Is it still possible to buy 128mb 50ns 72pin simms ?

[Mad-Matt]

Looking for things to do during lockdown I've pulled the Amiga out of the closet. (A1200 Bppc 040/25-PPC/160 and BVision. I've added a 16gb CF card to replace the 4gb hd and pretty much filled it with everything from my various uae setups. It currently dual boots between AmigaOS4 and 3 just fine.

I currently have 96mb ram and AmigaOS4 just eats it up not leaving any memory to run much. Installing update 1 to 4.1fe was a right farse using Amiupdate and I needed to download and extract it manually. And just to add, OS4 would not even attempt to boot with update1 installed. I had to copy over the kernal file from the 4.1feCD over to kickstarts to get it going again.

Anyway, id like to add the full 256mb ram but finding any now doesn't seem to be easy. Nearest I can find is a seller on Amazon with some Amiga Rare pricing. With postage and customs tax from the US on top.

In the end, its just a toy project as I can do everything and more in UAE so I dont want to spend a crazy amount on it.

[lesta_smsc]

I've seen a fare few priced better but depends on your search terms. You need 50ns EDO RAM and searching for this yields better results:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333526659804

That's a good price and UK! Just check any reviews regarding compatibility as some boards can be picky with RAM installed but this is definitely what I'd consider since price is probably only 1/3rd if not lower than an "Amiga: labelled variant!

[torsti76]

There's a US seller called keystronllc on eBay. This is a company that builds new SIMM modules of different kinds out of refurbished chips.
They also have 128MB SIMMs specifically for Amiga turbo boards on sale.
Also, user stachu100 on Amibay sells such modules.

[Mad-Matt]

Thx, ill look those up. Ive seen some 60ns from MemoryMasters as well but again from the US with postage and tax which adds a bit to the cost.

[Daedalus]

Be warned that the modern slimline ones you see from Keystron are made using modern 3.3V parts, and while they seem to work fine for a lot of people and it makes them nice and slim, I've seen a few that refuse to work, or sometimes only show up as 64MB.

[torsti76]

Originally Posted by Daedalus

Be warned that the modern slimline ones you see from Keystron are made using modern 3.3V parts, and while they seem to work fine for a lot of people and it makes them nice and slim, I've seen a few that refuse to work, or sometimes only show up as 64MB.

I've already bought 4 pieces from them. One refused to work and was replaced without any hassle.

Also, all modules I bought from them had 5V RAM chips (it was obvious that they were used, but they were matched by part number)

[Mad-Matt]

Well these seemed my only options

Ebay 2x 128mb 60ns
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256MB-2X128...2/173890466770

and amazon 2x 128mb 50ns
https://www.amazon.com/256MB-2x128MB...0965793&sr=8-1

Quite the markup on the 50ns simms. Well, i've taken my chance with them so will see what happens. £104.78 but i may be hit with customs tax yet :s

[Daedalus]

Originally Posted by torsti76

I've already bought 4 pieces from them. One refused to work and was replaced without any hassle.

Also, all modules I bought from them had 5V RAM chips (it was obvious that they were used, but they were matched by part number)

Luck of the draw it seems so. I've had a few through my hands here, all with different chips (one even with different chips front and back - that one only showed as 64MB), but all were the same PCB and all used 3.3V parts. I guess they're just using whatever RAM chips they can scavenge / access cheaply at the time.

Actually, even the parts in the photo on the Amazon listing above are 3.3V parts...

[PurpleMelbourne]

A few months back I bought some such SIMMs which look newly manufactured for use with SUN systems. So in small quantities they are available on ebay.

[Mad-Matt]

Its taken a little over a month, and been stuck in London (according to tracking) since June 15th. I suspected there would be a customs charge and its £27.68. A little more than expected but ..oh well. hopefully ill have the memory by the end of this week.

[nikosidis]

Yes, this sucks. I bought 4 different 32mb chips on e-bay. 3 of them only show 16MB and the last one don't work in 60ns, only 70ns on my Blizzard MKIV and that I can not cope with. Anyone got a some for sale that are proven to work and I'm interested.

[Mad-Matt]

Well it finally arrived and initial impressions are good. 256megs detected right away and have had it running for about an hour in workbench. More time needed to determine how stable it all is I know.

2 double sided simms maybe 2mm think (I didn't measure, but really thin) Picture attached so you can see what was sent.

I'll attach a SysSpeed test result in case anyone is interested. Pretty much the slowest Amiga PPC config. 040/25 603/175 +Bvision. CF ide hd - pfs, OS39 and numerous patches running. Sysspeed results often fluctuate from run to run well outside the margin of error possibly depending on which way the wind is blowing (even without all the hacks/patches running).

5.0 fps in CowCat's Blitzquake68k.(with oxypatcher) (512x384 timedemo 1) Thats the fastest i've seen this 040/25 go so something has improved.

[Kin Hell]

Originally Posted by Mad-Matt

<snip>

5.0 fps in CowCat's Blitzquake68k.(with oxypatcher) (512x384 timedemo 1) Thats the fastest i've seen this 040/25 go so something has improved.

50ns speed is a helper.