Re: Alpha XL 233 - what replacement RAM!?

[roman songdog eskimo com (Bill Roman)]

Steve Frampton wrote:
> 
> I've got 4 x 8Mb 72-pin SIMM's for a total of 32Mb.  I would like to
> replace said SIMM's with a couple of 16Mb SIMM's to bring the system
> up to 64Mb.  Trouble is, I have *no* idea what memory I need to purchase.
> 
> There's parity, non-parity, EDO, non-EDO, 60 ns, 70 ns, etc.  Ideally the
> 60 ns RAM would be great 'cause it's the cheapest.  Not wanting to
> purchase something and not have it work and lose out on some money, I
> decided to swap RAM between it and an Alpha system.

XLs and XLTs use 36 bit ("true parity") 70 ns. fast page mode (not EDO)
memory.  XLs have six SIMM sockets, and SIMMs must be installed in
matching pairs; XLTs have eight sockets, and require matching sets of four.

These machines are rumored to be a bit finicky about memory; SIMMs that
appear to meet the above specifications may not actually work.  In
particular, XLs and Avantis (but not XLTs) are said to have difficulties
with memory faster than 70 ns.

When I added memory to my XLT, I arranged to take it into a local computer
store so we could install and test the memory before I actually bought it.

By the way, your numbers don't add up.  You could *add* two 16 MB SIMMs to
bring your system up to 64 MB -- not *replace* your existing 32 MB.

-- 
Bill Roman  (roman@songdog.eskimo.com / roman@songdog.uucp)   running linux