Thirteen Sonnet L2 Cache-slot Upgrades

[trag]

I scored a poorly labeled lot on Ebay last week which arrived last night. It consisted of thirteen L2 upgrades for the Gazelle and Alchemy based machines. The seller claimed they were all 400/512K, but one of them was actually a 300MHz card.

The 400 MHz cards all have 350MHz labeled IBM G3s on them. The 300MHz card has a Motorola 333MHz G3 on it, causing me to wonder if there's a clock multiplier hack for these things. I think I saw one over on the 6400 page.

I still need to test them, and then I'm going to experiment with replacing the 512KB caches with 1 MB cache. The cache ships are down to $8 each on Digikey.

But I still have a couple of projects in front of that, log jamming me.

 

[BGoins12]

Do they all work? I need one for my 5500/250!

EDIT - Just saw that you haven't tested them yet.

 

[jsarchibald]

If one of those fits a TAM, and you're interested in selling one, I'm interested!

Nice work on the score.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

They'll all fit the TAM, it's just a gussied up 5500.

Great haul! It will be fascinating to see if these can be upgraded to 1MB of L2 Cache.

If you're looking at clock multipliers, are you looking for BGA goodies for your new toys as well? [] ]'>

Is it PEx season yet? :lol:

 

[ClassicHasClass]

They'll all fit the TAM

... assuming you have a fatback. It won't fit with the slimback.

My TAM has a G3/500 and I love it.

 

[mcdermd]

I have the fat and slim backs but use the fat one to fit the Sonnet 400MHz G3 in mine. It makes a big difference. Paired with 128MB RAM, it makes OS9 actually useful.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I thought the BacPack came in the accessory box for all the TAMs?

At any rate, a TAM with just one slot isn't much to celebrate . . . though it's about right for a non-high end Mac . . . :-/

 

[ClassicHasClass]

Yes. But not everyone with a TAM may have the accessory pack

 

[jsarchibald]

Quite often with a TAM, you're lucky to get the computer and PSU/Sub. Sometimes the keyboard is missing, and the fat back is often not there either. I'm lucky that between the two I have, I have a quite complete unit and a basic unit.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Yes. But not everyone with a TAM may have the accessory pack

. . . but not every animal that has four legs is a cow! )

Cripes, wouldn't you think anyone who spent that kinda bread on an "instant collectible" would have kept the kit intact? :

 

[trag]

Is it PEx season yet? :lol:

That would be the project that comes before testing these upgrades.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Wanna loaner?

 

[trag]

Wanna loaner?

I don't think I need one. In response to this thread, I've updated this one:

http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=162130#p162130

 

[CelGen]

Ah, so you are the person who bought them.

 

[BGoins12]

Gonna bump this... have you considered selling some of these yet? A friend of mine may want to buy one. I might as well.

 

[Deacon Frost]

Agreed, if they're working and for sale, I'm sure there a few interested parties on here!

 

[Macdrone]

I personally would chance getting a couple (I have a 6400 and 6500) without testing.

 

[highlandcattle]

Me like one too. god these are popular!

 

[trag]

Still in the queue.

The PEx ROM has first priority. I made a little progress this summer with this forum's help and am now confident that I have good files to program into the chips on the thing. However, the Fall Baseball season (I coach) started before I had time to do the actual programming and soldering.

Fall Baseball ends soon, and I hope to clear a few of these projects at that point.

Once I have the PEx ROM built and clear out the IIfx RAM components cluttering up my bench (and boy are they dusty) then I'll have a chance to test those L2 upgrades. So if you see one somewhere else, don't wait for me. My track record the past few years is glacial.