A1200 Rev 1D4 accelerator

[Vincent]

The first accelerator card I had formy A1200 about 5 years ago had a timing problem with my motherboard (the 1D4 revision).  I think the accelerator was a Magnum, but I can't remember that far back.

About a month ago my Viper 1230 MkII 40MHz refused to work with simms fitted, now it refuses to work at all.  I was wanting to get a Blizzard 040/50 from Pwer Computing but they don't sell them anymore, and they won't be getting anymore in.

I was thinking about getting Apollo '040 MMU/FPU 40MHz (with the 2nd simm socket) instead.  I was wondering if you guys could tell me if there would be a problem with that card and my motherboard.

My full system is:

A1200 rev 1D4 with floppy fix (now uses a proper A1200 drive)
52x CD-ROM
4-Way buffered interface with IDE-fix 97
18Gb 3.5" IDE HD
2.4Gb 3.5" IDE HD
Scandoubler/Flickerfixer

Cheers for the help.


I've tried the Big Book of Amiga Hardware site, but they don't mention any conflicts.

[Vincent]

Karlos wrote:
You don't fancy a BlizzardPPC then?

Yeah, I do. :-)

Can't afford it :-(

[Vincent]

ermmm, I just realised this is in the Software forum - oops :-)

@Karlos

That's why I want the 040 :-D

Besides, they don't sell them in 030s anymore (well, I couldn't find any).  But the thought of the extra speed of the 040 is a bit exciting :-D

[Vincent]

@ NitrousB

That's where I'm looking to get the Apollo from.  They don't say anything about timing problems there.


I've just found a German site that's selling the Blizzard 1240/040.  Before I order it (probably tonight or tomorrow) does anyone know of anyproblems with that board and the rev 1D4?

This is the Blizzard:

Low-cost 68040 based accelerator board
72-pin SIMM socket for upto 128 MB (upto 256 MB with the optional SCSI Kit IV)
68040 @ 40 MHz
Optional FastSCSI-2 controller Blizzard SCSI Kit IV
MMU and FPU (integrated in 68040)
Battery backed Real Time Clock
Kickstart remapping
Asynchronous design for full genlock compatibility
Made in Germany, 2 years warranty

[Vincent]

Karlos wrote:

I got my first 040, an Apollo 1240, back in the day when they were a big deal (1995). I just wanted to play AB3D faster then...I've still got it somewhere.

 :lol: Nice though :-D

I'd sell it to you for a tenner if I thought you might actually be able to use it without it going wonky. It has a socketed ROM which seems to be a bit dodgy and is very fussy about SIMMs :-(

I'll keep that in mind.  It might be handy to have that as a dodgy spare if something goes wrong.  Cheers :-D

[Vincent]

lorddef wrote:
@karlos

I like the sound of that 040, it would be nice to experiment with.  :-D

Get your hands off that!!!! :-P

It's mine!!!!

Seriously though, I would like that accel Karlos.  I'll speak to you about it once I've figured out what I'm doing about this accelerator.

[Vincent]

@Rassilon

Cheers for that.  I've checked their site, they only sell the Apollo cards, and they're a bit more expensive than Eyetech.

I've just emailed Vesalia about timing probs between 1D4 and the Blizzard 1240.  Hopefully I'll get a reply by tomorrow morning.


I just wish I'd ordered the Blizzard from Power Computing (and asked them about the timing probs) when I had the chance.  According to Vesalia's site, they've stopped producing the Blizzard cards now :-(

[Vincent]

Karlos wrote:

The fan is a bit puny and it's damn noisy!

 :lol:

That said, I have to find the flipping thing first ;-)

 :lol:
I know how that feels, I can't find 2 16Mb simms and 2 32Mb simms that a got a month ago ;-)

If it's only gonna be £10, it doesn't really matter about the condition ;-)

[Vincent]

odin wrote:
@Vincent:

Make sure you do get a 40MHz 040. 25 MHz 040's are still dog slow =).

Yeah, I know they're still a bit slow.  I'm (hopefully) gonna get Apollo '040 MMU/FPU 40MHz with the extra simm socket.  I might have to wait a week before I order it though.



<--- post 300! hehe :-D

[Vincent]

-D- wrote:
Hi Vincent,

Did you check out those Viper accelerators
out at Vesalia? Check under their previews
section. They're due in  on the 15th, and
the '060 with 64megs is going to sell
for about 230 euros. In my honest opinion,
the '060 is well worth the extra money...
I think you could pick up that new Viper
'060 card for the price of the current '040
Blizzard (the '040 is fine, but if you're
not going PPC get the '060

I'm running a Blizzard 1260 with a 1D4 (escom)
motherboard with zero problems.

AFAIK The Apollo cards can't be disabled like
the Blizzard (and probably Viper) cards can be
for compatability.

Thanks for pointing them out -D-.

I've actually emailed them about their Blizzard boards, but haven't got a reply yet.  I'm not wanting to buy from a company that doesn't reply to their customers.  What if I need a replacement/help/etc?

I think I'll be buying from somewhere in the UK (which probably means Eyetech), but I'm going to wait until next week when I (should) have answers from Vesalia/Eyetech/AmigaDeals.

@odin

The 030/40 that I've got runs at 7.11Mips (from sysinfo), so I know what slow is like ;-)

PulsatingQuasar
Yeah.....

Why is there no one that knows this stuff, puts it in a guide and place it on Aminet!

I can fix these things easilly myself

That's a great idea :-D

Anyone willing to do that for us unknowledgables? :-)

[Vincent]

Karlos wrote:

Well, to put things in perspective, expect about 19 Mips from 040/25, 25Mips from 040/33 30Mips from 040/40 and upto 80 Mips on 060/50 for superscalar code (over 100 for 060/66)...

:-o :-D :-o :lol:

Cheers, Karlos :-D