CompuServe Thread

#Ad in Amazing/Amiga

15 messages in this thread
#81506From: James R. OllickMay 9, 1994 10:27 PM
Sorry, I usually change the message header if it doesn't apply. The ad is from AmigaMan in the June 1994 issue of Amazing/Amiga on page 48 (not numbered on the page). In the upper right corner there is an block for the New from Macrosystem WARP engine they compare the WARP to a GVP 040/40 and Fastlane. The last comparison says "Allows use of the memory from the Amiga" and in their column is says YES, under the GVP and Fastlane it says NO. I hope I have been of help, and thanks for the reply. As I have said before, I and my company have purchased many items from your company over the years and believe the products and support and excellent, keep it up. Jim R. Ollick Using AP from Bergenfield, NJ
#81526From: GVP TechMay 10, 1994 7:56 AM
Jim, Thanks for the info. What the ad was probably trying to say (this is a guess) is that our 68040 board does not "DMA" to motherboard RAM. The RAM can still be "USED", however, so I'm not sure why they chose to phrase it that way (***look of utter surprise***). GVP TECH
#81534From: Kevin RagsdaleMay 10, 1994 9:59 AM
I think they are saying that you can transfer your existing SIMMs from the motherboard to the Warp Engine card, allow a much faster RAM access, while you must use GVP's proprietary RAM with their accelerator. Kevin Ragsdale
#81537From: Gary NushMay 10, 1994 10:37 AM
"I think they are saying that you can transfer your existing SIMMs from the motherboard to the Warp Engine card, allow a much faster RAM access, while you must use GVP's proprietary RAM with their accelerator." This is indeed what they are saying, since we are able to DMA to motherboard memory. Their choice of phrasing is a bit akward, but read in it's original intent, it is factual. Gary Nush
#81582From: Charles HillMay 10, 1994 11:24 PM
Gary, Any problems with bursting the motherboard RAM on an A3000 using the GVP 040/40? -Chas
#81619From: Gary NushMay 11, 1994 10:25 AM
None that I am aware of. Internal testing proved successful on many machines. Gary Nush
#81627From: GVP TechMay 11, 1994 11:03 AM
Charles, You cannot burst to the motherboard RAM, although with the memory capacity of the A4000-040 board, there should be little reason to HAVE motherboard RAM. GVP TECH
#81646From: Gary NushMay 11, 1994 3:27 PM
"You cannot burst to the motherboard RAM, although with the memory capacity of the A4000-040 board, there should be little reason to HAVE motherboard RAM. GVP TECH" Technically not correct, although in practice correct. The issue is that to support burst to motherboard RAM you need to have special SIMMs that support burst mode (static column on the motherboard) and you also have to have a motherboard that supports the burst line (we soldered wires here). So while our design supports bursting, rarely any Amiga 3000 machines do. sorry for the confusion. Gary Nush
#81715From: Charles HillMay 12, 1994 7:58 AM
Gary, I have an A3000, not an A4000. They are static column ZIPs and I was under the impression that the burst line *was* supported on the A3000. I also have a rev -11 Buster as well as the latest rev DMAC, Agnus, etc. Just checking (every little bit of speed helps!) -Chas
#81722From: Gary NushMay 12, 1994 10:12 AM
Everything sounds in order, so go ahead and change the jumper that enables the motherboard bursting. I don't recall which jumper that is off-hand, but it's listed in the manual. It ships normally turned off, since most machines aren't set-up for it, but it is there for you to enable if you machine is capable. Gary Nush
#81764From: Charles HillMay 12, 1994 9:28 PM
I tried it and it seems to work fine, except when rendering to a DPS PAR. Then it freaks out but good. I changed some of the drive masks and unbursted the RAM and all works fine now. Heck, I guess I'll have to settle for only 2x speed in rendering (over an A4000) instead of 2.01x. 🙂 -Chas
#81881From: James R. OllickMay 13, 1994 9:04 PM
I also have a PAR, what problem did you experience and with what hardware? Jim R. Ollick Using AP from Bergenfield, NJ
#81713From: Charles HillMay 12, 1994 7:56 AM
Hmmm…considering I have 16 megs of static column ZIPs that I can't use on the GVP board, there is plenty of reason to have motherboard RAM. Thanks, -Chas
#81671From: James R. OllickMay 11, 1994 9:51 PM
So does that mean I can use the G-Force 040/40 in my Amiga 4000 with its' non-socketed -09 revision Buster chip? Jim R. Ollick Using AP from Bergenfield, NJ
#81794From: GVP TechMay 13, 1994 8:08 AM
Jim, Our board will work in a system with a REV 9 Buster, but there may still be DMA issues over the Zorro bus (which is the main reason for upgrading to a Rev 11 Buster). If you run into these types of problems, you may need to upgrade. GVP TECH