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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: curtis on February 21, 2017, 03:31:44 PM
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How much difference in performance is there between a 68030 clocked at 50MHZ w/ 12MB RAM compared to a 68040 clocked at 33MHZ with 32MB RAM?
In essence compare a RCS Fusion 40 to a GVP 030 Combo board upgraded to 030 50MHz.
Both to be installed an A2000 with KS and WB 3.1 with intentions of upgrading to 3.9. And an Indivision ECS and a Mini Mega Chip.
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How much difference in performance is there between a 68030 clocked at 50MHZ w/ 12MB RAM compared to a 68040 clocked at 33MHZ with 32MB RAM?
The 68040 is about twice the speed. I had this combo at home. Actually, a GVP 030@40Mhz (not quite 50, but the difference is minor), and a GVP Combo 040@33Mhz.
Note well, the 68040 will run hot, and is probably - due to the necessary fan - more annoying than the 68030.
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Unless you're just using this system to play games, the RAM difference you mention is also significant. +1 to everything THoR said, I'd take the 040 over the 030 any day, unless you specifically want the system to run cooler (not generally a problem in an A2000), or some other outlier, such as if the 030 board has a significantly faster SCSI controller (not likely).
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Oh, forgot to mention the SCSI controller I'm using now is a GVP w/4.15 chip. It also has 8MB RAM.
If I go with the GVP Combo board, it would be replaced.
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How much difference in performance is there between a 68030 clocked at 50MHZ w/ 12MB RAM compared to a 68040 clocked at 33MHZ with 32MB RAM?
In essence compare a RCS Fusion 40 to a GVP 030 Combo board upgraded to 030 50MHz.
Both to be installed an A2000 with KS and WB 3.1 with intentions of upgrading to 3.9. And an Indivision ECS and a Mini Mega Chip.
I would go for the 040 for sure... The extra ram won't hurt either.
Yes the 040 does run hotter compared to an 060, but all you need is a good heatsink. I have an 040 at 40MHz with a big heatsink with no issues...
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an 030@50 with good ram will tick over at about 10mips.
cooking on gas for basic amiga use, 3D floppy games and the like.
an 040@25 having to struggle to get to mainboard ram on an A4000 will get about 19mips
a proper upgrade. the first thing i wanted for my A3000 if i got nothing else was a cheap A3640 card. very sufficiently nippy to make web browsing tolerable, and rendering a workable reality. you can feel the difference in day to day use.
an 040@33 with local 32bit ram should get around 30mips.
starting to get into demoland terratory. more cpu intensive tasks become "just a thing"
i had a warpEngine040/28 overclocked to 40mhz with a big heatsink on it. it rocked.
later i had a Cyberstorm2/040@40Mhz i couldn't afford an 060, but it still enabled lan quake1 gaming with a graphics card.
the more CPU you have, the less running things like IP stacks and USB stacks in the background are a bother. 256 colour icons become a reality, mui becomes a "whatever" rather than a system drain or resource hog.
but some stuff like microprose F1 GP is artificially limited to say 12fps, so you have a consistant game expirience across all platforms (tweekable with F1 GP Ed)
other stuff like Populous and Syndicate run their game engine clocks off a loop from an assumed CPU speed of 7Mhz - result is anything above an 030 it becomes entertainingly unplayable.
other old polygon stuff like Indie 500 eats cpu cycles for breakfast and takes all you can throw at it with a big happy smile on its face.
pretty much all if the above is just my experience and anecdotal if you will, but i hope it was usefull in some way.
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In essence compare a RCS Fusion 40 to a GVP 030 Combo board upgraded to 030 50MHz.
Just an additional comment on this: Is this an original 50Mhz card or has this been overclocked? In the latter case: Hands off. The GVP Combos cannot be safely overclocked - in best case, it "works for a while" until you fry the custom chips. So in specific, you cannot clock the 40Mhz version with 50Mhz, or (leave alone) the 25Mhz budget version.
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if you are using your amiga for mostly CPU intensive applications (large spreadsheets, 3D modelling etc) then go with the 040 over the 030 but if you are just using it for games , especially with WHDLoad stick with the 030 as in my experience it's the most compatible with WHDLoad.
I had an 060 in my 1200D for years but then converted it to strictly a WHDLoad machine and had issue after issue...put in my 030@50 and all issues gone
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Just to add, the 040 FPU is 4-12 times quicker than a separate 68882 as used on a 68030.
If you use FPU required software, it's a big difference. Although not all 040s have the FPU built in.
The only advantage the 030 has is compatibility. Some of the older software just will not work on an 040. For instance, Amix. So do a careful check of the software you want to use before deciding on what hardware you want to run it on.
Unless you have very large RAM requirements (complex DTP designs or 3D scenes) you will be unlikely to find 32MB much of a limit. Although technically you can never have too much RAM...
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Kind of what I thought.
I think I'll stick with my Fusion 40 and GVP SCSI card.
BTW, if anyone is interested, there's an Aussie selling a GVP Combo card on ebay!