#GVP 1230+ SII Anyone?
17 messages in this thread
I was wondering if anyone out there has a 1200 with the new A1230 Turbo+ Series
II from GVP. I'm interested in getting this board with the SCSI option and
would like any opinions out there.
Thanks,
Jon
I upgraded from the original A1230+ to the new one with the scsi board
several weeks ago. The hardware installation was very simple, although
there were two jumpers on the scsi board that had to be removed that were
not documented. The system wouldn't boot with the scsi board installed at
first, but a call to GVP corrected the problem.
Compared to my old Xetec scsi system I sold a year ago when I sold my
A500, the Prep and support software is excellent. Right now I'm only
running a Quantum 240lps, however, looking thru the documentation, there
are methods for setting up removeable media and other like drives that
have special needs. Specs include an external DB25 scsi port, Active
termination and support of the SCSI-II command set.
GVP claims speeds in excess of 3,246,495 bytes/second (with some special
tweeking mentioned in the fine print), on my system, the new drive is
about 2.5 times faster than the IDE drive that was installed in the A1200.
Sysinfo reports 1,900,000+ bytes/second and Diskspeed 3.0 reports
1,300,000+ bytes/second. I'm not really a tech person, so I don't know
how much of this is the drive itself and how much of it is the scsi
system.
As I mentioned, I only have the harddrive on the scsi chain at the moment,
but I will be adding a CDRom drive and Tape backup unit eventualy. I've
been dropping hints about the CDRom drive to my wife since our anniversary
is in a couple of weeks <G>. I converted a mini PC tower case with a scsi
cable and installed the harddrive in it, I will install the CDRom and Tape
Backup in it as well.
Overall all I'm very pleased, but to be honest I don't have any experience
with regards to simuliar products on the market and how they compare to
the GVP unit.
=Rick=
Have you heard anything on the A1230 Turbo Performance Series, which is
supposed to hold an '040 processor? It seems a much cheaper alternative to the
A4000 for the simple, non-video, applications of an Amiga. (Although I am
curious as to how they cool that sucker…)
No I haven't heard anything on it, the '030 version suits my needs nicely,
I can't imagine needing more speed in most situations, at least for the
tasks I use my Ami for.
=Rick=
Chris,
Over here in the UK, we have two versions of the GVP A1230+ II, one has a
40 Mhz CPU, the other a 50Mhz, both utilitse a 68030, all other features
are identical (RAM, FPU and SCSI options).
Hope this helps
Kevin 68030/40 A1200…
Flying AutoPilot from Surrey in the UK
I very well may have seen a misprint in AW… however I did call GVP and
request information on the '040 that was mentioned in the article…. just
incase that falls through however, do you like yours? Any downfalls, or
benefits (other than faster). Also, how noticable is the speed difference from
a stock A1200? (I'm upgrading from an A1000, which will probably blow me away
anyway!)
Thanks!
Chris
> (I'm upgrading from an A1000, which will probably blow me away anyway!)
It will! 🙂
Bob Comer — Flying high and fast with my A1200HD'030 on Autopilot!
From Cheyenne, Wyoming U.S.A.
Chris,
I would whole heartedly recommend my A1230+ II.
I've not had it long, but before buying it I compared all the accelerators
with similar specs. and decided that the GVP was the best unit for the
following reasons;
Speed (obviously)
Expansion (not only 2 SIMM slots, but SCSI too)
Reliability (GVP have an extremely good reputation)
The only reservation I have is that the SIMMs are GVP's own, not industry
standard. This means that GVP can charge what they like for them.
Thankfully, I've found a number of suppliers over here who can almost
match the prices of industry standard SIMMs, so I guess you cuold too.
I can't answer your question about speed because I've not got any RAM
onboard yet, so theres no speed increase (in fact it's slower than my
A1200 was with a Power PC1204 4Mb memory expansion installed).
Regards
Kevin 68030/40 A1200…
Flying AutoPilot from Surrey in the UK
Kevin,
I'm a bit confused on your previos post…. >>I can't answer your
question about speed because I've not got any RAM onboard yet, so theres no
speed increase (in fact it's slower than my A1200 was with a Power PC1204 4Mb
memory expansion installed).
Your saying that an '030 accelerator with no fast ram runs slower than an '020
with fast ram? (Or is a Power PC1204 '030 based as well?)
How can this be? It seems like something of a speed increase would occur just
by virtue of increased CPU speed alone… or did I read the post incorrectly?
Thanks…
Chris
Kevin,
It has nothing to do with CPU speed (or maybe it does). The way it was
explained to me was that all the startup software (ie drivers/tasks for
drives, assigns etc.) would all be loaded into your faster fast ram
instead of chip ram. This would be where you would see your speed up.
Trent
Flying near the Pole in the Great White North
Chris,
to understand this you have to understand something about the way the
Amiga uses its memory chips. A part of the system is designated as Chip
RAM and a part as Fast RAM. The Chip RAM is accessible to the CPU as well
as the custom chips that give the Amiga its speedy graphics, sound, etc.
The CPU and the custom chips split the amount of time that each has access
to this bank of memory, with the CPU having one half the clock cycles and
the custom chips the other half. Unless something comes along that
requires heavy duty cycles for the custom chips, they can lock the CPU out
if they need to, this is the rule.
With Fast RAM, the custom chips can't touch it, so the CPU has access
to it 100% of the time, unlike Chip RAM which it has only 50% of the time,
or less.
Now, let us say you add an accelerator that doesn't have any RAM of its
own. True, you will get some measure of speed up due to the CPU have an
instruction and data cache, but it will on be marginal at best. The CPU
is still limited to the speed by which it access the Fast RAM and Chip RAM
on the motherboard, which is not very fast at all. Basically, the CPU
spends much of its time waiting around for the memory to get back to it
with the information it needs, either instructions or data, to continue
the task it is running. I'd guess about a 50% speed up when comparing an
'030 to a 68000 and much less when comparing an '030 to an '020 (the main
difference is that the '030 has a data cache), which probably won't be
noticed by most users.
On the other hand, if you add 32 bit high speed Fast RAM to the
equation, things change markedly. Since the memory is operating at a much
higher speed that either the Fast RAM or Chip RAM on the motherboard, it
can do a better job of keeping the CPU in instructions and/or data since
it is operating closer to the actual information requirements of the CPU.
So, without the "Faster" RAM, you won't notice much if any
improvement.
Brian
bjbart@watserv.ucr.edu
My goodness… I have just learned a truckload… and I thank you immeasurably
for the lesson on CHIP vs FAST ram…
If I read this correctly, then just adding fast ram (32 bit) to my A1200 (which
is here now, BTW…) will increase my CPU performance?
Thanks again…
Chris
Chris,
But just adding fast ram to your A1200 you will see a dramatic speed
improvement. It has nothing to do with CPU performance, it has to do with
how often the ram can be accessed … it can be accessed twice as fast on
the fast side of the buss.
-sja
Great… that's next ont he wish list…. right after they start making 2.5
drives again! <g>
Chris,
it's a regular question <G>. There is an advantage, besides allowing
the CPU some memory that it has exclusive access to, by adding some Fast
RAM. It will move stuff out of that valuable Chip RAM so you can have
more windows open, use bigger fonts, run more graphics programs at the
same time, etc. It's a shame they don't come with some Fast RAM
installed.
Brian
bjbart@watserv.ucr.edu
Another question now…. (Will I EVER shut up?)
If I use PCMCIA memory as a "ram disk" will it still slow down the computer
even though it is being adressed as a peripheral instead of FAST ram?
Just curious….
Chris
Thanks for the info. I'm really excited and hope I can get one as well!
Jonathan Schmidt – On AutoPilot from CompuServe Land