreliable company.

Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#405

Post by rolandog »

dylan604 wrote: post #93
rolandog wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too. I had saved up to make a small server. I guess I'll have to wait up until 2027–2028 at this rate.

Buy used gear and rip out the guts???

That too is becoming overpriced. Besides, that makes it hard to find what you're looking for, and it doesn't speak to the fact that we, the people, also deserve to be able to buy new stuff at reasonable prices, without some cartel doing price fixing.

Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#406

Post by Mcwee »

Guys We need to rise up against this. If it gets any worse than you will be stuck trying to find jobs instead of doing what you want. It like the Gatlin gun all over again. Ai was created to take the jobs we don't want but now it's taking the ones we want. Not to mention the data centers are horrible for the environment because of the cooling system. It's also used to make cp and no one does anything.

Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#407

Post by acksponies »

nish__ wrote: post #330
bhhaskin wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you are vastly underestimating how a modern fab works. The average cost is 10 billion and takes a about 10 years to build. They are very complex and even the slightest issue can ruin yields. There is a reason why there are so few.

Yeah you're right. I was way off.

Why is your bitcoin donation still active then?

Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#409

Post by acksponies »

nish__ wrote: post #326
shadowpho wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then spend the next five years building the actual fab around it? Like what’s the plan here.

No you're right. My math is very off.

You should deactivate your bc donation link since you admitted this

Re: The RAM shortage comes for us all

#410

Post by sahilagarwal »

alliao wrote: post #199
RachelF wrote: post #110

Perhaps we'll have to start optimizing software for performance and RAM usage again. I look at MS Teams currently using 1.5GB of RAM doing nothing.

now that's a word i haven't heard in a while...optimising

Yeah. I'm all for sprints to start focusing on optimizations and bug smashing instead of just barreling down the road of profitability while the middle managers hold a gun to your head.
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