ECZ5ACK@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU (Andy Kohler) (04/09/91)
I'm just about to add a hard drive and 4 megs of memory to my A500, and I have a couple questions. I've decided to get the GVP Series II controller and Quantum 80 or 105 meg drive, but I also want to increase memory. Should I get 4 megs of RAM in the controller (rather expensive) or buy a Baseboard w/4 megs ($299)? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each way? Also, I'm not sure whether to buy through Computability (low prices) or Briwall (good service) (judging just by their ads in AmigaWorld). Any recommendations/comparisons would be welcomed. Send e-mail and I will gladly summarize to the net. Thanks much. Andy Kohler ecz5ack@mvs.oac.ucla.edu or ecz5ack@UCLAMVS
dtiberio@eeserv1.ic.sunysb.edu (David Tiberio) (04/09/91)
In article <9104082116.AA23378@lilac.berkeley.edu> ECZ5ACK@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU (Andy Kohler) writes: > > I'm just about to add a hard drive and 4 megs of memory to >my A500, and I have a couple questions. I've decided to get the >GVP Series II controller and Quantum 80 or 105 meg drive, but >I also want to increase memory. Should I get 4 megs of RAM in >the controller (rather expensive) or buy a Baseboard w/4 megs >($299)? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each way? I suggest you put the ram into the GVP drive. Otherwise you may have to worry about getting a bigger power supply for your amiga. The GVP comes with enough power for the drive and ram. And I do not see why it costs more to put ram into the GVP. The GVP uses SIMM modules which should cost about $60 each at the most. It should be cheaper to put in the 4 megs into the GVP (however, if you order the ram already in the GVP the dealer may be trying to make some quick money). For a new a3000, you can get an additional 3 megs for $500 from the dealer. Or you can buy them separately for a lower price; 4 megs for $400. 4/400 / 3/500 = $100/meg or $170/meg. > >Also, I'm not sure whether to buy through Computability (low >prices) or Briwall (good service) (judging just by their >ads in AmigaWorld). Any recommendations/comparisons would be >welcomed. > >Send e-mail and I will gladly summarize to the net. > >Thanks much. >Andy Kohler >ecz5ack@mvs.oac.ucla.edu or ecz5ack@UCLAMVS -- David Tiberio SUNY Stony Brook 2-3481 AMIGA DDD-MEN Tomas Arce Any students from SUNY Oswego? Please let me know! :) Un ragazzo di Casal Bordino, Italia.
mascot@bnr.ca (Scott Mason) (04/11/91)
In article <9104082116.AA23378@lilac.berkeley.edu> ECZ5ACK@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU (Andy Kohler) writes: > > I'm just about to add a hard drive and 4 megs of memory to >my A500, and I have a couple questions. I've decided to get the >GVP Series II controller and Quantum 80 or 105 meg drive, but >I also want to increase memory. Should I get 4 megs of RAM in >the controller (rather expensive) or buy a Baseboard w/4 megs >($299)? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each way? > The Baseboard, which plugs into the trapdoor expansion, is interfaced via the Chip Bus. In the future, it would be theoretically possible to use memory installed on the Baseboard to expand Chip Memory. This would likely require support on the Baseboard, and may involve an upgrade of your Angus custom chip. A501 expanders are sometimes used in this fashion (see other postings in this group). Memory on the Baseboard which is not accessible to the custom chips is allocated as Fast Memory. However, because it is interfaced with the Chip Bus, it cannot be used by the processor whenever the custom chips are accessing chip memory. This memory is often called Slow- Fast memory, because it is allocated as Fast memory but cannot usually be accessed as quickly as true Fast memory. True fast memory, such as that installed in accessories interfaced to the expansion port, are interfaced to the processor via the Zorro bus. Scott.