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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Sat Nov 05, 2016 10:37 am

When I got my NOS 2000 all set up (removed the original leaky battery and replaced the noisy fan) there was really only one deficiency I wanted to address: RAM.

The late 6.4 revision machine came ready to go with 1MB of RAM installed, which was plenty for nearly all applications at the time to run. But to make this machine more usable in today's environment (IMO) a touch more RAM allows for more file transfers to RAM disk. Sure, there would be some mild speed differences, too, but nothing earth shattering. But when I want to move a few ADFs over at a time, and decent-sized RAM Disk is the way to go.

Also, considering the historical significance of a pristine NOS 2000, I absolutely didn't want any "next-gen" upgrades where are much more common on the 500 and 1200 these days. While I use them and enjoy them, I want the 2000 to be all original hardware as much as possible (with the one exception being the fan upgrade I made). After a bit of research, I keyed in on the SupraRAM 2000 card. The SupraRAM 2000 cards were made in the USA back in 1989 specifically for the 2000 and 2000 HD. Back in the day, a maxed out card ran you $1395 US. And 8MB of RAM meant a total of 64 chips - I'm not kidding.

After a bit of poking around, I found one for $80 in excellent condition and fully loaded with 8MB. I believe by installing this card, it actually bypasses the pre-installed 1MB the 2000 shipped with, but that's fine by me. If I ever install more cards (no plans to do so) the way it works is the cards with the most RAM are to be put in slots closest to the floppy drive, with the smaller installments stacked further away accordingly.

I had to remove one of the original metal plates that cover holes that correspond to the Amiga’s internal expansion slots. I carefully removed it and set it into the 2000s original box for safe keeping. I popped the new card into place, put the case back on and fired it up.

Flawless victory. The 2000 is totally done and ready for the next thing. I may create a Games drive for the 40GB hard drive next. TBD.

To be honest, I have to decide if I'm to keep this beast or not. Not an easy decision to make by any stretch of the imagination.
Attachments
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The SupraRAM 2000 came with a copy of the manual and a disk which allows the RAM to be tested, if necessary.

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My SupraRAM 2000 card is fully loaded with 8MB of RAM, which takes a whopping 64 chips (8 chips per Meg) to complete.

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Workbench shows the new RAM having been added to the 2000 up top.

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Sys Info 4 shows the 8MB of new RAM humming along in the Memory section.






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