What SIMMs will work in a 430HX motherboard?

[jtr1962]

Believe or not, I found a fully functional computer(minus monitor) while going for a walk yesterday. The machine was complete with 2 CD-ROM drives(8X and 32X), floppy, 2GB hard drive, 166 MHz Pentium processor(with a huge heatsink), and 16 MB RAM. It started right up once I let it come to room temperature. The processor operates fine overclocked to 200 MHz. The M/B has integrated video, sound, USB, serial and parallel ports, and is apparently proprietary. Basically, it's a half-way decent vomit box. The only downside was that there were 2 AOL CDs in the CD-ROM drives. :lol:

Since 72-pin RAM is so cheap(<$10/stick for either 32 or 64 MB EDO SIMMs), I want to know what is the maximum amount of RAM I can put in the machine. The machine has four slots, and I know the 430HX supports up to 512 MB of memory, so I should be fine with either 32 or 64 MB SIMMs, but will 128MB SIMMs work, or do the 430HX M/Bs that support 512 MB require eight slots? Just curious although since the 128 MB parts go for at least $28 I have no current plans to use them.

While on the subject, does anyone here have any 72-pin 64 MB EDO SIMMs that they don't need any more? Make me an offer, keeping in mind that I can get them for about $8 on Pricewatch. I can certainly put them to good use. If not, I'll probably go for ~$40 and put 256 MB in the machine. I might make my first Linux box with it. Talk about computing on the cheap.

 

[Mercutio]

That guy will probably take 32MB EDO or FP SIMMs. 64s are actually iffy on many HX boards (the Tyan and Micronics HX boards I remember both had weird requirements for high-capacity RAM).
I don't think I'd bother trying 128s, no matter what the book says.

 

[Buck]

Great, I have a computer special going on right now and people are finding computer systems for free! No wonder I can't sell anything!

 

[jtr1962]

Take solace, Buck. This is the first halfway decent machine I've found. My other "finds" are:

386SX-25(no RAM, 40 MB HDD)-working with 8 MB RAM

IBM P/S2 Model 70(proprietary HDD, floppy, 6 MB RAM)-dead battery, unable to set CMOS because it apparently defaults to 5.25" 1.2 MB floppy and therefore can't read the set-up disk in the 1.44 MB drive!

8086-nothing working except 20 MB MFM HDD which I put in my 8086 museum piece. I used the case to hold the electronics for my thermoelectric freezer(with a few modifications, of course).

14" SVGA monitor-working

All the other things I've found were broke or did not have anything worth salvaging. In fact, nowadays when I see a PC being thrown away I won't even bother with it unless it's at least a Pentium, and has at least the processor, and this is the first one I've found. Everything less is just useless junk to me.

BTW, I thought it was a proprietary M/B but it is an ATX M/B. I guess I've never heard of a Pentium ATX M/B before, but this makes the case useful in the event the M/B craps out on me. A proprietary case would just go in the garbage. It has 1 external 3.5" and 3 5.25" drive bays, plus 1 internal 3.5" HDD bay. The HDD has a few bad sectors, but works fine otherwise.

Mercutio, I'll try some of my 32 MB SIMMs to see if they work. An auction for 5 64 MB SIMMs on eBay is currently at $1. If it stays low I'll get them just for the heck of it. I'll try to see if I can find the book for the M/B online. I'm still looking for some identifying markings. The machine is a Toshiba, BTW, not that it means much.

 

[Buck]

Toshiba system with oboard vidoe? Is it using Paradise video by any chance?

 

[jtr1962]

Toshiba system with oboard vidoe? Is it using Paradise video by any chance?

Virge S3 with 2MB RAM. 86C325 chip to be exact.

 

[jtr1962]

After a little more detective work I found out that I have a Toshiba Infinia 7160:

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/1996_09/pr1101.htm

Where do they get these names from, BTW?

Anyhow, the motherboard is an Intel board(it can even be flashed with an Intel BIOS which I did), and their website states that it can support 4MB, 8MB, 16 MB, or 32 MB single or double-sided SIMMs with a maximum of 128 MB. There is no mention of 64 MB SIMMs other than the fact that there were no vendors for them at the time. Because it supports 32 MB single-sided SIMMs, in my mind it should support 64 MB double-sided ones as well. This link here appears to confirm my theory:

http://216.218.222.2/cen/N7324.htm

Apparently, the board can support up to 256 MB even though officially it can only go to 128 MB. Very interesting. I would guess 128 MB SIMMs would still be a non-starter, but I have no intention of going that route anyway.

Has anyone else here ever experienced a M/B working with larger SIMMs/DIMMs and/or more RAM than it was officially capable of supporting?

 

[blakerwry]

i have a motherboard that is supposed to max out at 256MB (even though it's a 440bx chipset)... it only has 2 SDRAM slots... aparently if you use the right RAM (i remember it has to be registered, dont remember the other requirements) you can put in 256MB sticks for a total of 512MB.

Not really worth buying new RAM when 256MB PC100 is plenty for win9x desktop use in the pIII650.

The motherboard is a rebadged MSI "ms6156 Ver. 1.0 BX7... it has NEC BIOS on it and god knows what other changes...

 

[Mercutio]

DFI P2XBLs are the same way. 256MB modules have to be registered and the chips have to be in a 32x64 configuration. Also a BX board.