MANAGER@UMDHEP.BITNET (10/11/85)
I asked a while back about foreign memory for a VAX-11/780, and since the responses have stopped, I'll summarize for those others out there who are also looking for memory expansion: I heard of three memory suppliers; EMC, NS, and someone who distributes for DEC. EMC was far-and-away the best according to the people who answered. No one had any complaints at all. NS came in a close second, with a few chip failures, but these were all easily fixed by swapping chips (NS supplies socketed boards). In New York, DEC Field Service will handle EMC memory (I don't know about anywhere else). It is completely a 'local office decision' according to my sales rep. EMC and NS had roughly the same prices, with EMC's !slightly! better. I have a quote from NS for $1,000/Meg, with no controllers or what-have-you (I only have 6Meg, so I have plenty of room for 1Meg boards). DEC's prices are atrocious, and should not be purchased under any circumstances, as far as I can tell. The EMC and NS boards come with a 24-hour swap warranty. I believe that EMC's warranty was lifetime, and NS's was for 2-5 years (don't quote me on that). Both firms sound quite reputable. Make of this what you will... Todd Aven (301)454-3508 ...None of the figures, opinions, or punctuation marks expressed herein are guaranteed to be accurate. ...I have no affiliation with anyone(thing), including but not limited to the right side of my brain.
grim@HUEY.UDEL.EDU (Dan Grim) (10/11/85)
We have been buying NS memory for many years. Our last order for 10 MB cost $775/board. In competitive bidding, NS has always come in lowest for us. They now have a 5 year warranty. We have had just one outright board failure which was replaced under warranty. We used to have more chip failures but don't hardly have any now.