1k1mgm@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Christopher Gunn) (10/26/90)
Is there anybody out there (who's willing to talk) who knows the valid memory configurations for upcoming 4D/35? Net-illiterate faculty member here wants me to find out for him whether he can buy minimal 4D/35 (apparently 8 2Mb SIMMS = 16Mb) and then fill up remaining SIMM slots with 3rd-party 8Mb SIMMS. Part Two: is there word on the street about whether SGI 2x0/3x0 memory is the right stuff for 35, or is it a new-type SIMM? I've got long lists of SGI-compatible memory vendors, but if people have firm price information from last 60 days or so, it would probably help my consultee in putting proposal together. Thanks much. P.S. Where is wild, speculative gossip about the presumptive SGI 4x0 and/or 6x0 boxes? Surely, when 35's hit the street in quantity they won't be tied for top-of-the-line in CPU capacity, will they? Christopher Gunn Molecular Graphics & Modeling Lab SPAN--KUPHSX::GUNN Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Malott Hall 913-864-4428 or -4495 University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045
baskett@forest.asd.sgi.COM (Forest Baskett) (10/26/90)
Part of the performance gain on the 4D/35 comes from a new main memory simm design. Current third party simms that work in 4D/20's and 4D/25's won't work in a 4D/35. This new simm reduces the latency and substantially improves the bandwidth of the main memory system on the 4D/35. This is not a plot; it is a real engineering advance. I imagine that it can be reverse engineered by third party vendors so this is just a warning to be sure that you know that it is different. Forest Baskett Silicon Graphics
portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) (10/27/90)
>>>>> On 25 Oct 90 18:50:37 GMT, 1k1mgm@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Christopher Gunn) said: > Is there anybody out there (who's willing to talk) who knows the valid > memory configurations for upcoming 4D/35? Net-illiterate faculty > member here wants me to find out for him whether he can buy minimal > 4D/35 (apparently 8 2Mb SIMMS = 16Mb) and then fill up remaining > SIMM slots with 3rd-party 8Mb SIMMS. Part Two: is there word on > the street about whether SGI 2x0/3x0 memory is the right stuff for > 35, or is it a new-type SIMM? The remaining SIMM slots on the 4D/35 cannot be filled with 3rd-party SIMMs. Each of the memory SIMMs on the 4D/35 have a custom gate array on board. Obviously, this also means that you cannot put 2x0/3x0 memory in the 4D/35. For more information, see the Oct. 22, 1990 issue of the Electronic Engineering Times. --M -- __ \/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics, Inc. portuesi@sgi.com "the salesperson is our primary communications tool in leading the consumer to believe our products entertain, provide information, make their lives easier and more comfortable...our objective is to inform the consumer what to buy, and why they need it"
mg@ (Mike Gigante) (10/28/90)
portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) writes: >>>>>> On 25 Oct 90 18:50:37 GMT, 1k1mgm@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Christopher Gunn) said: >> Is there anybody out there (who's willing to talk) who knows the valid >> memory configurations for upcoming 4D/35? ... >The remaining SIMM slots on the 4D/35 cannot be filled with 3rd-party >SIMMs. Each of the memory SIMMs on the 4D/35 have a custom gate array >on board. Obviously, this also means that you cannot put 2x0/3x0 >memory in the 4D/35. Thanks for the info -- this is helpful for me also. However, it does raise an important question for me. If I order extra SGI memory now for my existing PIs (to go from 8 to 16Mb) with the intention to upgrade the machines to 35s later. Am I going to have to throw that memory? I am talking about 18 PIs so that is a lot of money/memory. I guess the question really is what is the upgrade policy on 4D20/25 to 4D35 Mike Gigante, RMIT ACGC