seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) (09/19/90)
I'm wondering...if someone were planning on upgrading their A3000 as soon as '040 cards are available, would there be any difference in performance between an A3000-16/50 and an A3000-25/50? I'm aware that the two machines have different BUSTER chips...but would there be a difference in throughput across ZORRO ]I[ on the two machines (ie: A3000-25/50 = 20MB/sec...while...A3000-16/50 = 12MB/sec (is this due to different CPUs?))? While the cost between the two machines is fairly minimal when you consider the performance difference (and I've already paid for my A3000-25/50), I'd like to be able to suggest purchase and upgrade paths for some of my customers, and this info would be most helpful. Thanks in advance... Sean //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// UUCP: ...!crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc | ARPA: !crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc@nosc.mil | " Fanatics have their INET: seanc@pro-party.cts.com | dreams, wherewith they | weave a paradise for RealWorld: Sean Cunningham | a sect. " Voice: (512) 994-1602 PLINK: ce3k* | -Keats | Call C.B.A.U.G. BBS (512) 883-8351 w/SkyPix | B^) VISION GRAPHICS B^) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
gerber@buzzer.enet.dec.com (Robert M. Gerber) (09/19/90)
In article <4497@crash.cts.com>, seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) writes: |> I'm wondering...if someone were planning on upgrading their A3000 as soon as |> '040 cards are available, would there be any difference in performance between |> an A3000-16/50 and an A3000-25/50? |> ... |> While the cost between the two machines is fairly minimal when you consider |> the performance difference (and I've already paid for my A3000-25/50), I'd |> like to be able to suggest purchase and upgrade paths for some of my |> customers, and this info would be most helpful. The 68040 Card would probably be able to have its own clock crystal, causing the '040 to run faster than the '030. However, the '040 will only access the Amiga motherboard at the Amiga's clock speed. Also, the difference in clock speeds would require extra h/w to sync the '040 with the rest of the Amiga. The A3000-25 will give better speed now and with the '040 later. Also, they may want the A3000-25/100 for the extra disk space. (I would...) I hope this helps. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------- Robert M. Gerber UUCP: ...!decwrl!oldjon.enet!gerber INET: gerber@oldjon.enet.dec.com Any opinions represented here are definetly not those of my employer. Come to think of it, they may not be mine either!
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (09/20/90)
In article <4497@crash.cts.com> seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) writes: >I'm aware that the two machines have different BUSTER chips...but would there >be a difference in throughput across ZORRO ]I[ on the two machines (ie: >A3000-25/50 = 20MB/sec...while...A3000-16/50 = 12MB/sec (is this due to >different CPUs?))? Actually, they have the same BUSTER chip. The bus speed difference is the result of clocking BUSTER at 25MHz vs. 16MHz. A Coprocessor slot device can run the entire A3000, except for 68030/68882, at 25MHz by supplying its own clocks, even on a 16MHz system. The only had difference would be for a Coprocessor slot device that intends to keep the on-board 68030 active -- obviously such a device can't run the motherboard at 25MHz when a 16MHz 68030 is using it. I would imagine the basic 68040 boards simply take over from the 68030, much as the 68030 boards on the A2000 do. But it's very possible to run both simultaneously, so you won't really know what's what until the 68040 boards ship. > RealWorld: Sean Cunningham | a sect. " -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy Get that coffee outta my face, put a Margarita in its place!
eeh@public.BTR.COM (Eduardo E. Horvath eeh@btr.com) (09/20/90)
In article <14546@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: [...] >Actually, they have the same BUSTER chip. The bus speed difference is the >result of clocking BUSTER at 25MHz vs. 16MHz. A Coprocessor slot device >can run the entire A3000, except for 68030/68882, at 25MHz by supplying its >own clocks, even on a 16MHz system. The only had difference would be for >a Coprocessor slot device that intends to keep the on-board 68030 active -- >obviously such a device can't run the motherboard at 25MHz when a 16MHz >68030 is using it.... >Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" Does this mean that all of the other electronics on an A3000 16MHz motherboard can run at 25MHz, like the RAM, timing delays, etc.? All you would need is a new '030 and and a new clock to switch to 25MHz. (Plus a lot of soldering on surface mount components.) ========================================================================= Eduardo Horvath eeh@btr.com ..!{decwrl,mips,fernwood}!btr!eeh "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." - Sledge Hammer =========================================================================
cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Christopher M Mauritz) (09/21/90)
In article <14546@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >68030 is using it. I would imagine the basic 68040 boards simply take over >from the 68030, much as the 68030 boards on the A2000 do. But it's very >possible to run both simultaneously, so you won't really know what's what >until the 68040 boards ship. What 68040 boards??? Are you guys working on one? GVP??? I just read a review of the new NeXT 68040 box. It will be priced at $3.4K in a mono configuration with 8 megs RAM and 105 megs of hard disk space. WOW! The computer market is charging ahead so fast that it seems that each day there is a new system I want to buy. sigh... :-) BTW, you guys are doing an excellent job! Keep it up. >-- >Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" > {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy > Get that coffee outta my face, put a Margarita in its place! Cheers, Chris ------------------------------+--------------------------- Chris Mauritz |D{r det finns en |l, finns cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu |det en plan! (c)All rights reserved. | Send flames to /dev/null | ------------------------------+---------------------------