GC508EV Maria 1702 - Video Game Classic Series South (Unknown Cache) in Florida, United States created by RetiredGuy

GC508EV ▼

A cache by RetiredGuy Message this owner

Hidden : 3/14/2014

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Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

The cache is not at the posted coordinates. The coordinates will bring you to the same location as you would get if you typed 1702 8th Avenue into Google Maps. Your job is to play detective by putting on your Sherlock hat, getting out your magnifying glass, and finding the real coordinates.

The Atari 7800 ProSystem

The Maria 1702C Graphics Processor was designed in 1983 by General Computer Corporation “GCC” and was at the heart of the Atari 7800 ProSystem for the home consumer market. The chip could handle over 100 independent sprites through a revolutionary display list list scheme allowing it to faithfully render complex arcade games such as Robotron.

Art Ng, Steve Golson, Tom Westberg, Chris Rode, Larry Dennison, and many others designed Maria and the associated hardware. The chip contained 26,000 transistors, a third of which was taken up by a dual 160 x 5 bit line ram buffer (see large uniform square in the bottom right side of chip). As a comparison thirty years later, the 2013 Xbox One chip has 5 billion transistors.

The first MARIA chip was numbered GCC1701. GCC's engineers were big fans of Star Trek, so with the Enterprise being NCC-1701, they made their chip the GCC-1701. The final production chip was the GCC1702C.

Maria 1702 Graphics Processor
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