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Hi,
yeah, I just got five minutes left and read the Linux/MIPS news ;-)
>
> I was told that they take 72 pin SIMMS WITH PARITY and that you fill the SIMM
> banks that are vertical before the angled ones, ie 4 up then 4 slanted, not
> sure if you have to fill all 4 banks though ?
Yes, you need 72pin PS/2 SIMMs with parity, 60ns speed, and at least
8 Megs in 4 Modules, and max. 256 Megs in 8 Modules (but this won't
work unless you reduce clock speed to 40 Mhz).
> I was wondering about the graphics cards, did all "ACE" machines use
> proprietry
> cards in EISA slots ? Were there ever any 3rd party makers ?
The frame buffer of the Magnum is a proprietary Mips board. You can't
use 3rd party VGA cards or the like.
>
> Talking of Graphics cards what are the basics behind them, I mean such things
> as what do the PROMS/EPROMS contain ? Do they contain x86 code or native to
> the
> graphics processor ?
So far I can remember, the EPROM on the Mips Magnum frame buffer just
contain a type code, nothing else. No character set, no code. Just a
single word to distuingish between 1MB and 2MB frame buffers. The first
one can only display 1024x768, the latter one is also able to handle
1280x1024.
>
> Just thinking of ways to get around the shortage of GC for these MIPS boxes,
> also how come they had no graphics cards ? Did someone take them out thinking
> they could be used on EISA equiped PCs ??
no, Mips sold two different versions: Server (no video, no mouse, no audio)
and Workstation (fully equipped).
>
> Owner of bare bones Magnum and Millennium !!
>
Owner of two Magnums and one Olivetti !!!
Cheers,
Andy
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Andreas Busse | andy@soft-n-hard.de
Soft N Hard GbR | Phone: +49 2636-970105
Im Hufen Boden 16, D-53498 Waldorf | Fax: +49 2636-970106
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