moore@iastate.edu (Moore Brian Joseph) (05/01/91)
All of this talk has got me interested in a 3000. However, I want to avoid making the same mistake I made in buying a 2000. Don't get me wrong, I love my machine, but I can't afford to go through the same problems again. When I buy a new machine, it will either be a faster Amiga or an Intel based machine. The reason for this is simple. Whenever I have to do work for the 'outside' world, it is either in WordPerfect or Lotus 123, etc. I've used MS-DOS machines for 6 years and I know the ins and outs so don't bother me with those. When 'I' want to get something done, I'll use the Amiga. My questions are to the 3000 owners/dealers. As I said, I want to avoid more problems. Some of the things I'd like to know are: - Is the 3000's display interlaced? What's the monitor most often used, and is it VGA compatible? - Can I still run WB 1.3 if 2.0 doesn't meet my needs? - What HD controller is in the 3000? If its the A2091, will its problems be corrected? - How much RAM can I put on the motherboard? - How well does the Bridgeboard work on the 3000. Are there many slots for this purpose. Does the ATOnce work on the 3000? - (How well) does AMAX work with the 3000? Also are there plans for a faster BridgeBoard (SX maybe) in the works. 8 MHz doesn't thrill me. As I said, I sometimes need to use MS-DOS and I need to consider this. Any other comments anyone can give would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for sifting through this message. -- _______________________________________________________________________ / / / / Brian J. Moore / moore@iastate.edu / /__________________________________/____________________________________/ -- _______________________________________________________________________ / / / / Brian J. Moore / moore@iastate.edu / /__________________________________/____________________________________/
maxc1503@ucselx.sdsu.edu (David Tse) (05/01/91)
moore@iastate.edu (Moore Brian Joseph) writes: >All of this talk has got me interested in a 3000. However, I want to avoid >making the same mistake I made in buying a 2000. Don't get me wrong, I love >my machine, but I can't afford to go through the same problems again. When I >buy a new machine, it will either be a faster Amiga or an Intel based machine. >The reason for this is simple. Whenever I have to do work for the 'outside' >world, it is either in WordPerfect or Lotus 123, etc. I've used MS-DOS >machines for 6 years and I know the ins and outs so don't bother me with those. >When 'I' want to get something done, I'll use the Amiga. >My questions are to the 3000 owners/dealers. As I said, I want to avoid more >problems. Some of the things I'd like to know are: > - Is the 3000's display interlaced? What's the monitor most often used, and > is it VGA compatible? It can be either like the old Amiga video signal, or VGA like,non-interlace. Most often mode used is just like a VGA, or if not, old amiga style. > - Can I still run WB 1.3 if 2.0 doesn't meet my needs? yes, you can boot/reboot in either. > - What HD controller is in the 3000? If its the A2091, will its problems be > corrected? similar to A2091, but better and faster, and 32bits. Which problems? > - How much RAM can I put on the motherboard? up to 2MB chip ram, and up to 16MB fast ram (zip package 1M x 4) = 18MB > - How well does the Bridgeboard work on the 3000. Are there many slots for > this purpose. Does the ATOnce work on the A3000? Bridgeboard works fine, need to disable data cache, or run enforcer to do it. There are 2 AT slots only. But someone just posted a hack to add one more. ATonce doesn't work on A3000. But a software emulator IBeM works slowly, as a shareware for $30, demo is avail. on some ftp sites. The not announced yet A3000T has more slots in the tower case, wait if you can. > - (How well) does AMAX work with the 3000? Perfectly well, and superfast!! I'm using these. >Also are there plans for a faster BridgeBoard (SX maybe) in the works. 8 MHz >doesn't thrill me. As I said, I sometimes need to use MS-DOS and I need to >consider this. I've been waiting for them too. Only way now is to add accelerator cards, and the compatibility listing is avail somewhere, anyone? Their plans for the turbo XT card A2088T, which uses Amiga 3.5" drives, has not been heard since. And the proposed 386 bridgeboard is same , not heard of. However, the price of the XT and AT bridgeboards has been dropped by almost half, so it's not so bad. >Any other comments anyone can give would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for >sifting through this message. >-- > _______________________________________________________________________ > / / / > / Brian J. Moore / moore@iastate.edu / >/__________________________________/____________________________________/ >-- > _______________________________________________________________________ > / / / > / Brian J. Moore / moore@iastate.edu / >/__________________________________/____________________________________/ hope this help, plus check out the new Trade up policy: very good deals A3000! David Tse maxc1503@ucselx.sdsu.edu
johnhlee@CS.Cornell.EDU (John H. Lee) (05/01/91)
In article <moore.673048710@pv0324.vincent.iastate.edu> moore@iastate.edu (Moore Brian Joseph) writes: [...] >My questions are to the 3000 owners/dealers. As I said, I want to avoid more >problems. Some of the things I'd like to know are: I'm a new Amiga 3000-25/50 owner, having upgraded from an A2000. > - Is the 3000's display interlaced? What's the monitor most often used, and > is it VGA compatible? There are two video ports: a normal 15KHz port, and a de-interlaced port that is VGA-compatible when the de-interlacer is active. I normally run overscanned hi-res interlaced which is non-interlaced and flicker-free from the de-interlaced port. I have a late-model A1950 which I find is more than adequate. Others advocate various NEC and Sony models. > - Can I still run WB 1.3 if 2.0 doesn't meet my needs? Yes. Kickstart is loaded from disk into RAM for the time being and a kickstart menu can be brought up on power-up to to select either Kickstart 1.3 or 2.0. There are publicly-available programs to do this without power-cycling as well. When the 2.0 ROMs are installed, Dave Haynie's SetCPU program can be used to do the same thing and run 1.3 from RAM. > - What HD controller is in the 3000? If its the A2091, will its problems be > corrected? The A3000 has a built-in SCSI controller, not an A2091, that takes advantage of the A3000's 32-bit bus. However I would not be surprised if they have similar designs. There are no problems that I am aware of besides a SCSI reselection problem not present in units shipping at this time (I run three SCSI devices--an in-box Quantum, an external Rodime, and an external tape-drive--with no problems.) A new device driver that fixes this problem for units with an earlier version of the Western Digital SCSI controller chip is/will be available. > - How much RAM can I put on the motherboard? I believed that 16Mb can be installed if 1Mbx4 ZIPs are used. > - How well does the Bridgeboard work on the 3000. Are there many slots for > this purpose. Does the ATOnce work on the 3000? From postings here and in c.s.a.hardware, the Bridgeboard works fine if care is taken to disable caching on the Bridgeboard's shared memory. This is a simple one or two line command in your startup-sequence. With a BridgeBoard installed, the A3000 has space for one additional AT card. The A3000T will have many more. > - (How well) does AMAX work with the 3000? AMAXII works superbly. It boots from an AMAX partition on my harddisk and shows the same amount of high compatibility (if not higher) as on my A2000. The system looks like a Mac Plus with a 68020 and 68882, but no PMMU since AMAX uses that to make the memory space appear contiguous. It is noticeably faster than a Macintosh SE/30 on campus. >Also are there plans for a faster BridgeBoard (SX maybe) in the works. 8 MHz >doesn't thrill me. As I said, I sometimes need to use MS-DOS and I need to >consider this. I don't know. I thought the AT-Bridgeboard was faster than 8MHz. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The DiskDoctor threatens the crew! Next time on AmigaDos: The Next Generation. John Lee Internet: johnhlee@cs.cornell.edu The above opinions of those of the user, and not of this machine.
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (05/03/91)
In article <moore.673048710@pv0324.vincent.iastate.edu> moore@iastate.edu (Moore Brian Joseph) writes: > - Is the 3000's display interlaced? You have your choice of 15kHz (NTSC) or 31kHz (VGA compatible) outputs. The NTSC output, on the standard Amiga 23 pin DB connector, is NTSC for all display modes except the new ECS 640x480x2 and 684x960x2. The latter is interlaced, and only weird monitors are likely to display it, since most VGA type monitors don't typically handle interlace. All the other modes are normal Amiga from that port. On the 31KHz port, all traditional Amiga modes are scan converted (either line or frame doubled, depending on whether they use 200 or 400 lines) to deliver non-interlaced VGA compatible output. The new ECS modes work on this port too, althrough the 1280x400 type modes can't be correctly scan converted. >What's the monitor most often used, and is it VGA compatible? Well, I usually use Moniterm/A2024 (Hedley Hires) monitors. When I need color, I use the C= 1950, which is a multiscanning monitor than handles VGA and NTSC resolutions. > - Can I still run WB 1.3 if 2.0 doesn't meet my needs? Right now, you can select the OS at cold boot time. Eventually, you may want 2.0 in ROM, but via the MMU, it'll always be possible to load 1.3 in via a SetCPU type program, assuming you have that on disk somewhere. Probably more trouble than it's worth, though; I'm using a latter-day 2.0x internal release, and if I did find anything that didn't run under it, I would throw that program away (or complain for an upgrade) rather than boot into 1.3. > - What HD controller is in the 3000? If its the A2091, will its problems be > corrected? The A3000 has a full 32 bit DMA driven hard disk controller. It has a faint family resemblence to the DMAC on the A2091, though it's many times faster. It uses the same WD SCSI controller as the A2091, but at least as of release 2.02, there are no software problems with it. A2091 problems are fixed in the Rev 6.6 ROMs for that board. > - How much RAM can I put on the motherboard? 18MB, 16MB of Fast RAM, 2MB of Chip RAM. > - How well does the Bridgeboard work on the 3000. You have to either disable the data cache on the 68030, or run an MMU tool (such as the latest Enforcer) that knows about the BridgeCard, at present. This is because the Zorro II bus doesn't have provision to run shared memory coprocessor type devices in cachable expansion space. >Are there many slots for this purpose. Not in the desktop A3000. There are two AT slots, which at best gives you room for one AT bus card. The A3000T has the same basic slot configuration as the A2000 (with the addition of the Video Slot as a Zorro bus extension, as we had planned since way, way, back, and of course that the 3000 slots are all Zorro III rather than Zorro II). >Does the ATOnce work on the 3000? I think the ATOnce requires a 68000 bus, which the A3000 does not have. Unless it can live somehow as a Zorro II card, it cannot work in the A3000. > - (How well) does AMAX work with the 3000? The current Mac OS can't support all the A3000's memory, it is limited to 24 bit addressing. I think clever MMU tricks get you most of it. Perhaps AMAX will be able to use the rest of the A3000's memory when System 7 ships? >Also are there plans for a faster BridgeBoard (SX maybe) in the works. 8 MHz >doesn't thrill me. Nothing announced yet. Frankly, a BridgeCard in an A3000 is kind of like a bringing a parachute with you on the Space Shuttle. Sure, you may find use for it, but you'd really rather not. I guess if you're stuck using MS-DOS, you have to think of those things. I have on in my office A2500, which I did use once about two months ago. It won't ever be transported to any of my A3000s, though I might find room for it in a "T". > / Brian J. Moore / moore@iastate.edu / -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy "That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight" -R.E.M.
mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) (05/05/91)
In article <21196@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >Well, I usually use Moniterm/A2024 (Hedley Hires) monitors. When I need color, >I use the C= 1950, which is a multiscanning monitor than handles VGA and NTSC >resolutions. > So do you have to power down your Amiga to switch monitors (mono to color)? Sounds reminiscent of the Atari ST :) Please say that you are using both monitors simoultaneously on one machine! I've always wanted to try out the A2024 because of the resolution, but I need color at the same time. -- **************************************************** * I want games that look like Shadow of the Beast * * but play like Leisure Suit Larry. * ****************************************************
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (05/10/91)
In article <mykes.2196@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG> mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) writes: >In article <21196@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >>Well, I usually use Moniterm/A2024 (Hedley Hires) monitors. When I need color, >>I use the C= 1950, which is a multiscanning monitor than handles VGA and NTSC >>resolutions. >So do you have to power down your Amiga to switch monitors (mono to color)? >Sounds reminiscent of the Atari ST :) Please say that you are using both >monitors simoultaneously on one machine! They don't both display at the same time, since they both use the Denise chip to generate the display. But under 2.0, you can switch modes using the "screenmode" preference editor, no need to reboot or anything. Actually, the A2024 will show a monochrome version of the 1950 display if you leave it on, but the hires display looks like nonsense on an A1950. -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy "That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight" -R.E.M.
sdfusc@mac.cc.macalstr.edu (05/13/91)
In article <21456@cbmvax.commodore.com>, daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: > In article <mykes.2196@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG> mykes@amiga0.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) writes: >>In article <21196@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >>>Well, I usually use Moniterm/A2024 (Hedley Hires) monitors. When I need color, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A few quick, possibly naive questionsxD: 1. I thought that the Moniterm Viking was a 19 inch, while the A2024 was 14 inch. Are they the same monitor, or are both of them different models manufactured by Moniterm? Are there any other models in the Moniterm line that will work with the Amiga (what other models are there?) 2. I'm from Minnesota, and last I read Moniterm was in Chapter 11. What is the status of Moniterm Inc, and will this affect the A2024? 3. Are there any other large 3rd party monitors that will support the 1008x800 mode? The A2024 is nice, but I believe its only 14 inch, and that seems to small. Are there any large VGA, SVGA or Multiscanning monitors (16 inch +) that will support these modes? I don't think its possible, but if it is, I'd like to know. Doug SDFUSC@MACALSTR.EDU >>>I use the C= 1950, which is a multiscanning monitor than handles VGA and NTSC >>>resolutions. > >>So do you have to power down your Amiga to switch monitors (mono to color)? >>Sounds reminiscent of the Atari ST :) Please say that you are using both >>monitors simoultaneously on one machine! > > They don't both display at the same time, since they both use the Denise > chip to generate the display. But under 2.0, you can switch modes using the > "screenmode" preference editor, no need to reboot or anything. Actually, > the A2024 will show a monochrome version of the 1950 display if you leave it > on, but the hires display looks like nonsense on an A1950. > Also-- Any chance of multiple, simultaneous monitor support on the Amiga? I guess you sort of have it with something like DCTV, but I've seen some nice simultaneous displays on the Mac...will the Lowell board support this? > > -- > Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" > {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy > "That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight" -R.E.M.