tadguy@abcfd01.larc.nasa.gov (Tad Guy) (05/03/90)
In article <2252@awdprime.UUCP> robin@sabre.austin.ibm.com (Robin D. Wilson/1000000) writes: > The specs I have say 4Meg in 1Meg ZIPS and 16Meg in 4Meg ZIPS. Ok, I'll ask the stupid question I haven't seen yet: Why doesn't the A3000 use SIMMs? It would seem foolish for any new personal workstation to not use something as common (and cheap) as SIMMs... What am I missing? ...tad
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (05/04/90)
In article <TADGUY.90May2175932@abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov> tadguy@abcfd01.larc.nasa.gov (Tad Guy) writes: >In article <2252@awdprime.UUCP> robin@sabre.austin.ibm.com (Robin D. Wilson/1000000) writes: >> The specs I have say 4Meg in 1Meg ZIPS and 16Meg in 4Meg ZIPS. >It would seem foolish for any new personal workstation to not use >something as common (and cheap) as SIMMs... What am I missing? SIMMs cost more than ZIPs. Also, they weren't available in a low enough profile for our needs; the memory in the 3000 sits underneath where a Coprocessor slot card goes. The 4 Meg ZIPs clear such a card by about 0.1". > ...tad -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy "I have been given the freedom to do as I see fit" -REM
swarren@convex.com (Steve Warren) (05/04/90)
In article <TADGUY.90May2175932@abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov> tadguy@abcfd01.larc.nasa.gov (Tad Guy) writes: >In article <2252@awdprime.UUCP> robin@sabre.austin.ibm.com (Robin D. Wilson/1000000) writes: >> The specs I have say 4Meg in 1Meg ZIPS and 16Meg in 4Meg ZIPS. > >Ok, I'll ask the stupid question I haven't seen yet: > > Why doesn't the A3000 use SIMMs? > >It would seem foolish for any new personal workstation to not use >something as common (and cheap) as SIMMs... What am I missing? > > ...tad ZIPPs are just about as space-saving as SIMMs are. SIMMs are more expensive/Mbyte than individual chips. SIMMs for 4 Mbit chips are still very expensive. You can populate your memory system cheaper and in roughly the same space using ZIPPs. Since a SIMM is nothing more than the discrete chips soldered onto a PC board, you should always be able to get the discrete chips (same # of chips) cheaper than the SIMMs. Any questions? -- --Steve DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own (I don't speak for Convex) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- {uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.COM
sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) (05/08/90)
swarren@convex.com (Steve Warren) writes: >ZIPPs are just about as space-saving as SIMMs are. SIMMs are more >expensive/Mbyte than individual chips. SIMMs for 4 Mbit chips are >still very expensive. You can populate your memory system cheaper >and in roughly the same space using ZIPPs. >Any questions? Well sort of. and some comments. First SIMMs aren't as expensive as ZIPs. and they are easier to find. I think it has something to do with the fact that SIMMs are more popular in the IBM-PC clone world, and mass production tends to lower the prices, as does competition. I have seen SIMMs for as low as $75/megabyte. How much would that cost in ZIPs? If you can find them. I think the price I heard last (from a friend who was pricing memory a while back) they were about $90-$100/megabyte. These were the 1mbit chips. I don't have the prices available for the 4mbit chips. Since they are new the prices are closer to each other (SIMM vs. ZIP). But I bet ya that the 4meg SIMMs will be easier to find and cheaper on a per Megabyte basis in a short time. -- John Sparks | D.I.S.K. 24hrs 2400bps. Accessable via Starlink (Louisville KY) sparks@corpane.UUCP | | PH: (502) 968-DISK A virtuous life is its own punishment.
sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) (05/09/90)
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >>It would seem foolish for any new personal workstation to not use >>something as common (and cheap) as SIMMs... What am I missing? >SIMMs cost more than ZIPs. I just called around. 256K x 4 100ns ZIPs are $12/ea and 1 meg SIMMs @ 80 ns are $75 so for 1 meg of mem: ZIPs = $96 SIMM = $75 ZIP prices were gotten from Semitech 1-800-356-3759 SIMM prices from IC Express 1-800-892-8889 -- John Sparks | D.I.S.K. 24hrs 2400bps. Accessable via Starlink (Louisville KY) sparks@corpane.UUCP | | PH: (502) 968-DISK If you've seen one nuclear war, you've seen them all.
tj@peirce.cis.ohio-state.edu (Todd R Johnson) (05/10/90)
In article <1780@corpane.UUCP> sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) writes:
< I have seen SIMMs for as low as $75/megabyte. How
< much would that cost in ZIPs? If you can find them. I think the price I
< heard last (from a friend who was pricing memory a while back) they were
< about $90-$100/megabyte. These were the 1mbit chips.
<
I just bought 4 1 meg 80ns SIMMs for $62.50 each from The Chip
Merchant.
< I don't have the prices available for the 4mbit chips. Since they are new
< the prices are closer to each other (SIMM vs. ZIP). But I bet ya
< that the 4meg SIMMs will be easier to find and cheaper on a per Megabyte basis
< in a short time.
The cheapest I've seen 4meg SIMMs is $500, but these should be
coming down.
---Todd
-=-
Todd R. Johnson
tj@cis.ohio-state.edu
Laboratory for AI Research
The Ohio State Universitypanon@cheddar.cc.ubc.ca (Paul-Andre Panon) (05/10/90)
In article <80283@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Todd R Johnson <tj@cis.ohio-state.edu> writes: >In article <1780@corpane.UUCP> sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) writes: >[Both talk about how SIMMs are cheaper than ZIPs] > > The cheapest I've seen 4meg SIMMs is $500, but these should be >coming down. > > ---Todd Sure, but do SIMMs use page mode DRAMs and support cache BURST fills? I think the ZIP configuration Commodore uses does. As someone mentioned on comp.arch, if you're going to use an '040, it begs for BURST fills. This machine is obviously meant to be upgradeable with an '040. Looks like Commodore took a different approach for the 3000 memory design than they did for the 2500/30. Considering they seem to take about 2-3 years to put out a new machine, it seems like a good idea to provide a solid quick upgrade path to an '040 to me. Or did I put my foot in it again? Can you do cache burst fills with SIMMs? -- Paul-Andre_Panon@staff.ucs.ubc.ca or USERPAP1@UBCMTSG or Paul-Andre_Panon@undergrad.cs.ubc.ca or USERPAP1@mtsg.ubc.ca Looking for a .signature? "We've already got one. It is ver-ry ni-sce!"