jessenator
Well-known member
So from what I've gathered, the ubiquitous 2 MB (slow) EDO VRAM DIMM is so slow that going beyond the 2 MB is pointless. The upgrade was a 4 MB SGRAM DIMM, which I have yet to find in the wild—probably long-gone. The repair manual mentions other values as well, for both configurations, of 1-4 MB, which is interesting.
What I'm wondering is this: can one desolder the EDO VRAM and install SGRAM ICs in their place? I can't find a p/n for the SGRAM that was used contemporaneously, or even what to look for as far as specifications to accomplish this. Also, I wonder if this is a dead-end simply because of the arrangement. Now, this is all coming from a non-engineer, so forgive me if I'm way off base. I managed to find what I think are images of the SGRAM DIMMs, and they look much different (the packages are different?) from the 2 MB DIMM:
This one from MemoryTen (vs Memoryx, yet the same company??) but though it shows it in stock, you try to add to cart and it gives you a sorry message.
This one was from a google image search linking back to an Argentine ebay-like site, but no evidence of the module still being up and for sale.
That last one might be enough in the resolution department for eagle-eyes, but I still can't make it out :/
But if it was possible to find appropriate packages of the SGRAM to fit the more commonly-found DIMMs, is it even possible to turn a standard DIMM into the improved one? And if it is, then is it possible, or of any value, to bump the VRAM even higher?
What I'm wondering is this: can one desolder the EDO VRAM and install SGRAM ICs in their place? I can't find a p/n for the SGRAM that was used contemporaneously, or even what to look for as far as specifications to accomplish this. Also, I wonder if this is a dead-end simply because of the arrangement. Now, this is all coming from a non-engineer, so forgive me if I'm way off base. I managed to find what I think are images of the SGRAM DIMMs, and they look much different (the packages are different?) from the 2 MB DIMM:
This one from MemoryTen (vs Memoryx, yet the same company??) but though it shows it in stock, you try to add to cart and it gives you a sorry message.
This one was from a google image search linking back to an Argentine ebay-like site, but no evidence of the module still being up and for sale.
That last one might be enough in the resolution department for eagle-eyes, but I still can't make it out :/
But if it was possible to find appropriate packages of the SGRAM to fit the more commonly-found DIMMs, is it even possible to turn a standard DIMM into the improved one? And if it is, then is it possible, or of any value, to bump the VRAM even higher?