Picasso 2 Question

[decnet]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone with a Picasso 2 RTG card could confirm something for me. When you added the card to your system (a 2000 in my case) does the memory on the card show up in the workbench title bar, in addition to other system memory. Mine doesn't appear to and I'm not sure if it's being used or not. I've only got a SCSI card with 2MB of memory on the Zorro bus currently so I'm not even close to the 8MB limit when adding the Picasso. I've played with the jumpers on the Picasso card with no luck so far.

Thanks!

[Thomas]

RTG memory never shows as system memory. If you can select a Picasso screen mode in Prefs/ScreenMode, then RTG memory is used.

RTG memory will only ever be used for RTG graphics. It does not expand the Amiga's Chip RAM or something.

[decnet]

Thanks for the reply, that sounds promising, perhaps my card is working as expected then.

I assumed the on-board memory would count towards the 8MB limit on the Zorro bus like it does with my A2091 SCSI card but if not that would explain what I'm seeing I think.

[Thomas]

I assumed the on-board memory would count towards the 8MB limit on the Zorro bus like it does with my A2091 SCSI card but if not that would explain what I'm seeing I think.

That's a different thing. The Workbench title bar only shows memory which is available to applications for general use. The RTG memory is only usable by the RTG driver, it is hidden from the application programs. But nevertheless the RTG memory on the Z2 bus is taken into account for the 8MB limit. So if your SCSI card has 2 MB and the Picasso has 2 MB, there are only 4 MB left on the Zorro2 bus for other cards..

[decnet]

Ah I see, that makes perfect sense now, thanks a lot for the clarification.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I had two of those cards.    Didn't work with my specific configuration so I sold them off, but otherwise they're great in an A2000.  Yes, video ram will never show in the title bar.  There are a few commodities that will add it there though, if you hunt around.  Also if you have all the PII software there should be a utility that checks your card to ensure it's working correctly (and confirm if you have the 1MB or 2MB model, etc.).
 
BTW, have you seen this?  It's what I use:

http://lilliput.amiga-projects.net/Picasso96.htm

[decnet]

Thanks for the link, I wasn't aware of that driver but I'll download it and give it try. They do seem like a good RTG card, I've got mine running in 800x600 and it's great to have so many more colours displayed than standard.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Definitely!  That's a good mode for an A2000.  Much beyond that and it bogs down a bit.  Zorro II bus, and all.  But still perfectly useable!