Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!scs!spl1!laidbak!att!pacbell!ames!husc6!mit-eddie!killer!elg
From: elg@killer.UUCP (Eric Green)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 256K DRAMS
Message-ID: <4334@killer.UUCP>
Date: 4 Jun 88 01:44:27 GMT
Article-I.D.: killer.4334
References: <55031@sun.uucp>
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 40

in article <55031@sun.uucp>, cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) says:
> to us!". Whatever the outcome, the Memory chip shortage is not a simple
> problem with a simple cause. One of the new realities is that no one
> has a "cheap" memory expansion product anymore, because the chips cost 
> so much. Don't bother looking for something that costs the same or less
> than last years product. 
> 
> You may see 1 meg parts get as cost effective as 256K parts were at one
> time (about $20 a chip) but don't count on it. 

1 meg parts, at $40/chip, are already more cost-effective than 256K parts at
$12/chip $44/M (above are spot market prices, large quantity, from a Dallas
merchant). 

Has anybody else noticed that Commodore is raising the price of the Amiga 500
and Amiga 2000 due to the DRAM shortage? We got the notice in the mail a
couple of days ago.... I've been wondering when it would come.

Makes you wonder if Commodore is re-designing the Amiga 2000 this very minute
to use 1 megabit DRAM's.... their 2 megabyte boards supposedly are using the
1M parts now (if the new-product announcements they handed out at Devcon are
more than just vapor). The 256Kx4 parts, 4 of them, of course... possibly with
sockets for 4 more for when the Fatter Agnes bloates up to 2 megabytes of
addressing instead of just 1 megabyte.

The latest issue of EE Times had a long article. Their main conclusion was
that the shortage was caused by American governmental pressure upon the
Japanese government to reduce their exports of DRAMs. MITI then stopped
supporting semiconductor foundary expansion, and when the Japanese brought out
1M parts, they instead converted 256K foundaries to produce the new parts.

A shame, really. Many exciting new products, such as the Memetics frame
grabber, are on hold until DRAM's can be bought in quantity once more
(although, frankly, the Mimetics board needs the wait -- they have the
slowest/clumsiest software I've ever seen).

--
    Eric Lee Green                     {cuae2,ihnp4}!killer!elg
         Snail Mail P.O. Box 92191 Lafayette, LA 70509              
"Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?"