VOGONS


First post, by InterClaw

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Does anybody know if an IBM 96G2597 motherboard supports EDO DRAM? No idea what the chipset would be called. It's from the spring of 1995. It came in an IBM Aptiva 2144-888 (my first PC that I still have). I guess this would qualify as a late 486 system. Found this site with some info on what was included in the "888" model, although I did buy 4MB extra for it that the store installed I believe. I later also bought another 16MB, so three slots are populated.

These are the RAM sticks I have, all SIMMs. From googling the numbers I believe they are all FPM DRAM. The listing above said non-parity RAM, but that last one seems to have a parity chip and is also 60 ns, so I guess there is some leniency here. No idea about EDO though... EDO seems much easier to get a hold of, so wondering if anybody knows if this board will accept it.

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Reply 1 of 5, by Horun

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The hardware manuals (http://ps-2.kev009.com/pcpartnerinfo/ctstips/fdbe.htm use the link to get the name then search it) just says the sizes and speeds, not types.
Being a 486-33/66 I would say no to EDO. You could try some (remove the FPM first) as a test but my gut says no....
a reference on 486 and EDO: Re: FPM vs EDO memory for 486 (SiS 85C461)

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. Stuff: https://archive.org/details/@horun

Reply 2 of 5, by InterClaw

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Thank for the input!

In the hardware manual it says this:

Specifications: 72-pin; 32-bit or 36-bit; 2MB, 4MB,
8MB, 16MB, or 32MB; 70 or 80 ns for 25 or 50 megahertz (MHz), 70 ns for 33 or 66 MHz; gold contacts;
DRAM.

I have no idea what frequency this ram is running at. Had a look in the BIOS, but it didn't specify further, only gave the amount.

It's probably as you say.

Reply 3 of 5, by CoffeeOne

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InterClaw wrote on 2024-01-06, 21:48:
Thank for the input! […]
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Thank for the input!

In the hardware manual it says this:

Specifications: 72-pin; 32-bit or 36-bit; 2MB, 4MB,
8MB, 16MB, or 32MB; 70 or 80 ns for 25 or 50 megahertz (MHz), 70 ns for 33 or 66 MHz; gold contacts;
DRAM.

I have no idea what frequency this ram is running at. Had a look in the BIOS, but it didn't specify further, only gave the amount.

It's probably as you say.

When the machine has a DX-66 the system bus is 33MHz. So the RAM runs with 33MHz.

Reply 4 of 5, by dionb

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InterClaw wrote on 2024-01-06, 21:48:

[...]

I have no idea what frequency this ram is running at. Had a look in the BIOS, but it didn't specify further, only gave the amount.

It's probably as you say.

As a rule, if documentation does not specify EDO vs FP, that means it pre-dates EDO and will only support FP.

So you need FP DRAM SIMMs for 70ns or lower.

As for parity - you don't need it, but that 3rd/5th+6th/9th/17th+18th chip won't hurt either. Just ignore parity or not on SIMMs for this system.

Reply 5 of 5, by InterClaw

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Excellent! Thanks for the explanations about the frequency and latency. Then I know that parity chips shouldn't be a problem. That makes it somewhat easier, but I will stay away from EDO as suggested.