[comp.sys.next] Preliminary comments on South Coast RAM for Color slabs

eps@toaster.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott) (06/21/91)

[Not applicable to NeXTstation or base NeXTcube]
If you're planning on ordering third-party memory for NeXTstation
Color, first check what's actually in the machine.  Our machines
came with 1MBx36 (*not* 1MBx32) SIMMs.  We ordered 72-pin SIMMs
from South Coast Electronics.  Someone (at our end) who's been
too-well indoctrinated wrote in "low profile" before the order
went out.  South Coast's low-profile "SC-NEXT 4000/L" SIMMs have
chips on BOTH SIDES--they are a *very* tight fit (i.e. touching)
in the sockets.  Since you don't need low profile memory for
the slabs, I don't advise ordering low profile.  (Note that
NeXT does not use low profile 1MBx36s!)

There doesn't seem any advantage in ordering 1MBx32 SIMMs for
the Color slabs, especially considering John Graves' recent
posting on parity vs. non-parity memory.

P.S. 20MB is *not* enough to make a Color slab happy.

					-=EPS=-

jchin@wimsey.bc.ca (Joseph Chin) (06/22/91)

In article <1771@toaster.SFSU.EDU> eps@cs.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott) writes:
>[Not applicable to NeXTstation or base NeXTcube]
>If you're planning on ordering third-party memory for NeXTstation
>Color, first check what's actually in the machine.  Our machines
>came with 1MBx36 (*not* 1MBx32) SIMMs.  We ordered 72-pin SIMMs
>from South Coast Electronics.  Someone (at our end) who's been
>too-well indoctrinated wrote in "low profile" before the order
>went out.  South Coast's low-profile "SC-NEXT 4000/L" SIMMs have
>chips on BOTH SIDES--they are a *very* tight fit (i.e. touching)
>in the sockets.  Since you don't need low profile memory for
>the slabs, I don't advise ordering low profile.  (Note that
>NeXT does not use low profile 1MBx36s!)

Eric is right! I forgot to mention that in my post. To get the SIMMs
installed in my system, I eventually removed all the existing SIMMs,
installed the new (low profile) SIMMs in the two slots closest to
the power supply, followed by two original NeXT-supplied 1x36 SIMMs,
and then the remaining 256x32 SIMMs.

	----------------------------------------------------
	|		Power Supply                       |
	----------------------------------------------------
		======== new SIMM#1 (1x36) from South Coast
		======== new SIMM#2 (1x36) from South Coast
		======== NeXT-supplied 1x36 SIMM
		======== NeXT-supplied 1x36 SIMM
		======== NeXT-supplied 256x32 SIMM
		======== NeXT-supplied 256x32 SIMM
		======== NeXT-supplied 256x32 SIMM
		======== NeXT-supplied 256x32 SIMM

There is a tight fit between SIMM#1 and SIMM#2, but they are NOT
touching. There is a gap of approx. 1.5mm.

NOTE: I found out yesterday by doing "m" from the ROM Monitor that
the new SIMMs I bought from South Coast and the original NeXT-supplied
4MB SIMMs are all "1x36" parity SIMMs!!! But the remaining 1MB SIMMs
are all "256x32" non-parity SIMMs!!! This is on a NeXTstation Colour
ordered without the parity option. This mix has not affect my system
in any negative way because the system has been configured to ignore
parity checking in the "p" command of the ROM Monitor.

:-) Joe
-- 
Joseph Chin                         Wordcraft Systems Corporation
jchin@van-bc.wimsey.bc.ca           201-434 West 12th Avenue
(604)879-9687 (voice & NeXTfax)     Vancouver, B.C., Canada  V5Y 1V3
********************* NeXT Registered Developer ********************