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We have several Quantex full-tower 486 servers. Each has sockets for two 72-pin SIMMs and four 30pin SIMMs. Currently, each has 8MB of RAM installed (as two 72-pin SIMMs). We want to double the amount of RAM in each machine. When we called Quantex, one tech said that I could add two 30-pin, 4MB SIMMs to each. Another said that the motherboard will not recognize 30- and 72-pin SIMMs simultaneously, so I must buy at least 16MB of RAM to upgrade each machine. Who is correct? James Hoffman RAM upgrades are always a headache - and have been more so in recent weeks, when RAM merchants abruptly raised the prices of SIMMs for no obvious reason. Here's how to solve this problem for your motherboard - or anyboard with similar specifications. First, you must determine the allowable memory configurations for your make and model of motherboard. Nonetheless, I can tell you for certain that you cannot realize your goal without buying 16MB of additional RAM for each. How can I be so sure of this without having seen your machines? Because the 386DX and 486 processors require RAM to be 32 bits wide. Therefore, you must add 30-pin SIMMs, which are only 8 bits wide, four at a time. (Pentiums, with 64-bit buses, require you to add 72-pin SIMMs two at a time.) Therefore, the first technical support person could not have been correct. If your motherboard allows you to use 30-pin SIMMs and 72-pin SIMMs simultaneously, you can add four 30pin SIMMs, all of the same size. If you add 1MB SIMMs, you'll get 12MB on each machine (this is less than you wanted, but might be a reasonable compromise). If you add four 4MB SIMMs, you'll have 16MB, 20MB, or 24MB of RAM, depending on how many of the original SIMMs you leave in.