While I get my broken graphics card sorted out, I am running my actual computer with a Trio 64V+ (lol). Dell OEM with 2MB (4 chips), just pads, no sockets. It tops out at 1024x768x16. Other than that it's amazingly usable. I can pretty much do whatever I normally do, I just obviously have to avoid 3D rendering, which I wasn't doing much of anyhow...

I have like, 10 Virges. They all come with sockets. I have one I was able to populate with salvage with 3/4 sockets. For some reason I haven't been able to boot any Virges with this computer. I don't know if it's the slot's orientation or what. It's like the same damn chip. I did get the same bios code (1 long beep, 2 short) on the Trio 64V+ once, reinserted and it works. Other times I just get a black screen. Or I get a black screen and then the system shuts off, and restarts. Nothing's ever simple.

The one with 3.5MB won't boot in another system that is booting with Virges, a P100. I'm guessing it doesn't want to boot with that quanitity of memory? Also it's 3 different brands, so...that might not help. I know, I just know I had at least one or two fully populated Virges, and I'm sure they worked, but I don't know what the hell happened to them and, well, my memory of them from 14 years ago doesn't really matter, of course I can't find them now that I need them.

I checked prices for some VRAM chips and, hey, they are not so cheap. Like $8 per chip. So any recommendations? Should I try to get the exact model soldered on the card? Does it matter? Do I need to watch out for fakes? Does speed matter? Sometimes you can't get exactly what you are looking for, it's not 1998.

Also polarity. I just oriented them so the text was all the same direction. I see they have a little slope on one side of the chip. I can't imagine I have them in wrong, I think the card I have left just doesn't like 3.5MB total. Going to order a chip puller, those stupid sockets are more brittle than glass.