8 Feb
2016
8 Feb
'16
8:58 a.m.
On 02/08/2016 09:28 AM, tony duell wrote:
I heard that when Bristol University
physics department got its first VAX (an 11/750,
somewhat before my time), it was cheaper to buy 256K memory boards full of 16K RAM
chips, clip them out, clean out the holes and solder in 64K RAMs rather than to buy
1MByte
boards full of 64K RAMs from DEC. And that is what they did....
I assume they didn't buy a service contract with that
machine? I doubt DEC would be real happy with that. Also,
the 64K RAM chips need an extra address pin, were the boards
laid out with that signal already in place?
(I seem to recall on the VAX 11/780 they had different array
boards and memory controller when going from 4K to 16K DRAM
chips.)
Jon
First week on the job in March 1980, my new boss
brought me two pdp11/04s
and a box of memeory chips. He to told me to double the memory in
the two computers by populating all the empty holes on the memory boards.
I had a
boss in 1987 that asked the same of me...