Zorro cards vs PCI cards

[mpiva]

   I need help making a decision.  I have an A4000T with Cyberstorm MKIII and CybervisionPPC graphics card.  I'd like to get a network card for this system but should I get a Zorro card such as the X-Surf II or should I buy a PCI busboard like the Prometheus with a cheap PCI network card.  Which would be faster?  Also, if I did get the PCI busboard, would a cheap Voodoo gfx card be as fast and powerful as the CybervisionPPC?  If so, it's tempting to sell the CybervisionPPC and put to money towards everything else.

   What's everyone's opinion?  Should I sell the CybervisionPPC and buy a PCI busboard, or keep it?

[Robert17]

I don't know much about Amiga machines but I know that a VooDoo card on Prometheus would be a lot quicker than a CvisionPPC... besides, it looks like the cost of a prometheus is only a little bit more than a new Xsurf 2 anyway

I'd go for the prometheus if it was me.

Robert

[bloodline]

IMHO the PCI board is the best route... If you sold the Cyvervision, you could probably afford to get a PCI board, a Network card and a Second hand Voodoo for the money you get :-)

But since you already have a Gfx card, if you could get a cheap Zorro Network card then you should proably go that route.

[Crumb]

I would go for PCI without a doubt :-)

I have a Prometheus with Voodoo3 and it runs quite well. You'll notice that it will be faster on 3D, blitter, etc. The only point where it would be worse will be in bus bandwitch. Another good point is that in the future you'll be able to upgrade your gfx card by a Radeon easily.

Another nice option would be an Algor+Norway module (USB is cool and baing able to do a cold boot and use USB mice and keyboards thanks to the flashrom is great).

But I think that the best option would be a Prometheus :-) You won't have many drivers but you'll be able to put a cheap RTL8029 (some friend may give you one) and you may plug a Voodoo3 PCI or Radeon PCI.

Even if you keep the Permedia2 I would go for the Prometheus.

Mediator 4000T is nice but much more expensive

[bloodline]

Also with the PCI, a cheap sound card becomes an option too.

[Floid]

bloodline wrote:
Also with the PCI, a cheap sound card becomes an option too.

The third option is USB, which works out somewhat similar to the cost of a Zorro NIC, but gives you the flexibility for those devices...  It all depends on what your goal is.

(Hmm, nobody's written drivers for USB sound devices yet?  They go for a pittance these days.)

[Holley]

I could play devil's advocate here and say go for an XSurf ... but I won't.

The XSurf is a great card, especially with all the extras it has, but on speed you can't beat PCI in the real world.

[x56h34]

Well, the real difference in speed would not be seen through the network card, as if both the Zorro and PCI netrwork cards are of the 10-base-T type, then the speed would be the same.

Mediator offers fast ethernet (100mbit) and is the only pci solution at the moment that has this feature, however I really doubt that this is too relevant in the Amiga world, especially if your Amiga will be used for hobby purposes, and I'm sure it most likely will be (like with most of us). :-)

Or let me put it like this. The speed difference is not as noticeable on Amiga between 10mbit and 100mbit speeds, as it is on PC.

[billt]

Also remember that Zorro network cards are all 10Mbit network speed. PCI bus will let you use a 100Mbit network card.

If it was me, I'd buy a PCI bus, Voodoo3 and 100Mbit network card, and keep the CVPPC for a while, just to make sure you're happy with everything. If you're satisfied with the Voodoo3 then sell the CVPPC, if not, keep the CVPPC and sell the Voodoo3. You can use a Prometheus and Mediator PCI bus with network card at the same time as CVPPC if you'd end up preferring that to Voodoo3, but I think the Voodoo3 features will still beat CVPPC even with the difference in bus speed.

[pVC]

Just some thoughts... I don't have experience of using ZorroIII, but I've had network card in A1200 in ZorroII (Hydra Amiganet1.1, 10Mbps) and in PCI (10 and 10/100Mbps Realtek's cards). Max transfer speeds I got with ZorroII were about 600k/s, ~1MB/s with 10Mbps PCI and somewhere around 1.3MB/s with 100Mbps PCI.

About the gfx-card... I wouldn't sell the CVPPC before trying out the Voodoo3. I'd guess there isn't that big speed difference between those afterall, but with V3 you have to use P96 and with CV you can use CGFX. It's a personal opinion which you prefer more, but I myself would like to use CGX rather than P96 and that's why I'd keep CV.