Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!rutgers!uwvax!tank!eecae!netnews.upenn.edu!eniac.seas.upenn.edu!silver
From: silver@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Andy Silverman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Humor me
Message-ID: <14155@netnews.upenn.edu>
Date: 8 Sep 89 01:42:16 GMT
References: <19568@gryphon.COM> <293@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> <1214@marlin.NOSC.MIL> <307@crdos1.crd.ge.COM>
Reply-To: silver@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.UUCP (Andy Silverman)
Organization: University of Pennsylvania
Lines: 21

In article <307@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> davidsen@crdos1.UUCP (bill davidsen) writes:
>DIPs are 1 bit wide, so for a
>16 bit computer you need at least 18 (16 bits plus parity), while SIMMS
>can be made wider, in 8 bit (no parity, for Macs and system which don't
>bother to check errors) and 9 bit (for PC types).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the number of bits wide a given chip is entirely
up to the chip designers, and is not a function in any way of the packaging
involved.  You can get DIP-packaged memory chips in 1, 4, and probably 8
bits wide, it's just that the most popular memory chips (say for memory 
expansion of your generic PC) are the 1 bit wide variety. SIMMs are generally
just 9 surface mounted 1 bit wide memory chips on a small board which mounts
vertically in a slot designed specially for it.



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| Andy Silverman        | Internet:   silver@eniac.seas.upenn.edu |
| "All stressed out and | Compu$erve: 72261,531                   |
|  nobody to choke."    |                                         |         
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