RAN101@PSUVM.BITNET (10/31/88)
I've been seeing ads for a CMI accelerator card for under $200. Does anyone have it?? What kind of speed up could be expected with it? Will it work with the Amiga 2000? Can it accept a 68881 math coprocessor if I want to add it later? Does anyone know of any software incompatabilities that come up with the board installed? How difficult is it to install? Thanks for any answers, Robb Nedwick
billsey@agora.UUCP (Bill Seymour) (11/06/88)
From article <59521RAN101@PSUVM:, by RAN101@PSUVM.BITNET:
:
: I've been seeing ads for a CMI accelerator card for under $200. Does anyone
: have it??
Yes, we've sold about 1500 of them... I have PAs installed in both of
my machines.
: What kind of speed up could be expected with it?
That varies a lot by what kinds of programs you run. You will see
typical speedups of about 10% on non math intensive stuff and up to 40% on
the real heavy stuff. I have demos that show 80%, but that's not really
possible in the real world. Note that most I/O activity (disk, serial, parallel,
etc.) will not be sped up at all.
: Will it work with the Amiga 2000?
Yes, there is a version that works with the 2000. There's also a
version for the 500 and one for the 1000.
: Can it accept a 68881 math coprocessor if I want to add it later?
You can put a 68881 or a 68882 on board. The math chip runs async-
ronously to the rest of the system, so you can use the less expensive 12MHz
chips. Since the math chip is accessed as a peripheral device on the 68000s
buss, you won't see a significant speed improvement using a 16 or 20 MHz
part instead of a 12MHz part. Same thing goes for the 68882...
: Does anyone know of any software incompatabilities that come up with the
: board installed?
There are currently three pieces of software on our list. DOS-2-DOS,
DISK-2-DISK, Live! and X-CAD. All work fine when you are running at 7MHz
(The power up default) and all have one problem or another when running at
14MHz. I've gotten reports from users that have succesfully run Live! and
X-CAD, but there are more people having problems with these programs than
there are not having problems.
: How difficult is it to install?
Pretty simple. On a 2000 you remove the outer case, remove the power
supply/drive bay assembly. Unplug your 68000 and plug our board in. Then just
put everything back together.
:
: Thanks for any answers,
: Robb Nedwick
Any time!
Bill
--
-Bill Seymour ...tektronix!reed!percival!agora!billsey
...tektronix!sequent!blowpig!billsey
Creative Microsystems Northwest Amiga Group At Home Sometimes
(503) 684-9300 (503) 656-7393 BBS (503) 640-0842daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) (11/08/88)
in article <1213@agora.UUCP>, billsey@agora.UUCP (Bill Seymour) says: > There are currently three pieces of software on our list. DOS-2-DOS, > DISK-2-DISK, Live! and X-CAD. The problem with X-CAD is the dongle. The routine in X-CAD that reads the dongle is CPU speed dependent, a big no-no for any Amiga program. The only fix I've heard of is to order the non-dongled version of X-CAD, which is or at least will be available, according to the Haitex folks, who are currently handling it here. > -Bill Seymour ...tektronix!reed!percival!agora!billsey -- Dave Haynie "The 32 Bit Guy" Commodore-Amiga "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: D-DAVE H BIX: hazy Amiga -- It's not just a job, it's an obsession
billsey@agora.UUCP (Bill Seymour) (11/12/88)
From article <5188@cbmvax.UUCP:, by daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie):
: in article <1213@agora.UUCP:, billsey@agora.UUCP (Bill Seymour) says:
:
:: There are currently three pieces of software on our list. DOS-2-DOS,
:: DISK-2-DISK, Live! and X-CAD.
At least no one flamed me about the numbering here... I talked to
Central Coast software this week and was informed that the 3.0 version of
DOS2DOS work correctly with our board running at 14MHz. Call them for update
info!
: The problem with X-CAD is the dongle. The routine in X-CAD that reads the
: dongle is CPU speed dependent, a big no-no for any Amiga program. The only
: fix I've heard of is to order the non-dongled version of X-CAD, which is or
: at least will be available, according to the Haitex folks, who are currently
: handling it here.
I've talked to several people lately who've been running X-CAD at 14MHz
with no problems... It seems there are more than one dongles for this program.
The dongleless version will fix all finally though. In the mean time, for those
of you who have versions where the dongle *doesn't* work at 14MHz, switch back
to 7MHz only for saves and print/plots. You should have no problems then.
: --
: Dave Haynie "The 32 Bit Guy" Commodore-Amiga "The Crew That Never Rests"
: {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: D-DAVE H BIX: hazy
: Amiga -- It's not just a job, it's an obsession
--
-Bill Seymour ...tektronix!reed!percival!agora!billsey
...tektronix!sequent!blowpig!billsey
Creative Microsystems Northwest Amiga Group At Home Sometimes
(503) 684-9300 (503) 656-7393 BBS (503) 640-0842harrye@pnet02.cts.com (Harry Evangelou) (11/15/88)
In message <#18109@pnet02>, billsey@agora.UUCP (Bill Seymour) writes: >I've talked to several people lately who've been running X-CAD at 14MHz >with no problems... It seems there are more than one dongles for this >program. The dongleless version will fix all finally though. In the mean >time, for those of you who have versions where the dongle *doesn't* work >at 14MHz, switch back to 7MHz only for saves and print/plots. You should >have no problems then. No, there is only one dongle. There has been a new version of one of the libraries that handles the problem in a CPU INDEPENDENT way. You can receive the library by sending me a SASE with your original X-CAD libraries disk to the address : Harry Evangelou X-CAD Product Manager Haitex Resources 208 Carrollton Park - Suite 1207 Carrollton, Texas 75006 (214) 241-8030 You may also include a blank disk for all the new X-CAD utilities (if you did not already download them from the networks). ========================================================================== Harry Evangelou X-CAD Project manager PLINK: HAITEX HAITEX Resources UUCP : {ames!elroy, <backbone>}!gryphon!pnet02!harrye PHONE (214) 241-8030 INET : harrye@pnet02.cts.com ========================================================================== UUCP: {ames!elroy, <backbone>}!gryphon!pnet02!harrye INET: harrye@pnet02.cts.com