| Title: | AMIGA NOTES |
| Notice: | Join us in the *NEW* conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2 |
| Moderator: | HYDRA::MOORE |
| Created: | Sat Apr 26 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Wed Feb 05 1992 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 5378 |
| Total number of notes: | 38326 |
Has anyone seen or heard any detailed info on CSA's Midget Racer? This
is a 'plug into the 68K socket' 68020/68881 accelerator board that has
been advertised in some Amiga rags as being far superior to 16 MHz
68000 based boards. It seems to me that it would provide a
questionable speed improvement over a 16 MHz 68000 since it does not
use or have provision for 32 bit wide memory. (Although the math chip
access must be quite fast, and the '020 has an instruction cache, no?)
I would also assume that such a board could conceivably have the same
type of problem with DMA devices on the buss that CMI has (so far) with
their 68K accelerator.
Obviously, if one wants to go fast, the best solution (for now) would
seem to be Commodore's own A2620 board or GVP's 68030 board (or the
Ronin/Hurricane board) and use some real 32 bit memory.
Unfortunately, some of us have been cast from prosperity into the pits
of poverty by Impending Fatherhood (9 weeks to go) and can't cough up
$1000 + to do it right. The Midget Racer goes for around $369, minus
the math chip, so it seems like a fair deal. I just wonder if it
works...
Ed
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2608.1 | More Info on Midget Racer... | LEDS::ACCIARDI | Thu Jun 01 1989 21:39 | 28 | |
I just got off the phone with Steve at CSA (Computer Systems
Associates) in San Diego. I quizzed him for details about their Midget
Racer 68020 board...
Steve claimed that their benchmarks show a 52% speed improvement over a
14.28 MHz 68000 board (such as the CMI Processor Accelerator). Since
AmigaDOS 1.2 and up automatically turn on the '020 instruction cache, I
suspect it would be quite easy to create a benchmark with a lot of
repetitive instructions that would simply blow away a 68000 based
board. Steve also claimed a 6X improvement in math chip performance
over a 68000/68881 combination, which is pretty believable.
Interestingly, the Midget Racer runs at the standard Amiga speed of
7.14 MHz and absolutely cannot ever use real 32 bit wide memory.
The good news is that they report absolutely no compatibility problems
with DMA controllers such as MicroBotics'. In fact, they specifically
beta tested using MB controllers.
On the CMI front, I bugged them about my fixed 'Beta Board' and was
told that it would go out via tomorrow's UPS. Why am I skeptical? I
was told that out of four MicroBotics/CMI beta testers, three reported
no problems and one reported a bad wirewrap. We'll see....
So, does any of this violate any reality checks from you hardware guys?
Ed.
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| 2608.2 | Some test results... | LEDS::ACCIARDI | Tue Jun 06 1989 10:40 | 21 | |
The latest AmigaWhirled just came in the mail. As if in answer to my
own question, there's a pretty good review of the current crop of 68020
boards for the Amiga, including the CSA Midget Racer.
Surprisingly, the Midget really offers quite a speed improvement over a
standard 68000, ranging from about 20-50% on the Fast Floating Point
tests. The improvement was much more dramatic on the 68881 Floating
Point tests, where the perfoamance began to approach (but never reach)
the big brother 32 bit boards. I guess this improvement comes from the
68020 instruction cache, since the performance is actually WORSE than a
bare 68000 with the cache turned off. (ADos 1.2/1.3 automatically turn
it on.)
The fastest board turned out to be the Ronin Hurricane, with the
Commodore A2620 coming in a close second. The Midget seemed to fall
about midway between a board with 32 bit memory and a basic 68000.
Based on the cost/performance, the Midget looks like a real bargain.
Ed.
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| 2608.3 | Time to upgrade (again!) | WJG::GUINEAU | Tue Jun 06 1989 12:49 | 4 | |
Anyone want to buy a CMI Processor accelerator cheap! John | |||||
| 2608.4 | Saving my pennies | MQOFS::DESROSIERS | Lets procrastinate....tomorrow | Tue Jun 06 1989 13:12 | 8 |
Question: Does a board like the miget racer without 32 bit memory
speed up image processing like pixmate?
I know that faster processors are good at doing 1+1, but does THAT
translate to real world improvements.
Jean
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