All Questions
8
questions
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Did any 8-bit computers use 16kx4 RAM chips?
An 8-bit computer wanting 64K of RAM, could most straightforwardly use eight 64kx1 DRAM chips (64kbit, 1 data line). The Commodore 64 initially did this, but in the mid-80s, the cost-reduced redesign ...
- 63.1k
9
votes
1
answer
499
views
Did the Vic-20 save money using static RAM?
The unexpanded Vic-20 had 5K of RAM. This was quite small even by 1981 standards, but it was trying to be cheap enough for consumers to buy, and it succeeded, selling over 2 million units.
One reason ...
- 63.1k
6
votes
1
answer
677
views
How does POST memory test work on a relatively modern (2000s) PC? Does it still test every single byte like on older ones?
I have an Asus eee 4G (AMI BIOS), I want to ask if this product actually overwrites the entire RAM during cold boot. I have the "Quick boot" feature turned off and I can see the memory being ...
- 61
2
votes
1
answer
379
views
What were the wholesale costs of 256kbit vs 1Mbit DRAM chips in 1994?
In the early eighties, 64kbit DRAM chips replaced 16kbit ones by being cheaper per bit. Around 1987, 256kbit replaced 64kbit in turn, so computers like the Commodore 64 started using two of them for ...
- 63.1k
10
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What sort of RAM chips did the Commodore 64 use in 1994?
For the first few years after its release in 1982, the Commodore 64 used eight RAM chips of 64kbit each.
In the late eighties, it became cheaper to use a pair of 256kbit chips of the 4-bit-wide ...
- 63.1k
10
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Cost of dynamic versus static RAM in the early days
Early pioneers building memory cards for personal computers, tended to use static RAM, because it's quite a bit easier to get to work. Later, dynamic RAM became de rigueur, for the simple and ...
- 63.1k
4
votes
1
answer
296
views
How long would a 41256 take to do 4 accesses in fast page mode?
I have been surprised at how little use eighties computers made of fast page mode access to RAM. (A notable exception being the Sinclair Spectrum, which used it to get the necessary bandwidth to video ...
- 63.1k
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
When did CPUs start using page mode DRAM?
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_random-access_memory#Page_mode_DRAM
Page mode DRAM is a minor modification to the first-generation DRAM IC interface which improved the ...
- 63.1k