[comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware] What chips needed to upgrade ATI VGA Wonder to 512k

dragon@quiche.cs.mcgill.ca (Edward YEE) (10/15/90)

Hello,

   I have an ATI VGA Wonder with 256k right now, and I would like to
upgrade it to 512k.

   I went to my local computer store, and asked for the 8 chips to do
the upgrade.  They tried to sell me chips with the number 24164 (or
something like this), at $11.00 each!

   I always thought it would require about $30-$40 dollars worth of DRAM
to upgrade, not $90.

   What chips are needed to do the upgrade? (is it 64k x 4 chips?  if so,
what does the 64k x 4 mean? [electronics rookie here]  does it mean it
requires 4 chips to get 64k.  if so, then 8 chips is only 128k, not the
256k that is required.)  My manual says to use 8, 64k x 4 chips, 41464-10,
but the dealer says that doesn't get it up to 512k.  Who's right?

   Thanks

Edward

larry@nstar.uucp (Larry Snyder) (10/15/90)

dragon@quiche.cs.mcgill.ca (Edward YEE) writes:

>   I have an ATI VGA Wonder with 256k right now, and I would like to
>upgrade it to 512k.

>   I went to my local computer store, and asked for the 8 chips to do
>the upgrade.  They tried to sell me chips with the number 24164 (or
>something like this), at $11.00 each!

Look in the ATI manual - they tell you what kind of chips to use (44 
something) - 8 are required to upgrade the board (I just upgraded my
board last week).  I picked up chips from robert@towers - you might
want to contact him for a good deal (it won't cost more than $35
or so - maybe even less as RAM prices change daily)..

I run X-windows with the ATI in 800 by 600 with 256 colors - very nice..

-- 
       Larry Snyder, Northern Star Communications, Notre Dame, IN USA 
 {larry@nstar, uunet!sco!romed!nstar!larry, nstar!larry@ndmath.math.nd.edu}
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         Public Access Unix Site (219) 289-0282 (5 high speed lines)

davem@nro.cs.athabascau.ca (10/15/90)

dragon@quiche.cs.mcgill.ca (Edward YEE) writes:

> Hello,
> 
>    I have an ATI VGA Wonder with 256k right now, and I would like to
> upgrade it to 512k.
> 
>    I went to my local computer store, and asked for the 8 chips to do
> the upgrade.  They tried to sell me chips with the number 24164 (or
> something like this), at $11.00 each!
> 
>    I always thought it would require about $30-$40 dollars worth of DRAM
> to upgrade, not $90.
> 
>    What chips are needed to do the upgrade? (is it 64k x 4 chips?  if so,
> what does the 64k x 4 mean? [electronics rookie here]  does it mean it
> requires 4 chips to get 64k.  if so, then 8 chips is only 128k, not the
> 256k that is required.)  My manual says to use 8, 64k x 4 chips, 41464-10,
> but the dealer says that doesn't get it up to 512k.  Who's right?
> 
>    Thanks
> 
> Edward

  The manual's right.  Get out your calculator and multiply 64 x 4.  It 
should yield the same answer as 256 x 1.  Each chip holds the same amount of 
data; it simply does it in a different fashion.  The 41464 is in common use 
in Amigas and I have a littlt 68000 unit that also uses them..


Dave McCrady                     |  ersys!davem@nro.cs.athabascau.ca
Edmonton Remote Systems          |     
13324-138 Street                 |  BBS:   (403)-454-6093  300-9600 bps (HST)
Edmonton, AB Canada  T5L 2B4     |  USENET (403) 452-3254  300-2400 bps

wkb@cbnews.att.com (Wm. Keith Brummett) (10/16/90)

    In article <5263@quiche.cs.mcgill.ca>, dragon@quiche.cs.mcgill.ca
    (Edward YEE) writes:
    > Hello,
    > 
    >    I have an ATI VGA Wonder with 256k right now, and I would like to
    > upgrade it to 512k.
    > 
    >    I went to my local computer store, and asked for the 8 chips to do
    > the upgrade.  They tried to sell me chips with the number 24164 (or
    > something like this), at $11.00 each!
    > 
    >    I always thought it would require about $30-$40 dollars worth of DRAM
    > to upgrade, not $90.

    I paid $165 for my 256K VGA Wonder at a local computer show.  The dealer
    sold me the chips to make it 512K for $25, i.e. $190 for both.  I
    plugged in the chips myself.

    >    What chips are needed to do the upgrade? (is it 64k x 4 chips?  if
    > so, what does the 64k x 4 mean? [electronics rookie here]  does it
    > mean it requires 4 chips to get 64k.  if so, then 8 chips is only
    > 128k, not the 256k that is required.)  My manual says to use 8,
    > 64k x 4 chips, 41464-10,

    The "64k x 4" shows how the bits are "arranged" on the chip.  The number
    of bits is 256k (64k x 4 = 256k x 1).  Eight chips x 256k bits/chip gives
    you 256k bytes.

    > but the dealer says that doesn't get it up to 512k.  Who's right?

    The manual is.  Get another dealer.

    -- Keith

-- 
    | W. Keith Brummett          (614) 860-3187          AT&T, Room 3B-202 |
    | att!cblph!wkb                                    6200 East Broad St. |
    | or, wkb@cblph.ATT.COM                        Columbus, OH 43213-1550 |
    `----------------------------------------------------------------------'

dlow@hpspcoi.HP.COM (Danny Low) (10/16/90)

>   What chips are needed to do the upgrade? (is it 64k x 4 chips?  if so,
>what does the 64k x 4 mean? [electronics rookie here]  does it mean it
>requires 4 chips to get 64k.  if so, then 8 chips is only 128k, not the
>256k that is required.)  My manual says to use 8, 64k x 4 chips, 41464-10,
>but the dealer says that doesn't get it up to 512k.  Who's right?

Your dealer is either incompetent or a crook or both. Think of 64K x 4
as 64K of 4 bit memory cells. This gives you 256K bits per chip. At 
8 bits per byte, you need 8 of these chips. His prices are also
way out of line. These chips are about $3 per chip.

			   Danny Low
    "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You"
	   Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley
     HP SPCD   dlow%hpspcoi@hplabs.hp.com   ...!hplabs!hpspcoi!dlow