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From: lamaster@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Hugh LaMaster)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: A Fast Memory Architecture
Message-ID: <1991Feb14.171544.23063@news.arc.nasa.gov>
Date: 14 Feb 91 17:15:44 GMT
References: <2012@cluster.cs.su.oz.au> <1991Feb10.013525.1317@zoo.toronto.edu> <11878@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <3187@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> <14372@ganymede.inmos.co.uk>
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Reply-To: lamaster@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Hugh LaMaster)
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In article <14372@ganymede.inmos.co.uk> davidb@inmos.co.uk (David Boreham) writes:
>In article <3187@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.com (bill davidsen) writes:
>>In article <11878@pt.cs.cmu.edu> agn@unh.cs.cmu.edu (Andreas Nowatzyk) writes:
>>
>>| Second, by 1 organizations become too cumbersome: consider a 64bit SIMM
>>  What's your point? 
>Memory factories are only making 16Mbit chips (this is in 1994, say).
:
>As an example---PC VGA graphics boards need 512K of memory organised
>by 32-bits.
:
(discussion omitted)
>Sorry for pre-empting the original poster.

Agreed.  I would like to add, though, that I think some posters are ignoring
history, here.  Much of the above reasoning is along the lines of,
"What the world needs is a cheaper Apple II".  But, what really happens is that
for every price niche, what the world really wants (and buys, historically)
is more performance and functionality.

So, instead of worrying about wasting memory building a cheaper VGA board,
consider what you can do more memory, given the same number of chips, and,
therefore, the same cost points.  Rather than build a hypothetical board,
consider that SGI now sells an add-in board to bring to the PC market 
affordable high performance graphics.  Nobody really wanted the limitations
of VGA to begin with.  Everyone wants high resolution full color.  They just
couldn't afford it.  With new technologies, people will forget about VGA
in PC's, just as they have forgotten about 8086's.  (Or least they would
like to forget about the 8086!  :-)

Don't worry that you won't be able to buy memory in less than 64 MB units.
You will be able to afford it!


  Hugh LaMaster, M/S 233-9,  UUCP:                ames!lamaster
  NASA Ames Research Center  Internet:            lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov
  Moffett Field, CA 94035    With Good Mailer:    lamaster@george.arc.nasa.gov 
  Phone:  415/604-6117