auyeung@iris.ucdavis.edu (Tak [UlTech] AuYeung) (03/22/90)
Due to budget limitations, I have decided to stick with my A1000 for the rest of my Grad. School years. But since I will be doing many AI applications (Lisp programs), my <8MHz 68000 will not be able to deliver enough processing power for me. I could get a fast 9600bps modem and use the Apollo workstations at school, but (1) the modem is not cheap and (2) the Apollo's are not much faster than my A1000. So I decide to beef up the A1000. I have heard that the LUCAS (and its memory board) is an inexpensive way to add more processing power. But I have several questions: (1) Exactly how fast is it? (speedup factor w/o 881) (2) Are there hacks to make it work with a Supra4x4? (3) Are the parts hard to find? And where? (4) Is it upgradable to the 030? (5) Is it compatible with most s/w applications? (don't care games) (6) How fast are the RAMs for the memory board? (7) How much would it cost to have the LUCAS w/ 020 (no 881) and 2M of fast RAM? Thank you very much for responding! --Tak ___ # # ===== How do I know if you are real or not? +-- /-+-- (__/\ # # # # ===\ /=== # # >>>>> auyeung@iris.ucdavis.edu |X/-+ /[[]] O/O) # # # # ----| #---# >>>>> Tak-Ying "UlTech" AuYeung +- /' |---- \-/| \===/ \=== # ===/ \=== # # >>>>> A self-conscious entity / \ |/\'\
hamilton@intersil.uucp (Fred Hamilton) (03/25/90)
In article <7120@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>, auyeung@iris.ucdavis.edu (Tak [UlTech] AuYeung) writes: > Due to budget limitations, I have decided to stick with my A1000 for > the rest of my Grad. School years. But since I will be doing many AI > applications (Lisp programs), my <8MHz 68000 will not be able to > deliver enough processing power for me. > > I could get a fast 9600bps modem and use the Apollo workstations at > school, but (1) the modem is not cheap and (2) the Apollo's are not > much faster than my A1000. > > So I decide to beef up the A1000. I have heard that the LUCAS (and its > memory board) is an inexpensive way to add more processing power. But > I have several questions: > > (1) Exactly how fast is it? (speedup factor w/o 881) With no 32 bit RAM and no 881, it is about 1.2 times faster. But I think any 68020 board with no 32bit ram is going to be about that slow. WITH 32 bit FRANCES ram it's about 4-5X faster. > (2) Are there hacks to make it work with a Supra4x4? Dunno. It seems to work with over 50% of most hardware. > (3) Are the parts hard to find? And where? Not really. You should be able to get most parts locally at a decent electronics store (not Radio Shack, though). If not there, try mail order. That Krueger guy in Amazing Computing sells 020s real cheap. > (4) Is it upgradable to the 030? Brad Fowles (the guy who designed LUCAS) is supposed to be working on an 030 daughterboard and enhancements. Should be finished any day now. :-) > (5) Is it compatible with most s/w applications? (don't care games) Yes. It's even compatable with a lot of games. > (6) How fast are the RAMs for the memory board? You can use 120ns, but 70-80ns will allow you to run with one less wait state. > (7) How much would it cost to have the LUCAS w/ 020 (no 881) > and 2M of fast RAM? LUCAS & FRANCES PCBs: $150 68020 $ 40 2MB 256K X 4 $150-$200 SOCKETS, MISC TTL $ 50-$150 (depends where you shop) TOTAL $400-$550 > Thank you very much for responding! > You're welcome. By the way, these things are sometimes a major pain to get running right once you build one. If you haven't ever built anything like this before, you may want to have someone help you who has. Good luck! > --Tak > ___ # # ===== How do I know if you are real or not? +-- /-+-- > (__/\ # # # # ===\ /=== # # >>>>> auyeung@iris.ucdavis.edu |X/-+ /[[]] > O/O) # # # # ----| #---# >>>>> Tak-Ying "UlTech" AuYeung +- /' |---- > \-/| \===/ \=== # ===/ \=== # # >>>>> A self-conscious entity / \ |/\'\ -- Fred Hamilton Any views, comments, or ideas expressed here Harris Semiconductor are entirely my own. Even good ones. Santa Clara, CA