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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Ancalimon on February 18, 2008, 06:42:35 PM
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Would it be possible to modify the flash of CstormPPC to make it support two 128MB SIMMS connected and seen as 256MB?
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No
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This begs the question. Where is the limitation? Is the Amiga hardware the limiter? Or is it the CSPPC card itself? And if it is the CSPPC, why is it not possible to alter the limit to 256?
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Piru wrote:
No
So we would need a hardware modification.
Anyone figured it out yet?
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The 128MB limit is the limitation of the A3000/A4000 CPU Slot.
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Ah that would explain why devices like the Fastlane Z3 could go up to 256m, right?
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Fastline Z3 doesn't connect to the CPU slot, does it?
Anyway, as far as I can tell there is no way to have more than 128MB thru the CPU slot, at least if you intend to have DMA access to the memory.
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That's what I was alluding to, smartass.
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But bppc can hanle 256Mb ram, so the little 1200 has better expansion port?
And my opinion: if you want to use os4 (or mos pup) 128Mb is for nothing. You can't even use origyn for example.
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Piru wrote:
The 128MB limit is the limitation of the A3000/A4000 CPU Slot.
How can the fast slot limit the memory that lives completely on the CPU card? As long as the RAM controller and the CPU can access the RAM, I'd venture there's no limit (apart from possibly Autoconfig).
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But bppc can hanle 256Mb ram, so the little 1200 has better expansion port?
I would even dare to say that A1200 is superior to A4000.
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http://amigahardware.mariomisic.de/cgi-bin/showhardware_en.cgi?HARDID=228
GVP Trex040:
Max Ram: Unknown but probably 64MB without RAM board and 256MB with RAM board.
This is wrong then?
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Piru wrote:
The 128MB limit is the limitation of the A3000/A4000 CPU Slot.
A cpu card can be designed with as much memory as the designer chooses, but only 128mb will be accessible to the DMA controller on the motherboard. A new card would probably have it's own DMA controller to address the full memory on board.
The zorro bus is, I think, limited to 1.75GB ram, so amigaos probably cannot manage more than 2GB ram.
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Piru is right, the A3/4K fast slot has a ram chip select generated by the motherboard, this chip select is for a 128meg window, you can not add more than that without adding a full on autoconfig system to the board.
The A1200 doesnt have a ram chip select on its trapdoor slot so they have to autoconfig it. (they have the Autoconfig signals so its just like a zorro slot)
Zorro 3 has autoconfig so it can specify larger sizes or let the OS size it so thats fine.
You can not add more than 128 meg of ram to any fast slot CPU card that uses the ram chip select generated by the board and I know of no card that autoconfigs the ram.
So tadaaa.
if you want more ram make a Z3 board.. and Piru knows what he is talking about. :-)
edit:
GVP Trex040: Max Ram: Unknown but probably 64MB without RAM board and 256MB with RAM board. This is wrong then?
Wasnt the biggest 64pin simm only 16meg? cause that would make 128meg max ram and tadaa.
Oh and just checked, Amiga Resource says its for 4 or 16meg simms (http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/gforce4040)
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@Zac67
How can the fast slot limit the memory that lives completely on the CPU card?
It doesn't.
It'd suck to have no DMA to this memory. Granted any on board HW could obviously have DMA, but Zorro would be out.
The question was if CSPPC could be made to have more than 128MB. It can't.
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@arnljot
http://amigahardware.mariomisic.de/cgi-bin/showhardware_en.cgi?HARDID=228
GVP Trex040:
Max Ram: Unknown but probably 64MB without RAM board and 256MB with RAM board.
This is wrong then?
Yes. At least I've never heard of 32MB GVP SIMMs.
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@A6000
A new card would probably have it's own DMA controller to address the full memory on board.
That still wouldn't give Zorro3 DMA for this extra memory, however.
Such board would require total redesign, you can't retrofit that on CS PPC.
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It'd suck to have no DMA to this memory.
Not really. Anyone with an A500 or A2000 with more than 10M of RAM deals with this everyday, and I never considered it a problem. You just install as much expansion DMA-able RAM as you can and when you need DMA, that's what you use. The memory priority is such that the DMA-able RAM usually doesn't get wasted on non-DMA data/code.
The question was if CSPPC could be made to have more than 128MB. It can't.
Much agreed. Aside from whatever you believe the fast slot can/can't do, the CSPPC simply cannot support more than 128M of RAM, at least, not without additional hardware. Phase 5 did say at one point they might build a RAM board for the PPC local bus socket. But, then they announced the CVPPC, and after that no one ever talked about plugging anything else into that socket.
Here's the bottom line: You cannot put SIMMs larger than 32M in the CSPPC. At least, you won't get more than 32M per SIMM slot, no matter what you do. I can tell you this: If you put in two 64M SIMMs, you get 8M of RAM. If you put in four 64M SIMMs, you get 16M of RAM.
Now, it was rumoured that some of the later CSPPCs built by DCE would accept two 64M SIMMs in place of 4 32M SIMMs, *but* even the rumour (which I don't personally believe because I've tried it on one of the last ones produced) said you could not have more than 128M. The only reason you would do this was for more clearance in an A3000D.
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And my opinion: if you want to use os4 (or mos pup) 128Mb is for nothing. You can't even use origyn for example.
Bull. I can run Obigyn just fine with 60M free. Granted, it's slow as molasses, and it has a freaking peecy mouse pointer, and I just don't like it so far.
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Thanks for the info, guys. I'd always assumed CPU card RAM got Autoconfig'ed. I guess it wouldn't actually be a great problem to have non-DMAable RAM on the CPU card (flagged that way), given the 'vast' spread of Z3 boards using DMA, but that's a very good reason for not exceeding 128 Meg when these boards were designed.
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So here are the facts.128 mbytes or 256 is the max os can support.Which is lame.Amigaos 4.0 hardware is too expensive.And the classic amigaos 4.0 compared to the 800+ mhz versions of the A1 hardware with 1giga of ram is not even comparable.
SO why do people keep on spending so much money on this piece of crap?No i am not an enemy of amiga.I love my machine but i have feel cheated all these years.No new hardware,and some ebay folks only that sell 10+ year old boards more expensive than it was when it first appeared.
So my question what can one do with an amigaos 4.0 machine with only 128 mbytes of ram?Open Cygnus editor and edit text files?
Do we have any updates regarding the sam clone?Could it be modificated to run amigaos 4.0 ?
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Because they didn't finish the port for the G4 Mac Mini because of obvious reasons; incompetent behaviour from all parties involved.
Instead of spending/wasting the time creating OS 4 for CyberstormPPC and BlizzardPPC and all it's possible hardware they should have spend it on the Mac Mini port which only has a few configurations.
The second hand base of these machines is much, much larger and would have helped as a bridge to an alternative hardware platform. This way a lot of interested developers would have been able to buy a fast and small and cheap machine.
A huge oppurtunity missed in my opinion.
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So here are the facts.128 mbytes or 256 is the max os can support.
Oh great someone who has only done 15 posts giving us the facts :roll:
No, the OS supports a lot, probably up to 1.8gig.
The CPU cards only have space for 128 meg (plus 16 on the motherboard) which was and is more than enough for OS3.9 IMHO.
That said I also have a Fastlane card which can add 64MB of ram and there is one by DKB that does 128.
You can install as many of these as you want/have slots for.
There is even a "free" design for the Bigram, a Z3 64meg ram card.
SO why do people keep on spending so much money on this piece of crap?
I was around when the pre-orders for the A1 were on, and while the Peg was forsale. I dont want a PC motherboard, I want an Amiga.
Some people think its the software that makes the computer, I think its the hardware, so I am going to stay with a classic system thanks. (even though I have OS4 for it)
Im running a maxed out Cyberstorm PPC and I honestly think its worth the £500 second hand price.
i have feel cheated all these years.
Heres a shock for you, life doesnt revolve around you, me or anyone else. If something doestn happen you cant say you have been cheated of it. Everyone here would like their ideal Amiga made, with gigabytes of ram and super fast 3D graphics and all that but we are a small group of people now and if you want something done you have to learn how to do it yourself, if you dont have that determination then you either end up playing A500 games every day (nothing wrong with that thankyou very much) or using a Windows PC. (Nothing wrong with that either)
Do we have any updates regarding the sam clone?Could it be modificated to run amigaos 4.0 ?
Sam clone? the Sam is a PPC motherboard and not a clone of anything (were you thinking of the minimig Amiga clone?) but they tried to sell it with OS4 without Amiga's permission or licence and as such Amiga have had to sue Hyperion to get their cut.
When the courts have sorted all that out we will see if the people who made the Sam are able to put it back into production. (Im guessing it will take a year for the court case to finish)
As for patching it to run OS4 without Hyperion or Acube I dont think thats going to happen, I could be wrong though.
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When the courts have sorted all that out we will see if the people who made the Sam are able to put it back into production. (Im guessing it will take a year for the court case to finish)
AFAIK the Sam440 is still in production and available, only that it's shipped with Linux. CruxPPC for Sam has been in the meanwhile released. (http://www.crux.it/cruxppc/wiki/SamBlog)
Varthall