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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: boinger on January 13, 2009, 12:45:39 AM
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i've heard that the quality of the mk iii board is not up to that of the mk ii or mk i regarding soldering and traces. can anybody refute or elaborate on this thanx.
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There are two main problems with the MKIIIs:
1) DCE, the company. Somehow they cut corners or what-not, and so unlike Phase5's runs of the card (the original creators of the card), the DCE versions are more problematic.
2) The other, and most serious, problem is that they didn't use a through-hole design for the main CPU (68060), and thus the CPU and/or socket is soldered on the top surface. This tends to create problems due to mechanical and heat stress, and so the card becomes flaky and eventually stops working. MKIIs are through-hole on the other hand, thus not as problematic.
Cheers
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were there phase5 mk iii's ? or only mk i and mk ii's?
if there is a phase5 mk iii would it be ok ?
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Yes there were as Phase5 was the original designer/creator for them cards. However, the major problem (#2 above) holds true for both DCE and Phase5 cards.
A couple of things you might possibly want to consider:
if you want to go high end for your A3000/A4000 Amigas, then you might as well get a PPC card. Then you'll also be able to run AmigaOS 4.x and MorphOS. If you don't want or need the PPC however, then of course there's the MKI (the cheapest, although it's a funky card, made up of 3-4 pieces), the MKII (much more reliable) and of course the MKIII. I'd say these are the most common. Then there are a few more, like the Quikpak and some Apollos, but those aren't so common.
Other than that, I'd say 060s are good for a demo machine, or for high end applications (ex: video editing, sound processing, modeling and 3d graphics). But then again a modern computer is way better for those types of applications... so you might want to take that into consideration. Also, most classic Amiga games do not need, nor utilize, nor will be very compatible with an 060. The only ones that might are the absolutely last games made for Amigas, which will also require a graphics card, and preferably one that's good with 3D.
If you don't need an 060, then there are plenty of other choices for big box Amigas. In other words if all you need is something better than what's on the motherboard, but not necessarily an 060, there are a ton of 040 based CPU cards which are cheaper and very reliable. And for classic gaming 030s work very very well.
Cheers
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Having owned all 060 CS versions (mk1, mk2 and csppc) I have found that the most stable/compatible is the CSPPC (MK3) and then the MK1.
The MK2 is plagued with some firmware bugs that activate when combined with other hardware like goldengate cards, algors, etc... :-(
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keropi wrote:
Having owned all 060 CS versions (mk1, mk2 and csppc) I have found that the most stable/compatible is the CSPPC (MK3) and then the MK1.
The MK2 is plagued with some firmware bugs that activate when combined with other hardware like goldengate cards, algors, etc... :-(
The algor problem was fixed a while ago with a rom-firmware update. (But it sure is a bug in the MK2, the firmware update performs a work-around).
On the overall, I agree with keropi. Plus the MK3 and CSPPC both have a faster memory access than the previous versions.
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i'm confused is csppc (mk3) a ppc card and is it referred to as csppc mk3 and different from an '060 mk3 ? actually could you look at this and tell me if it is worth my while to bid on thanx.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=400023222676
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@ boinger
CS MKIII is just an 060 or 040 CPU card only.
CSPPC has an 060 or an 040 CPU as well as a PPC CPU.
Both the CSMKIII & the CSPPC use the very same PCB board. It's just the PPC has more Juicy Bits on it & will run OS4.0 Classic, where the CS MKIII will not because it has no PPC CPU!
Yes, the one red is selling is worth bidding on. Be warned though, these cards are rarer than rocking horse sh!t. The final price could do some serious damage to your wallet. :-o
The CS MKIII's are prone to cracking their CPU Joints with age & mis-handling. I was lucky enough to have one repaired for this very problem after it arrived DOA.
CS MKIII's are geting near twice the Speed on RAM access due to Dual Channel Access. (64 bits instead of 32 bits) This means a 16Mb Ram transfer gets split into 2 x 8Mb chunks accross 2 x 72 pin Simms @ the same time instead of chugging the whole 16Mb into one Simm. It's deeper than this really, but keeps it understandable. ;-)
CS MKIII's also have UW SCSI III as standard.
The previous CS MKII's & Mk I's have an optional SCSI controller & are not always available with the main PCB. They just plug onto their repective cards. MK I SCSI controllers can not be used on CS MKII's & vice-versa!
Hope that clarifys all your concerns & Good luck! :-)
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Never buy a CSMKIII or a CSPPC "sold as seen" because they are ALWAYS broken.
I personally would not buy one mail order either, go and see it working prior to buying if you can.
At €150 repair cost at Amiga Repair Center in France that can seriously affect the overall price.
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alexh wrote:
At €150 repair cost at Amiga Repair Center in France that can seriously affect the overall price.
Not if you use Anthony Hoffman (http://amiga.serveftp.net/) in New Zealand. ;-)
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We discussed this before didnt we? While cheaper it wasn't that much cheaper.... was it?
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alexh wrote:
We discussed this before didnt we? While cheaper it wasn't that much cheaper.... was it?
Yes m8, it was. £75.00 inc Shipping @ the time.
Compared to JJ's bloody Euro @ the moment, it's a total Bargin!
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keropi wrote:
Having owned all 060 CS versions (mk1, mk2 and csppc) I have found that the most stable/compatible is the CSPPC (MK3) and then the MK1.
Just to clarify my statements: I was speaking strictly from a standalone physical/hardware perspective, not software (firmware). That is another matter altogether. Not just what Keropi mentions, but also what patches and whatnot your Amiga's startup-sequence has, etc.