peterb@intacc.uucp (Peter James Bowmar) (04/07/91)
Well, I got the Mega-Midget Racer, and I can't say I'm sorry. I had some
hassles actually getting the thing (I couriered my money order down,
and they shipped 3 weeks later) but once it finally arrived it has
performed well. I have the 33mhz '030 and 33mhz 882 version, with the
non-MMU 68030. (it's cheaper, that's why). I have no, as yet, 32bit
memory or the static ram ROMS thing, but it still speeds up Lightwave
renders by about 6x. Not too bad, although Lightwave is still too slow
to be useful. I haven't tried Imagine to see how fast it speeds that up
but it seems to move along quite nicely.
What's more interesting is what it doesn't speed up: ED is still
brutally slow, Falcon (in the ads it says it'll speed it up) is the same
as always, and multitasking is pretty much the same. Essentially, the
FPU speeds things up but I guess I need the 32 bit Ram before I see
anything else speed up.
By the way, can anyone explain to me exactly what the MMU on a
68030 is for?lkoop@pnet01.cts.com (Lamonte Koop) (04/08/91)
peterb@intacc.uucp (Peter James Bowmar) writes: > >Well, I got the Mega-Midget Racer, and I can't say I'm sorry. I had some >hassles actually getting the thing (I couriered my money order down, >and they shipped 3 weeks later) but once it finally arrived it has >performed well. I have the 33mhz '030 and 33mhz 882 version, with the >non-MMU 68030. (it's cheaper, that's why). I have no, as yet, 32bit >memory or the static ram ROMS thing, but it still speeds up Lightwave >renders by about 6x. Not too bad, although Lightwave is still too slow >to be useful. I haven't tried Imagine to see how fast it speeds that up >but it seems to move along quite nicely. > What's more interesting is what it doesn't speed up: ED is still >brutally slow, Falcon (in the ads it says it'll speed it up) is the same >as always, and multitasking is pretty much the same. Essentially, the >FPU speeds things up but I guess I need the 32 bit Ram before I see >anything else speed up. > By the way, can anyone explain to me exactly what the MMU on a >68030 is for? The main reason the programs you mention are not faster is that they are utilizing CHIP RAM quite a bit. Since the accelerator has to in effect "throttle back" when operating out of this domain you won't see a tremendous speed increase. Now, on MMU-equipped systems, the ROM image can be relocated into FAST RAM for quicker access....however, since you have a non-MMU 68030, and apparently no FAST RAM (yet), you are unable to do this particular operation. I would recommend acquiring some 32-bit accessible memory for your accelerator as soon as possible. The 68030 is very limited when running solely out of a 16-bit environment, and having 32-bit accessible memory on the system will greatly enhance performance. This should also improve performance of the programs previously mentioned. Without an MMU, you cannot transfer the ROM image to this FAST RAM, but this will only affect ROM routine speed. LaMonte Koop Internet: lkoop@pnet01.cts.com ARPA: crash!pnet01!lkoop@nosc.mil UUCP: {hplabs!hp-sdd ucsd nosc}!crash!pnet01!lkoop "It's a dog-eat-dog world...and I'm wearing Milk Bone underwear"--Norm
monty@sagpd1 (04/09/91)
In article <8449@crash.cts.com> lkoop@pnet01.cts.com (Lamonte Koop) writes: >peterb@intacc.uucp (Peter James Bowmar) writes: >The main reason the programs you mention are not faster is that they are >utilizing CHIP RAM quite a bit. Since the accelerator has to in effect >"throttle back" when operating out of this domain you won't see a tremendous >speed increase. Now, on MMU-equipped systems, the ROM image can be relocated >into FAST RAM for quicker access....however, since you have a non-MMU 68030, >and apparently no FAST RAM (yet), you are unable to do this particular >operation. This posting finaly made me remember why it is so important to have the static ram installed on the mega-midget racer!!! The hardware on the mega-midget racer AUTOMATICALLY transfers the rom image into static ram! This was why they could get away without the MMU version of the 030. If you have no static ram you are choking the 030 off when ever it needs something out of the roms. Not only are you throttling back the 030 on fast memory access, the same thing occurs for rom access. One other point was made by the manufacturer during our user group demonstartion in March, the static ram will hold more than 512K on board but most of us cannot afford the statics required. The board is wired to hold full JEDEC compatible 32 pin static rams. I believe that this allows 2 Meg bytes of Static ram on board. Of course these chips will probably cost as much each as the midget does, but it is possible! The board does have clearance problems on an A1000 though. They will retro-fit your A1000 by installing a new disk drive and cutting away the shield so that the "extended" midget will fit, for a nominal fee.o I have no affiliation with CSA and am only reporting what was told us at the SDAUG metting in March. Monty Saine