farren@hoptoad.uucp (Mike Farren) (12/27/86)
Once again, I feel forced by the discussion of internal RAM boards to insert
my two cents worth. I see several problems with these boards which people
might like to think about a bit before sinking your hard-earned money into
a product that may cause more problems than it solves:
1. An internal RAM board is going to draw power through printed circuit traces
which were not designed to handle that much power. This can cause nasty
problems with noise, including the possibility of more-or-less random
memory errors nearly impossible to track down and identify.
2. If used in conjunction with external add-on cards without their own power
sources, overloading of the internal power supply could result.
3. An internal RAM card can not auto-configure. You will have to execute
a program similar to AddMem every time you boot. Some copy-protected
software may not be able to use the additional memory at all, if it
requires a boot with its own workbench disk. In addition, 1.2 WILL
auto-configure the additional RAM (if it lives in the lower 2 Meg address
space), but will mark it as CHIP memory. You will have to "unmark" it
with some sort of utility EVERY time you reboot.
4. Unless the address space of the internal RAM can be selected, you might
have conflicts with any external expansion RAM you put on. (This one
might not be a problem, depending on the design of the internal RAM).
To my mind, the potential problems (and note that I say POTENTIAL) outweigh
the benefits, especially considering the general drop in external expansion
devices lately. Make up your own minds, but beware!
--
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"... if the church put in half the time on covetousness
Mike Farren that it does on lust, this would be a better world ..."
hoptoad!farren Garrison Keillor, "Lake Wobegon Days"