First post, by Paddan1000
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I have a couple of questions regarding RAM. I have this motherboard, around which I have built a 486 DX/4 100:
http://stason.org/TULARC/pc/motherboards/M/MI … NC-486-M4P.html
I wonder about the highest usable amount of RAM in MS-DOS that will make a difference. I know that MS-DOS can handle 64 MB at the most, but what is the highest amount a game will benefit from?
My dilemma is that I want to put four 8 MB RAM sticks on the motherboard, but this combination makes the computer unstable with frequent lock-ups during games and error reports during start-up from himem.sys's memtest. I never have any of these problems when I'm using only two RAM-sticks, regardless which of my RAM-sticks I use or which RAM-slots I put them in.
Is this a known problem that occur in many other boards, a manufacturing error on my board specifically, or my board simply being too old and worn?
I have some 32 MB RAM-sticks too, of unknown speed, but the computer refuses to recognize any of them, despite the motherboard manual claiming compatibility with their size. Is this because the motherboard is incompatible with these specific RAM-sticks, since they are too fast or something, or is this an error related to the one that won't let me use four sticks of 8 MB RAM? I have a pair of 8 MB ones that won't be recognized either, so maybe the problem is only with some RAM and not with 32 MB sticks in general.
So, back to my first question. The computer is reasonably stable with 8*8=16 MB of RAM. Should I be content with that amount, or should I try to get 32 or 64 MB for increased game performance? According to Mobygames, the only MS-DOS game that requires a minimum amount of 32 MB RAM is Fallout, and that won't run well on a 486 anyway. Is there any other game (or demo since this is a GUS-machine) that will benefit from more than 16 MB on a 486?
