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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: keropi on November 18, 2004, 01:42:22 PM
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I got a towerhawk case + zorroII 5x slots expansion board, can I use with it a normal ZORROII rtg made for amiga2000/3000/4000 ???? A RETINA ZORRO II rtg with 1MB...
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or a EGS 28/24 Spectrum 2MB one?
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yes....
but depending on the busboard, u might ot might not have a video slot, or might need a video slot enabler, which whould allow u to use graphics cards that will combine the rtg output with the native output from the amiga
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If you do get it working, don't expect too much from a Z2 card when it comes to streaming video / doom style games. The typical maximum data throughput of Z2 is less than AGA.
Of course for normal desktop use (moving windows around etc), any graphics card that has a working blitter and chunky pixels will run rings around the native chipset.
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It appears I need a VidiON adapter... :-(
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Karlos wrote:
Of course for normal desktop use (moving windows around etc), any graphics card that has a working blitter and chunky pixels will run rings around the native chipset.
Don't be too sure! When I upgraded my A4000 from CV64/3D to Voodoo, I put the CV64/3D into my A1500, and found to be absolutely usuably slow, even for just workbench. Didn't matter if I used CGX or P96, even 640x480x8 was painful to use.
The same card in my 4000 had been fine!
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@keropi
Even if you don't have a video slot, you should still be able to use a CV64/3D or other Zorro graphics card, you just won't be able to take advantage of an onboard SD/FF that some cards have (such as the PIV).
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@Xeron
I was generalising, but in my own experiences anything that can take advantage of 2D acceleration on your desktop tends to enjoy a supported graphics card, even if the bus is slow. Just look at the Siamese RTG - you sent your rendering instructions across a serial link there ;-)
Perhaps it is possible in Z2 mode that the blitter doesn't function correctly? If it had to be done in software it would die a death on a Z2 bus :-/
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Hence the "working blitter" remark in my original post ;-)
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@Karlos
Well, I don't know. Its a Phase 5 CV64/3D, which as far as i'm aware should work fine with acceleration in both ZII and ZIII mode.
Mind you, it might have been a clash with my GVP G-Force 030 or something.
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Your guess is as good as mine *shrugs*
Generally the level of acceleration offered by P96 or CGX is dissapointing. Common 2D hardware operations like stretched blits, colourspace conversion etc. tend to go unutilised. For those features that are used, it's often the case that the overhead of the whole rtg system (specifically how it interfaces to intuition/graphics) sucks a large initial proportion away too. However, it should all still be much faster than AGA ;-)