sutherla@qtp.ufl.edu (scott sutherland) (06/25/89)
First of all, I am NOT trying to start a "xxx is better than yyy" flame war. PLEASE E-MAIL ***ALL*** RESPONSES TO ME. I have just purchased one of the 20MHz 68881's advertised on the net last week. Now I need an expansion board on which to mount it and use it with my ray-tracing (TS 3.0SV and SA3D) and other programs. I asked my dealer about the CMI board, but he recommended against it since, 1) it is not supported by either of these two packages, and 2) the CMI treats the 68881 as a peripheral, so I won't get the performance out of it that I will with a 68020 board. (True??). Even if 2) is not true, 1) is enough to make me look elsewhere. My dealer suggested that the least expensive option is the CSA Midget Racer. So I pulled out my latest AmigaWorld, the one with the accelerator review, and looked at the performance of this board. The first thing I noticed is that the 68020 runs at 7.14 MHz, not 14.3 MHz. I guess this is why it's only $400. Then I noticed that the "bare" Ronin board, with 14.3 MHz 68020, is only $600. Also, it looks like the Ronin is much more readily expanded to 32-bit fast RAM then the Midget (if the Midget can even BE expanded) and I can also upgrage to a 68030 at a later date with the Ronin by using the piggyback board. So here's my dilemma. I have enough money to get the Midget Racer and a Seagate ST157N drive with Xetec controller now, or I can get the Ronin board now, and wait ~1-2 months and still get the HD. So, what I want to know is, does anyone have any opinions as to which '020 board is preferable? The AW results are somewhat slanted to the Ronin board, but the AW configuration of the Ronin board was with a 16 MHz 68882 AND 2 Meg of 32-bit FAST RAM. Anyone have any performance STATS of a Ronin with a 16 MHz 68881 and no 32-bit memory? How does it compare to the Midget?? Another factor in my decision is the SCSI controller I am purchasing. Since it is NOT DMA, I have been told that it is CPU "speed" controlled. Therefore, I will see a larger speed increase in my HD performance with the Ronin than with the Midget. According to AW, a DMA SCSI controller (e.g., Mircrobotics Hardframe, my other choice) will be slowed down by the Midget and Ronin, whereas the Xetec ($150 cheaper) will be sped up in either case. Any comments?? I will be purchasing my accelerator board in about 1-2 weeks, so any prompt responses would be appreciated. LET ME RE-EMPHASIZE: PLEASE ***E-MAIL*** ALL RESPONSES TO ME DIRECTLY!! Thanks, Scott Sutherland