Installing System Memory and Add-On Peripherals

System Memory

System memory devices, commonly known as SIMMs (Single Inline Memory Modules), are necessary to operate the M5Pi system board. The M5Pi has four SIMM sockets and can be upgraded to 128 Megabytes of RAM. This section will explain the type of SIMMs supported, list the rules of adding memory to the M5Pi, give some examples of common memory configurations, and show how to physically install the new SIMMs.

SIMMs Supported

The M5Pi supports the following 72 pin, 60 or 70ns SIMMs:

4MB (1Mx36) 8MB (2Mx36) 16MB (4Mx36) 32MB (8Mx36)

Note:

For long term reliability, Micronics recommends using SIMMs with tin-plated contacts. The use of gold-plated contacts may conflict with the tin alloy of the SIMM socket.

Upgrading Rules

The following is a list of rules to follow when upgrading SIMMs. If you follow these rules, your upgrade should be trouble-free:

mUse 70ns or faster SIMMs. Anything slower will not keep up with the Pentium processor.

mUpgrade SIMMs two at a time. These SIMMs must be the same size and preferably from the same manufacturer. To add 16MB of memory to the system board, install two 8MB SIMMs into bank 0 and bank 1.

mWhen installing SIMMs, start with ‘bank 0’ and work your way up (0,1,2,3).

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