Modern 30pin SIMM Brands?

[chrisdaun]

Hey Chris,
I am VERY interested in this, as i have to make an order to JLCPCB soon, could you give me specifics as to which chips should I look for to make 16MB (or 8MB) each simms? There are some local vendors that have 72 pin 8 and 16MB sticks cheap and maybe I can salvage the chips from there, I just need to know which ones....

@pizzigri,
I'm not sure the chips for 8MB or 16MB SIMMs are documented anywhere but I have seen posts where folks have made them using the same boards. The ebay seller I got my SIMMs from is https://www.ebay.com/str/memorymasters
They were super helpful. I messaged them with the link to the github for the project and found me some SIMMs with the TI TMS417400ADJ chips. Here is what I got: https://www.ebay.com/itm/163059887271

I did just order this SIMM to test making 8MB SIMMs but havent recieved it yet.

32MB FPM NON-PARITY 60NS 72-PIN 5V 8X32 for Macintosh LC III | eBay

Helpful Links.

www.ebay.com

I can let you know what chips are on it when I get it and if it works after I build the new SIMMs.

 

[superjer2000]

Don't buy Keystron modules - I had issues with them and they wouldn't allow a refund despite me showing the modules didn't work.

I've had good luck with Keystron in that all of the modules I've bought (a lot of 4MB 30 pin simms) have worked. I have a bad 16MB SIMM from OWC and gave up on trying to RMA it. The process was a bit of a pain and then they want you to send the old $11.99 SIMM back. With postage, well that's just stupid.

 

[smrieck511]

FWIW - I just added 8 x 16mb OWC simms in my SE/30 and everthing seems to be working perfectly so far.

 

[mikes-macs]

I just added 8 x 16mb OWC simms in my SE/30 and everthing seems to be working perfectly

I’m glad it worked for as expected. Now you can run up to Mac OS 8.1 on your SE/30

 

[smrieck511]

I’m glad it worked for as expected. Now you can run up to Mac OS 8.1 on your SE/30

Yeah just got a Rominator II today so I'm psyched.

Everything working well except I'm getting occasional jittery video..so i'm hoping an analog board recap and J1 connector replacement (it has the one burned pin..not too bad) will help.

I've heard it could be the flyback transformer causing an issue like that? Hope not.

 

[mikes-macs]

Those kind of issues are why I like this forum because someone will chime in and let you know for sure what the problem is. Unfortunately that out of my league as I’m not sure what it could be.

 

[mousehouse]

FWIW - I just added 8 x 16mb OWC simms in my SE/30 and everthing seems to be working perfectly so far.

I'm having issues with the 4x16 I got off eBay and am looking to get the OWC memory instead. Are these SIMMs the same thickness like the original ones? All the new stuff are very thin boards and they just rattle inside the memory sockets.

 

[djc6]

I'm having issues with the 4x16 I got off eBay and am looking to get the OWC memory instead. Are these SIMMs thick like the original ones? All the new stuff is skinny and they just rattle inside the memory sockets.

I was also curious about this since OWC doesn't explicitly list SE/30 as compatible.

 

[mousehouse]

I was also curious about this since OWC doesn't explicitly list SE/30 as compatible.

Indeed. But there's a review below the modules from somebody that bought them for their SE/30. And @smrieck511 mentions they work in his SE/30 (if installed as 8x16 anyway).

 

[djc6]

Can I have 4x256KB original RAM in one bank and 4x16MB from OWC in another? Or just 4x16MB in one bank and the other bank empty? I know about the replacement ROM requirements to go over 8MB.

I have no desire to fill the machine up 16-32MB seems ideal but OWC seems to only sell 16MB modules.

 

[s_pupp]

Watch out for the height. I believe the OWC does not list the SE/30 as compatible because their RAM is too high to clear a low-hanging metal area of the case, when put into the slots nearest the CRT. I broke a RAM slot using RAM that was too high - in my case, this proved to be very, very expensive (see below). If using OWC RAM, place it only in the slots furthest from the CRT.

Back in 2012, I was prepping my SE/30 for sale. That would leave me with my Mac Plus, a MDD G4, and a PM8600. As I was sliding the SE/30 logic board back into the case, a RAM slot broke because of the RAM being too high. This led to buying a defunct SE/30 for its RAM slot - but that one actually worked fine, leading to another SE/30 purchase - leading eventually to (at last count) the addition of 8 SE/30's, 2 SE's, 6 Lombards, 2 PDQs, a PM9600, 10 AlBooks, and >20 TiBooks to my collection. Proceed at your own risk!

 

[smrieck511]

I can only confirm that 8 of these fit perfectly and have been woriking with no problems for about a year in my SE/30.

16MB OWC Memory Upgrade Module

Upgrade your Mac memory and save money by trading in the original factory memory chips. Includes a lifetime OWC warranty.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[davewongillies]

Pretty sure this is new old stock but I got them yesterday and they worked well in my SE30 and aren't too tall

16MB 4x4MB 30pin SIMM RAM MEMORY non parity 4x8 30-pin Apple Mac PC SE/30 USED | eBay

16GB DDR4 2133 MHZ PC4-17000 Sodimm Mac Speicher RAM für Apple IMAC. 2GB Sodimm Apple IMAC 2.0GHz MA876LL 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo 17in 2006 RAM Speicher. Helpful Links.

www.ebay.com

 

[davewongillies]

I'm having issues with the 4x16 I got off eBay

Out of curiosity which SIMMs from eBay did you have issues with?

 

[s_pupp]

I can only confirm that 8 of these fit perfectly and have been woriking with no problems for about a year in my SE/30.

16MB OWC Memory Upgrade Module

Upgrade your Mac memory and save money by trading in the original factory memory chips. Includes a lifetime OWC warranty.

eshop.macsales.com

Good to know.
Mine were from 1-800-4MEMORY.

 

[croissantking]

Watch out for the height. I believe the OWC does not list the SE/30 as compatible because their RAM is too high to clear a low-hanging metal area of the case, when put into the slots nearest the CRT.

This has been my experience too. I have four of these modules and I couldn’t use them in one of the banks due to clearance.

 

[croissantking]

Can I have 4x256KB original RAM in one bank and 4x16MB from OWC in another? Or just 4x16MB in one bank and the other bank empty? I know about the replacement ROM requirements to go over 8MB.

Yes I believe so. I run one of my SE/30s with 64MB in one bank and 4MB in the other.

Normally, with the stock ROM, you have to have the other bank populated (with something/anything) if using 16MB SIMMs in one of the banks. I believe your 256KB SIMMs would meet this requirement.

If you use a IIsi-based ROM (e.g BMOW Rominator II) you can have 64MB in one bank and leave the other empty. I run my other SE/30 like this.

 

[mousehouse]

Thanks all for the feedback on the OWC SIMMs.

Out of curiosity which SIMMs from eBay did you have issues with?

I bought a 4x16 set from Slaton. Nice guy, good support. The SIMMs however do not fit snugly in the sockets, they’re quite thin. Maybe that is the root cause.

 

[obsolete]

I bought a 4x16 set from Slaton. Nice guy, good support. The SIMMs however do not fit snugly in the sockets, they’re quite thin. Maybe that is the root cause.

Probably the old 1.27mm vs. 1.2mm board thickness issue.

 

[davewongillies]

Probably the old 1.27mm vs. 1.2mm board thickness issue.

What does the failure mode look like for the board thickness issue?