mcdonald@sfu_halley.cs.sfu (07/19/87)
A quick question for Mac II users. Is it possible to do the 4 to 8 bit upgrade on the apple video board by oneself? Is it easy? Will it invalidate any of Apple's warranties? What with the price of DRAMs these days, it it just needs 4 memory chips it strikes me that what apple is charging is quite a bit more than what the upgrade should cost. Ken McDonald Dept. of Comp. Sci. Simon Fraser University .
russell@acf3.NYU.EDU (Bill Russell) (07/21/87)
A do-it-yourself kit can be had from many sources for <$75 and I've heard even better prices lately. If I can install the chips properly, you can... you're dog can.... Just be sure to turn off machine, but DON'T unplug it. Wait 5 minutes; yank the board; keep your forearm near the top of the power supply to bleed static -- and don't worry too much if weather is hot, humid, hazy. It IS worth the trouble. -r (Richard Reich as russell@nyu-acf4.arpa)
woo@pioneer.arpa (Alex Woo) (07/21/87)
In article <57900001@sfu_halley> mcdonald@sfu_halley.cs.sfu writes: > >A quick question for Mac II users. Is it possible to do the 4 to 8 bit >upgrade on the apple video board by oneself? Is it easy? Will it invalidate >any of Apple's warranties? What with the price of DRAMs these days, it it >just needs 4 memory chips it strikes me that what apple is charging is quite >a bit more than what the upgrade should cost. > What chips or boards are used this upgrade? There are sockets already on the video board. I'm willing to solder if I have to. Alex Woo
newton@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu (Mike Newton) (07/21/87)
I *just* finished doing this upgrade myself (and I'm a software type).
You need _8_ (not 4 as mentioned earlier) NEC D41264C-15's. These
chips are not the cheapie DRAMs that you see advertized in the trade
rags.
A place to get them:
I.C. Express, Inc.
15358 Valley Blvd.
City of Industry, CA 91746
818-356-6771
I called about 12 places that were listed in Computer Shopper. These people
and a place in Texas were the only two that carried them. Both places
charged $8.95 each, so I went for a little drive...
(Total price with sales tax, visa tax... $78, still MUCH cheaper than the
apple price).
Insertion took about 5 minutes (repeatedly grounding myself to prevent
static buildupt). Then boot and the Control Panel panel has a choice
of '256'.
Now if only there was more (shareware or cheap) software that used
the colors...
- mike
newton@csvax.caltech.edu {ucbvax!cithep,amdahl}!cit-vax!newton
Caltech 256-80 818-356-6771 (afternoons,nights)
Pasadena CA 91125 Beach Bums Anonymous, Pasadena President
Life's a beach. Then you graduate.mo@well.UUCP (Maurice Weitman) (07/21/87)
In article <57900001@sfu_halley> mcdonald@sfu_halley.cs.sfu writes: ) ) [...] Is it possible to do the 4 to 8 bit )upgrade on the apple video board by oneself? Is it easy? Will it invalidate )any of Apple's warranties? Yes. Yes. Probably, but only if you get caught. )What with the price of DRAMs these days, it it )just needs 4 memory chips it strikes me that what apple is charging is quite )a bit more than what the upgrade should cost. ) The DRAMs are not your standard chips. I believe they are dual-state video RAM, and cost $8 - $12 a piece, and the board needs eight of them, not four. One aside: running with 256 colors (or shades of gray) makes the video a bit more than sluggish. It is purty, though. -- Maurice Weitman ..!{dual,hplabs,lll-crg,ptsfa,glacier}!well!mo | <- this is not a pipe POBox 10019 Berkeley, CA 94709 (415)549-0280 Quote: "What a revoltin' development this is." Maurizio T. Butthead, 1986 Disclaimer: Any errors in spelling, tact or fact are transmission errors.
jww@sdcsvax.UUCP (07/21/87)
Just buy 8 more of the chips that are in there. They are
special video DRAMs available from NEC distributors for about $100;
you're not likely to find them in any store (except for the Apple
Macintosh II Video Card Expansion Kit).
--
Joel West, Palomar Software, Inc. (c/o UCSD)
{ucbvax,ihnp4}!sdcsvax!jww or jww@sdcsvax.ucsd.eduwoody@tybalt.caltech.edu (William Edward Woody) (07/22/87)
The video board sockets (eight of 'em) takes 41256-15 DRAMs. I know. I ordered the video board expansion kit; inside was 8 41256-15 DRAMs. I plugged 'em in myself (not wanting to wait for someone in CCO at Caltech to install them), and it worked. You may want to consult with someone to get the orientation of the chips right; I installed mine in in the same direction as the existing 41256-15 DRAMs and it worked, no problems. - William Woody Mac! > ][n && /|\ woody@tybalt.caltech.edu woody@juliet.caltech.edu