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Help identifying NuBus RAM card. (RAM Disk?)

Solvalou

Well-known member
Hi again.

Another bit of hardware I'm struggling to find any info on, let alone software.

I got this NuBus RAM Disk Card (I think?).

There's no markings or make of any kind on the card itself. Just lots of off-the-shelf looking IC's and some stickers with manufacturing numbers on them.

It came with a IIci I bought a few years back and although I'm sure I remember it having a diskette, it's long since disappeared.

I'm sure it was some kind of RAM storage, it had an icon on the desktop where you dragged and dropped stuff onto it. I think it's 4MB in it's current form.

I really hope I can still get some software for this, as I'm worried it might just be too obscure to have been backed-up digitally.

Any help would be much appreciated!

20190610_175520_1.jpg

20190610_175528_1.jpg

 
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pcamen

Well-known member
Looks like a Rasterops video accelerator which can also act as a RAM disk.  I think this thread will help:




 

Trash80toHP_Mini

NIGHT STALKER
TattleTech time. [;)] Makes me wonder if that's a setup for useless(?) G-World RAM in higher capacity SIMMs as an adjunct to QuickDraw acceleration duties? Given enough driver flexibility it could do G-World and RAM Disk simultaneously?

 

Solvalou

Well-known member
Pretty sure it has no video capabilities, hell it doesn't even have an output on the backplate!

No, it does look similar to alot of the NuBus video accelerators but it is definitely only a RAM hardware thing.

I'm sure I remember the diskette having a very plain looking label on it. Had typewriter style text on it. Nothing fancy.

Makes me wonder if this was some kind of small / limited production thing. 

 

Unknown_K

Well-known member
The drivers should be on any Rasterops video driver disk. That card was made for accelerating Quickdraw video  before graphics cardst had that function built in and the RAM can be used as a disk cache if setup that way.

 

trag

Well-known member
Actel is another maker of FPGAs such as Altera and Xilinx.   So those two large chips near the back plate are likely large expensive FPGAs.

 

Solvalou

Well-known member
The drivers should be on any Rasterops video driver disk. That card was made for accelerating Quickdraw video  before graphics cardst had that function built in and the RAM can be used as a disk cache if setup that way.
Oh wow really? That's pretty cool, I seriously didn't think it did that. My apologies for dismissing your first post.

The IIci already has a 24-bit Radius card in it so I doubt there is any point to having this in there I suppose? Wouldn't keeping this card just bottleneck the system?

I assume it would be better off in a system that is using on-board video.

 

Unknown_K

Well-known member
They were made for video cards that were made before quickdraw acceleration was common, there were 2 versions made and then the concept was dropped. I have a couple of them and they are great in older mac II's (II, IIx) with older video cards.

I think you need to do a custom install and check a box for graphics acceleration for the driver to be installed. I think the extra RAM gets setup as a disk cache or Gworld RAM depending on what you need, and I think you can install 16MB (4x4Mb) of common 30 pin RAM.

 

Solvalou

Well-known member
Thanks for that.

The only Mac OS' that I'm aware of that has Quickdraw acceleration drivers is 8.1 onwards. Was there earlier OEM OS discs that had them? I'm thinking of using this in my IIvx see if it to speeds that up a little.

 
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