Ram Upgrade Service

Would you get one?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Maybe if below £50

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

GPJosh posted on Oct 22 2004 at 03:52 AM said:
As for Quake, I would think that there would be a speed up (Though woogal would know best).
I don't know if there would be a speed up or not (I don't think we'd find out until someone tries it), but it would certainly help stability and allow larger mods to work. As for upgrading myself - well I'd like to do it, but I'd never do it to my one and only gp32. As a developer I would never like to get into the habit of only targeting upgraded devices so I would always need a base model to test on. I hope to get a blu sometime (and another rflink) so maybe I'll get that upgraded.
 
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I would certainly do it if it is affordable because the small amount of RAM is the worst problem of GPLinux... The goal of GPLinux is to work on any standard GP, but it would ease development a lot (ie by compiling apps directly on the GP)

In addition, if I get a developer discount, I would definitely say yes!
 
According to Cobbleware, you can add code to make use of the extra space in available, but still have it backwards compatable with old GP32's. The code in written with emulators in mind, but I don't think it would be to hard using comparable code to do the same thing on other apps. To quote the site it says to change this code:

Code:
   unsigned char *pROM;
   unsigned int nRomSize;
   nRomSize = 4 * 1024 * 1024;    /* get 4MB for ROM image */
   pROM = (unsigned char *)gm_malloc( nRomSize );


to

   #define GP32_BANKSIZE (*((unsigned int *)0x14000028))
   unsigned char *pROM;
   unsigned int nRomSize;
   if ( ( GP32_BANKSIZE & 7) == 0)
   {
      nRomSize = 24 * 1024 * 1024;    /* get 24MB for ROM image */
      pROM = (unsigned char *)0x0c800000;
   }
   else
   {
      nRomSize = 4 * 1024 * 1024;    /* get 4MB for ROM image */
      pROM = (unsigned char *)gm_malloc( nRomSize );
   }
 
I once talked with Rob about the mod, and he said, a 64mb mod takes about an hour if you done this before and got some decent soldering skills. 1 hour of work plus material (those ram chips are sort of expensive, i think 20 british pounds for two 32) plus a decent earning... no way you're getting this for $40 IMHO.
 
well, lets see
they use pc133 ram I think and its from a 4 chip 128 stick
thats 1 stick for 2 gp32's... thats not bad
a 128 meg is cheap, and a single person pays for half the stick
basicly, it just paying for s small amout of sodder and time
im guessing and hour of labor and half a stick or ram, its not gonna cost a crap load

~Octavious
 
Octavious posted on Oct 22 2004 at 04:57 PM said:
well, lets see
they use pc133 ram I think and its from a 4 chip 128 stick
thats 1 stick for 2 gp32's... thats not bad
a 128 meg is cheap, and a single person pays for half the stick
basicly, it just paying for s small amout of sodder and time
im guessing and hour of labor and half a stick or ram, its not gonna cost a crap load

~Octavious

I just checked that, a 4 chip 128mb stick is about $30, so it's still $15 for one customer. Would you disassemble a GP32, the memory stick, do a one hour soldering job AND have the risk of damaging it (and therefore buying a replacement unit) for $25? I wouldn't.
Plus, that's a rather straightforward calculation - it won't work this way in business. Honestly, I can't imagine anyone offering this service for less than $65 or $70 bucks.
 
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Depending on the price, I might get it. BUT currently I have no ambition to. There is no app that uses so much RAM - yet there ARE apps that could surely make use of more RAM. Basically, I think I'd get this upgrade if there would be interesting programs that made use of it.
 
don posted on Oct 22 2004 at 06:11 PM said:
I can't imagine anyone offering this service for less than $65 or $70 bucks.
both is under 50gbp, 50gbp are 72.3EUR/91.36$
man why is the damn gbp so high :-(
 
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GPJosh posted on Oct 22 2004 at 12:10 PM said:
According to Cobbleware, you can add code to make use of the extra space in available, but still have it backwards compatable with old GP32's. The code in written with emulators in mind, but I don't think it would be to hard using comparable code to do the same thing on other apps. To quote the site it says to change this code:



The MMULib stuff in my site (has been there since May?) allows transparent utilization of
the extra RAM via normal libc malloc() etc if more than 8M is available. Programs compiled against the MMUlib provided stuff work also in 8M GP32s. Just a matter of recompilation...
 
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mr.spiv posted on Oct 22 2004 at 08:24 PM said:
GPJosh posted on Oct 22 2004 at 12:10 PM said:
According to Cobbleware, you can add code to make use of the extra space in available, but still have it backwards compatable with old GP32's. The code in written with emulators in mind, but I don't think it would be to hard using comparable code to do the same thing on other apps. To quote the site it says to change this code:



The MMULib stuff in my site (has been there since May?) allows transparent utilization of
the extra RAM via normal libc malloc() etc if more than 8M is available. Programs compiled against the MMUlib provided stuff work also in 8M GP32s. Just a matter of recompilation...
Cool, I was just about to ask if something like that would be possible. It would make sense for coders to start releasing versions like that if they wanted :).
 
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don posted on Oct 22 2004 at 04:11 PM said:
it won't work this way in business. Honestly, I can't imagine anyone offering this service for less than $65 or $70 bucks.


I agree that It will be quite expensive.

It Gets Quite boring soldering small points after some time (When I did the 25 Chatboards it was getting very boring after the first 10 :p lol.. )

The amount of time it takes is quite anoying, I dont think someone will sit there doing 100 Plus GP32's for 1 hour each, thats about 8 GP32's a Day and sore eyes from consetrating on small points :p


Also, This Will ruin the GP32 experience for new GP32'ers and people who cant afford or dont want to risk it...
 
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90 days gaurantee againts work done on gp32 but i need to provide a way of testing gp32's before and after the work is done.

PRELIMINARY pricing is set at around £50 32mb and £70 64mb


EDIT: I just realised i need some specifics that i can't find on cobbleware.

1.Does the gp32 HAVE to be flashed with an updated firmware BEFORE the mod or can it be done afterwards?

The only reason i ask is because it will make it easier for the company to test products so they are satisfied enough to offer a 90 day gaurantee.

I'm thinking considering the company lack of knowledge of the actual GP32 software maybe we could setup some sort of PRESCREENING process whereby appointed persons run stress tests validate the gp32 then update the firmware.

Then when it gets on their side they can simply upgrade the ram and run a stress test.

I'm thinking this might work as cheaper as there is less work for the company.

2. How much are JTAG cable for the gp32 and relevant software allowing for firmware upgrade AFTER the mod?

Just gimme a lil time i'm still trying to work this out :p
 
1.Does the gp32 HAVE to be flashed with an updated firmware BEFORE the mod or can it be done afterwards?

with the "new" selfdetecting mfw you can flash without any risc before doing the update.
http://www.deadcoderssociety.tk/ http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/jikorhon/conde...8_32_64_ram.zip
2. How much are JTAG cable for the gp32 and relevant software allowing for firmware upgrade AFTER the mod?
sorry i dont get this question, do you mean if you can flash with jtag after ram upgrade? yes you can.
 
Vimacs posted on Oct 23 2004 at 10:24 PM said:
64_ram.zip]http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/jikorhon/conde...8_32_64_ram.zip[/url]
2. How much are JTAG cable for the gp32 and relevant software allowing for firmware upgrade AFTER the mod?
sorry i dont get this question, do you mean if you can flash with jtag after ram upgrade? yes you can.

sorry for not making myself clear Im under shock plus i'm tired :(

Anyway what i meant was How much can i buy a JTAG cable for gp32 plus relevant software?

Thanks for your help
 
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70 pounds???
WTF
50 us bucks seems better than that
damn, talk about a monopoly
someone else does this at 50-60 USD and they would take all their buisness...

~Octavious

anyways, when do you think we will be able to get this done?

EDIT !!!
did the math, thats around 125 dollars right???
holy shit dude
thats f'n crazy
I did do my math right? It was in my head and Im very tired...
 
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