A2000 w/ 060 speed?

[Ami_GFX]

You would be limited by the Zorro II bus, both in bus speed and the cards available for it. The bus speed is not that big an issue in most cases. I really don't notice a big difference in the graphics speed between the EGS Spectrum in my 030 A2500 and the Cybervision 64 in my 060 A4000 when running Workbench but the difference is dramatic whan I'm running CPU intensive operations like painting with complicated brushes at high resolutions. The faster CPU is the main factor but the 32 bit bus helps when there is lots of graphics data being moved.

The best RTG cards--Picasso IV, Retina Z3, Cybervision 64 and Cybervision 3d, are Zorro III, and you won't be able to work in 24 bit beyond 800x600 SVGA with a Zorro II graphics card. Even with my Zorro III Cybervision 64, 24 bit 1024x768 is a bit touchy and works much better in some monitors than others.

I don't think you would complain very much about the performance of a Picasso II in an A2000  with a Blizzard 060. Until last year, I had a Picasso II in my A4000/040 and the Zorro II bus speed would be the same in both setups. Now I have a Zorro III Cybervision 64 and the graphics speed doesn't seem faster on a perceptual level but I now have 24 bit XGA and 16 bit SXGA which I didn't have before. I recently replaced the stock 3640 CPU with a Cyberstorm 060/PPC board. I'm just beginning to play around with software that uses the PPC processor but the 060 has made a huge improvement in what I've already had installed in it. I'm especially noticing the difference with the image processing and rendering functions of ImageFX.

[Ami_GFX]

I'd want to run at 1280x960 pixels on this 19" CRT, ideally. So, any vidcard that will function in a Zorro II slot will need to do so at 16-bit, not 24-bit? I ran at 16-bit on my 468 PC at similar rez for a few years in Win 95 days -- it didn't seem a problem or noticeable. Is it similarly not a big deal, here?

What vidcards will run in a Zorro II slot and will can do a pass thru of video? I have a Indavision ECS in my A2000 btw.

Thanks.




bp

Just looking at specs, a Picasso II would do something close to that interlaced and the only Zorro II RTG card in http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/gfx that supports the 4mb memory neccessary to do this resolution non-interlaced is the Piccolo SD64 which is in the extremely rare catagory. Just to illustrate the comparitive rareness there's a Picasso II on eBay right now and I've never seen a Piccolo SD64 for sale ever--on ebay or elsewhere.

A Picasso II does have the video pass through too. If not the final solution, it's a good starting point for what you want to do.

[Ami_GFX]

CV64 3D supports Zorro II. Not sure about the regular CV64

I know I had one in my A2000 with 040/28 and it worked really well...

Not slow at all running workbench in 256 colors.

Sorry, didn't check specs close enough. Except for the lack of pass through, the Cybervision 643D would be the best RTG card that you could use in an A2000 that isn't that hard to find. The GVP Spectrum has real limited resolution--it can't even do 800x600 in 24 bit. Otherwise it is a great card.

The A2000 is solid but I've had hardware fail in them--to the point of replacing a motherboard. My A4000 was used for years in a technical college before I got it and I've had the CPU card go bad on it but never any MB issues. A4000s also take up a lot less space and are much more ergonomic. In performance and upgrade options, they are the best Amiga. AGA is a vast improvment over ECS. There are no PPC accelerators for the A2000.  That being said, Winuae in even a moderately fast PC beats even the fastest PPC accelerated Amiga by far. I wouldn't say the A4000 is poorly designed at all. Ergonomic and practical is how I would describe it's exterior design and it's internal electronic design is good and solid.

[Ami_GFX]

Hmm... So, can a PII do 1024x768 or 1152x900 in 8-bit color, non-interlaced?



bp

1024x768 for sure, it's a standard resolution. 1152x900 more than likely at 8 bit non interlaced. It's not a standard VESA resolution so you will have to program it yourself. I like the Picasso II a lot. It might not be the best RTG card, but it's inexpensive and reliable and will keep you happy until you find a better one. Here is one at auction for not too much money yet:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/180949536392?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[Ami_GFX]

I heard that GVP-M is going to run new patch of Spectrum 16/24

http://www.softhut.com/cgi-bin/test/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=catalog/hardware/accelerators/gvp_spectrum.html&cart_id=3626924_596807

It is slighly better than Picasso II because it has a Zorro III support, otherwise it is indentical product.

The Picasso II is a little better in terms of the resolutions it can do. I could do 800x600 in 24 bit with a Picasso II. I can only get to 16 bit 800x600 with my EGS Spectrum. For an A2000 with Zorro II, it is the better card.

Won the Picasso II that was on eBay, to go along with the 060. Should be interesting.

Should be a great system.

[Ami_GFX]

Hmm might it be that your card is only 1mb card?? I don't have any poblems with 800x600 24bit and certainly Spectrum supports it.

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=451
http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=467

They have a same chipset and identical specs, execpt GVP has a Zorro 3 support

It could be. I haven't taken it out and looked at it since a few years ago. I just recently noticed because I got a new monitor and had to adjust the video frequencies a bit. My A2500 is in a tight cabinet space and I have to move a lot of stuff to get it out so I only pull it out and open it up if I really have to.

There are 1mb Picasso IIs too but it looks like the chips are socketed and the upgrade is easy. We forget how much those memory chips cost in the 90s.