VOGONS


First post, by stamasd

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Rank l33t
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l33t

As not to derail the original thread anymore Trident TGUI9440 memory upgrades I am splitting this into a separate thread.

I recently got from ebay a VLB Trident TGUI9400CXi card that has sockets for upgrading with ZIP memory chips. I thought for fun I'd do this upgrade.
Card:
image.jpg

Upgrade chips:
s_l1600.jpg

However when I plug in the upgrade chips, at POST the card still reports 1024K VRAM.

It was pointed out in the original thread that the jumpers may set the VRAM size. I couldn't find the card in TH99 or anywhere else. I did contact the seller, and small miracle: he actually had the original manual for the card, and mailed it to me. It contains the descriptions of the jumpers. Here it is (posting it here in case anyone else comes across this one and needs it in the future):
7edit.jpg

J1 is for VLB timing: 1-2 is for standard timing, 2-3 for alternate timing. The manual doesn't explain what those mean. The card seems to work fine in a couple motherboards I tested it with with J1 in either position.
J2 (missing from my card) is mentioned in the manual as "may exist on the board" - and it's reserved, function not described, default=open
J3 is for CPU bus select: open for CPU bus 33MHz or below, closed for CPU bus speed above 33MHz
J4 is for scan rate: open for 48.7 kHz, closed for less than 48.7 kHz.
J5 is for DRAM speed: open for 70 or 60ns, closed for 80ns.

So, nothing related to size of video memory.

I tried several sets of ZIP memory chips, none make the card report 2MB. I wonder why, and how can I upgrade it.

Is there any sort of utility that would let me check video memory size, preferably form DOS?

I/O, I/O,
It's off to disk I go,
With a bit and a byte
And a read and a write,
I/O, I/O

Reply 1 of 1, by amoerman

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Rank Newbie
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Newbie

Do you still have this card, and if so would you be willing to scan the manual? I just picked one up for a build and cannot find a lot of info on this card.