jason@cbmami.UUCP (Jason Goldberg) (03/16/91)
Does anyone have any experience with the GVP Acceloraters? I currently have a A2630, but I am looking at the GVP 50 MHz board. The problem is that I can't get any good info about them, even GVP seems confused... In particular, can a rev7 GVP 50 MHz run Unix? Are any modifications required? Don't just tell me that it has ROM sockets for UNIX, I want to know if anyone is certain that it works. The memory board has 8 SIMM sockets, 4 are populated with 1 MEG SIMMS and that 4 MEGS is autoconfiged. The remaining 4 can have 1 MEG or 4 MEG SIMMS (meaning the board can hold 4, 8, or 20 MEGS). These last for SIMMS (4 or 16 MEGS) are not autoconfig but are addmemed automagically by the board. Does this work? Will all my existing software see the 20 MEGS? Under AmigaDos 1.3? Under AmigaDos 2.0? Also GVP has changed the design of all their boards so that they can only accomodate GVP SIMMS! These SIMMS are much more expensive than there generic counterparts, but nobody seems to know how much they cost. Most dealers don't know that they need GVP SIMMS and GVP won't sell them to me. When I asked how much they cost, the sales lady said that they were 70 NS SIMMS and that 4 MEGS cost $495 and 16 MEGS cost $549! Obviosly this is a mistake, but she insisted it was right (too bad she wouldn't sell the 16 MEGS to me...), the only dealer who seems to know what I am talking about said that they are 60 NS simms and had never heard of the 4 MEG SIMMS. Has anyone who has one done any benchmarks? I played with the 50 MHz for a while and it was obviously faster than my 2 MEG A2630, when I tried the SYSINFO program on it, it reported about a 29 MHz clockspeed, while my A2630 is reported at about 24.5 MHz. The SYSINFO program compares your CPU to a tests that they have done, and it says that my A2630 is slighlty faster than a A2500 and right about the same speed as a A3000, this is inaccurate because it is a A2500. However the 50 MHz GVP is reported as about 60-70% the speed of a 50 MHz GVP (even with all cache and burst modes on). Has anyone who ownes one done any benchmarks? Does anyone have any other comments, particularly if you have any experience with the GVP boards? Also, the lattest version of the GVP 50 MHz is rev 7.0 and it has no provision for booting in 68000 mode. This is in conflict with reports from others that GVP has a software program that causes it to boot in 68000 mode. Thanks, -Jason- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jason Goldberg UUCP: ucsd!serene!cbmami!jason Del Mar, CA
dltaylor@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Dan Taylor) (03/19/91)
(jason@cbmami.UUCP)
In comp.sys.amiga.hardware you write:
> In particular, can a rev7 GVP 50 MHz run Unix?
No A2X00, with the possible exception of a few inside C-A, is running
a released version of UNIX. The ONLY Amigas currently supported are
A3000s. When (if?) an A2500/30 version is released, someone may also
port it to GVP. I don't know if GVP could afford the $250,000 cost for
a source license and development, though. The GVP boards CAN run UNIX.
Anything that has an '030 and a couple of Meg of RAM can. It's more a
question of whether, or not, there will ever be a port. Even though
I, too, have an a2630, I'd like to see GVP provide viable alternatives
in the market.
Dan Taylorrbabel@babylon.rmt.sub.org (Ralph Babel) (03/19/91)
In article <18d4fcbb.ARN0f1d@cbmami.UUCP>, jason@cbmami.UUCP (Jason Goldberg) writes: > The memory board has 8 SIMM sockets, 4 are populated with > 1 MEG SIMMS and that 4 MEGS is autoconfiged. Correct. > The remaining 4 can have 1 MEG or 4 MEG SIMMS (meaning the > board can hold 4, 8, or 20 MEGS). Not quite. You can put 1- and/or 4-meg SIMMs in there in any order, so you can have 4..14, 16, 17, and 20 megabytes. > These last for SIMMS (4 or 16 MEGS) are not autoconfig The 8-meg configuration (eight 1-meg SIMMs) can be made real Zorro-II RAM (though you don't have to). > but are addmemed automagically by the board. Correct. > Does this work? Yes, it does. > Will all my existing software see the 20 MEGS? Yes. Some programs, however, use illegal programming techniques such as storing tags in the upper 8 bits of a pointer. These programs will fail, of course. > Under AmigaDos 1.3? Yup. > Under AmigaDos 2.0? Yup, even 2.0. > Has anyone who has one done any benchmarks? Most benchmarks are bogus. Instead, run the applications _you_ would normally use. > Also, the lattest version of the GVP 50 MHz is rev 7.0 and > it has no provision for booting in 68000 mode. Sigh, once again ... - _all_ GVP accelerator boards have a jumper to switch back to 68000 mode. - _all_ GVP accelerator boards so far can be equipped with mode-switch ROMs to switch back to 68000 mode. - revision 7 and later boards can use a small utility program to switch back to 68000 mode by software. Ralph
jason@cbmami.UUCP (Jason Goldberg) (03/20/91)
In article <871@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM>, Dan Taylor writes: > (jason@cbmami.UUCP) In comp.sys.amiga.hardware I write: > > > In particular, can a rev7 GVP 50 MHz run Unix? > > No A2X00, with the possible exception of a few inside C-A, is running > a released version of UNIX. The ONLY Amigas currently supported are > A3000s. When (if?) an A2500/30 version is released, someone may also > port it to GVP. I don't know if GVP could afford the $250,000 cost for > a source license and development, though. The GVP boards CAN run UNIX. > Anything that has an '030 and a couple of Meg of RAM can. It's more a > question of whether, or not, there will ever be a port. Even though > I, too, have an a2630, I'd like to see GVP provide viable alternatives > in the market. I know that the GVP's have the hardware to run Unix, and obviously if they wanted to pay the licencing fee and development time they could port Unix to their accelerators, but I see that as being completely unlikely. I was more hoping that the CBM version of the Unix software will run on the GVP boards (possible with the addition of software drivers and or ROMS on the GVP.) Currently all my A3000UX are still beta but I am supposed to get the released PIC tape this Friday. I assume that soon it will be available for my A2500/030 at home as well. I just want to know, when I sell a GVP board to a customer, what his upgrade possibilities to Unix are. -Jason- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jason Goldberg UUCP: ucsd!serene!cbmami!jason Del Mar, CA
rbabel@babylon.rmt.sub.org (Ralph Babel) (03/21/91)
In article <1449@rust.zso.dec.com>, davis@soomee.zso.dec.com (Mark Davis) writes: >> - revision 7 and later boards can use a small utility >> program to switch back to 68000 mode by software. > > Where can this utility be found? It should be on GVP's latest installation disk. Otherwise give Tech Support a call. Ralph
davis@soomee.zso.dec.com (Mark Davis) (03/21/91)
|> - revision 7 and later boards can use a small utility |> program to switch back to 68000 mode by software. |> |> Ralph |> Where can this utility be found? mark
dave@unislc.uucp (Dave Martin) (03/29/91)
From article <871@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM>, by dltaylor@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Dan Taylor): > (jason@cbmami.UUCP) > In comp.sys.amiga.hardware you write: > >> In particular, can a rev7 GVP 50 MHz run Unix? > > A3000s. When (if?) an A2500/30 version is released, someone may also > port it to GVP. I don't know if GVP could afford the $250,000 cost for > a source license and development, though. The GVP boards CAN run UNIX. > Anything that has an '030 and a couple of Meg of RAM can. It's more a > question of whether, or not, there will ever be a port. Even though > I, too, have an a2630, I'd like to see GVP provide viable alternatives > in the market. So, what is the problem with GVP boards? Just because I use Syvania light bulbs instead of Phillips light bulbs doesn't mean I should have to port my electricity. It runs AmigaDOS/EXEC right? Have they lobotomized the MMU? (difficult when its on the same chip with the cpu) Is the memory strange? Unix ported to run on a 68030 should run on a 68030. Now admittedly you could have different bus/hardware things to worry about if it were a different architecture (like running unix on a 68030 based Machintosh vs. a 68030 based Amiga). But this thing runs AmigaDOS/EXEC and somehow I dont think commodore has code that goes If GVP then boot custom EXEC; I also don't think GVP has this code either. I've never seen the GVP board, but if this is a legitimate claim (that it won't run commodore UNIX) i'd like to know what they did to achieve this. -- VAX Headroom Speaking for myself only... blah blah blahblah blah... Internet: DMARTIN@CC.WEBER.EDU dave@saltlcy-unisys.army.mil uucp: dave@unislc.uucp or use the Path: line. Now was that civilized? No, clearly not. Fun, but in no sense civilized.
dltaylor@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Dan Taylor) (04/02/91)
In <1991Mar29.003740.18783@unislc.uucp> dave@unislc.uucp (Dave Martin) writes: >From article <871@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM>, by dltaylor@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Dan Taylor): >So, what is the problem with GVP boards? No problem with the boards, that I've heard of. But, you have to understand UNIX, so.... >Is the memory strange? Unix ported to run on a 68030 should run >on a 68030. Now admittedly you could have different bus/hardware things to >worry about if it were a different architecture Ahhh, but it IS a different architecture, in small, but significant ways. Most importantly, the disk support is different, IDE, not SCSI, and a different interface. Since UNIX disk drivers are part of the kernel, not read from ROM ( I know, I know, some do, But if you have UNIX ROMs, can you still run AmigaDOS? ), the distributed kernel won't have GVP disk drivers in it. Why not? That's really GVP's responsibility, not C='s. The same holds for all other disk controller makers. Also, I believe ( please, GVP, correct me if I'm wrong ) that the memory on some of the GVP accellerators may be physically mapped to different address, both auto-config and other. If this is true, then the early initialisation code in the UNIX kernel will have to know to search those locations, in order to create memory management tables for it. There wouldn't be major changes to the kernel, nor any changes to non- disk-format utilities, but at least these would have to be done. Hope this helps. Dan Taylor
jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup) (04/02/91)
>From article <871@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM>, by dltaylor@cns.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Dan Taylor): >> (jason@cbmami.UUCP) >> In comp.sys.amiga.hardware you write: >> >>> In particular, can a rev7 GVP 50 MHz run Unix? I advise asking in comp.unix.amiga, not here. There's no basic hardware reason I know of that would stop it, but I'm a software guy (and an AmigaDos one at that). If you want to support the AT-IDE drive it has, GVP will have to write a unix device-driver for it, and they may need to have a variant kernel with this driver in it in place of the A3000/2091 scsi driver. But I'm just guessing. -- Randell Jesup, Keeper of AmigaDos, Commodore Engineering. {uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!jesup, jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com BIX: rjesup Disclaimer: Nothing I say is in anything other than my personal opinion. Thus spake the Master Ninjei: "To program a million-line operating system is easy, to change a man's temperament is more difficult." (From "The Zen of Programming") ;-)