SGI: Hardware

There seem to be 4 si/ssi tram in ebay, $75 each....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=11223

Too bad I need SSE or SSI... anyway good luck.

As a word to the wise, all SI/SSI TRAMs that are purchased should be thoroughly tested with OpenGL demos before considering the TRAMs to be "working". The IRIX IDE doesn't exercise them, and they have a nasty tendency to fail, presumably due to heat. I have three of them on the shelf that don't work, for one reason or another.

Look for any irregularities -- colors wrong, blockiness, etc.

So, make sure that you have at least a 3 day guarantee against DOA to verify that the TRAMs are working.

SE/SSE TRAMs are newer and possibly better designed; I haven't seen any bad SE/SSE TRAMs yet.

Chris

nam wrote: There seem to be 4 si/ssi tram in ebay, $75 each....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=11223

Too bad I need SSE or SSI... anyway good luck.

The Keeper wrote: and they have a nasty tendency to fail, presumably due to heat. I have three of them on the shelf that don't work, for one reason or another.

it is because of the heat. The problem is that the connectors of the RAM chips desolder due to the heat over time. I have four defective TRAMs here, all four of them are failing because of this. It's not too difficult to fix (done it on two last night, leaving me with a shiny new MXI ), but that's of course nothing for the average buyer.

SE/SSE TRAMs are newer and possibly better designed; I haven't seen any bad SE/SSE TRAMs yet.

I have - but it doesn't happen too often.

andreas@rootprompt wrote:

The Keeper wrote: SE/SSE TRAMs are newer and possibly better designed; I haven't seen any bad SE/SSE TRAMs yet.

I have - but it doesn't happen too often.

Ah! So it's the SE/SSI TRAM's that are so buggy. That gives me some relief since I'm always worried my MXE will suddenly break. Thanks :)

Very interesting. Thanks for mentioning this! It's not like the bad TRAMs are worth anything, so if I damage them, they're already broken. I'll take them apart and check them out with a magnifier.

Chris

andreas@rootprompt wrote:

The Keeper wrote: and they have a nasty tendency to fail, presumably due to heat. I have three of them on the shelf that don't work, for one reason or another.

it is because of the heat. The problem is that the connectors of the RAM chips desolder due to the heat over time. I have four defective TRAMs here, all four of them are failing because of this. It's not too difficult to fix (done it on two last night, leaving me with a shiny new MXI ), but that's of course nothing for the average buyer.

Any good tips on dissassembling a TRAM? (I've got access to a microscope, plus SMT tools *glances to the right*)

yep. Unscrew the four screws at the bottom, then lift the black top

BTW, for checking the joints I used a small plastic stick and carefully went along the lines of the IC pins - everything that moved needed soldering and everything that might have only moved because I tipped it with the stick would've needed solder after a few hours of operation anyway

gotcha... will have to give that a spin.

MXE trams can fail as well becouse of overheating. Got one dead one myself

Should't there be a way to replace the faulty components on the TRAM? I know it might be easier to just replce the entire thing, but it may be cheaper to replace the memory modules that failed.

Who knows, just a thought...

of course you could replace the RAMs on the module, but why? It's not the RAMs which are failing. They just desolder themselves due to the heat - the chips are fine, the joints aren't

Yeah, it sounds to me like the problem could be solved by someone with a fine tip soldering iron and steady hand. Though I'm not sure what kind of damage could be done if the solders melt and mingle causing various parts to short....